Built to Move: The Sunday Times Bestseller

Lie facedown on the floor atop a roller or larger ball (like a volleyball) placed just below your ribs and pressing on your abdomen, arms in front of you. Inhale through your nose for four seconds and hold your breath for four seconds, while contracting your abdominals. Then exhale for five or more seconds as you relax your trunk. Take a big breath

The idea that the nervous system, breath, and mental perception are all intertwined is actually an idea that has been around for years. The celebrated yogi master B.K.S. Iyengar once said, “Nerves are king of the breath and the breath is the king of the mind.”

When you inhale through your nose, nitric oxide (NO) is released in the nasal cavity. This gas is a vasodilator, meaning it widens the blood vessels, enabling more—18 percent more—oxygen to flow to your cells.

What Your Results Mean The number of seconds you held your breath is your score. Below 10 seconds—Your CO2 tolerance is way below normal; you’ll need to work to catch up. 10–20 seconds—This is a good starting place, but you’ll need to grow your ability to deal with discomfort. 20–30 seconds—Getting close to what is considered normal. 30–40 seconds—

Your ultimate goal here is to work up to sitting on the floor at least thirty cumulative minutes a day, every day.

Functional at the level that allows us to do everything we want and need to do?

“Mobility” is a kind of wonky term that refers to something quite beautiful: the harmonious convergence of all the elements that allow you to move freely and effortlessly through space and life.

when you don’t have a chair back to depend on, you turn on more musculature, build greater stability, and avoid the weakness that can lead to back pain. If you can choose a backless seat, go for it. Don’t, however, make it a big balance ball, which is a popular desk chair replacement these days.

The right-angle seated position is embraced by only a third to a half of people in the world, writes Cranz, a professor in the architecture department at the University of California, Berkeley. People in non-Western countries, she points out, might squat to wait for the bus, kneel to eat, sit cross-legged to write a letter. This may account for why