Sitting Isn’t Paleo

Sitting.  In the words of Juan Carlos Santana, it really is the root of all evil.

For a combination of reasons, the more we sit, the worse our bodies feel.   Poor posture, decreased caloric expenditure and a strong correlation with a tendency to feel less alert are only a few reasons we might consider doing less of this sedentary ‘activity’.

Here’s another one for you: it’s not Paleo.   And, it’s quite  unnatural.

Let’s compare this unnatural manner of being to another one:  not running.  

Using children as an example, we can look at any young one who’s learned to walk and then run and see their natural movement patterns.   It’s been said that running can be considered controlled falling.   Those who have run as a child and continued doing so have a more fluid gait and are far less likely to have issues than those who stopped running and had to awkwardly re-learn to run at a later stage in life.

Couple that with the wrong footwear, too much too soon, poor running surfaces and compensations resulting from tight or weak muscles stemming from inactivity and you’ve got an absolute recipe for disaster.

Same goes with sitting.

Kids don’t sit.  They squat.   Their quads aren’t too tight to keep them from squatting, nor are their knees aching from being stiff from sitting at a desk all day. Their hip flexors aren’t twanging and their hamstrings aren’t balled up in knots.

You might try squatting and find it’s far from comfortable and, on top of that, it requires muscle activation.

Let this be motivation to get up and get moving.

If you’re stiff, find a qualified massage therapist to help you get back in order.

If you’re injured, seek a physiotherapist to help address what you can proactively do to promote healing.

And use the squat test to see how you’re progressing.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m certainly not suggesting you never sit again; while you’ll often find me squatting on the floor amidst a pile of paperwork that needs to be sorted out or a series of magazine article I need to catch up, I’m not going to be assuming that posture when I’m out for dinner.

You get the idea.

Sit in extreme moderation and get a move on! 

Click here to read the full article- it’s quite relevant to anyone who sits…ever.