Sitting in a chair is unnatural and we aren’t made to sit in a chair. Actually, as I’m writing this, I’m moving to a crosslegged position on a bench.
I came across an interesting interview with Anna Hartman of Movement Rev. She shared theories and techniques from Dr. Phillip Beach about movement and proper resting positions.
Before there were ergonomic comfy chairs, lazy boys, soft and fluffy couches, and pillowy beds, humans found their rest on the ground. Everything started from the ground. To stand from the floor is a movement we mastered as children. In today’s society, the more removed we are from our ground based movements the more awkward and uncomfortable it becomes to be on the ground.
Strength and Conditioning Coach Steve Maxwell said, “The floor is only uncomfortable because the body has fully adapted to the chair. As a child and young adult, the floor was as comfortable as any other surface. To reverse this body amnesia, even short intervals throughout the day, spent seated on the floor, will help facilitate movement and improve on the youthful movement patterns, in turn, rejuvenating aspects of the nervous system, including the brain.”
When I heard this idea of Archetypal Posture it peaked my interest and I wanted to see what these postures were. In the videos below, Anna Hartman goes through the 12 resting positions
I decided to get them a try.
It was amazing to see how uncomfortable some of the positions were, especially on my hips and ankles which became a huge red flag for me.
Going Back to The ‘Aina
From all the stress we place upon our bodies such as exercise, social life stress, and diet, rest has always been an essential factor for recovery.
But as I learned more about these resting postures and looked at what my routine from training at the gym looked like:
I finish my training session of lifting weights and conditioning. After that I sit on a chair to “rest” and then drink or eat my post workout meal. Then I get into the car to sit down and drive home. I take a shower and then sit on the couch because I’m tired from the training session.
That’s just a quick glimpse but what sticks out is the amount of sitting I do in some sort of chair which is not a natural resting position for humans.
This got me thinking… So when do I actually rest?
Even laying in a bed that is soft and comfortable, according to Dr. Phillip Beach is unnatural and doesn’t allow our bodies to fully rest.
Our bodies are a complex and intelligent organism which has the capability of healing itself just like another other complex organisms out there. But do we give it the proper rest that have been engrained into us from the beginning of time?
Get Down
People are uncomfortable on the ground because they have removed themselves so much from what is natural to us. This inability of natural movement from the floor to standing is causing many to experience chronic pain, bad movement, and the inability to properly rest.
To reverse this, try any of those resting position shared by Anna for short intervals throughout the day. If you experience pain, don’t try to push yourself through but instead adjust so there is no pain and work your way towards that position.
Try this: After exercise, work on resting positions for 4 minutes by switching between exercises every 20-30 seconds.
