Deskbound: Standing Up to a Sitting World

The position (literally) we have gotten our body into is being passed down to the next generation, because we have not been instructed on how to move. We keep teaching the next generation our poor habits because we don’t understand how movement and alignment are passed on (psssst… it’s not genetic). The farther we have gotten from nature, the less

Today, however, we grab our lunches to go so that we can sit and eat in isolation at our desks. We’re mostly stationary throughout our workday and during our commute. And then we sit on the couch and binge-watch hours of television. Research over the past few years has validated the notion that chronic sitting is bad for us.

Let us not forget that the collective move of workers to chairs stemmed from the standing injuries created by post-industrial standing-all-day factory work. “Standing” already has its risk of injury on file.

“A much more healthful recipe would be more gentle exercise throughout the day,” said McGill. Running the body through all the movements it can do: squat, lunge, plank, hinge, hang, twist, carry, bend, and more. Raichlen’s study backs up the health of resting in a squatting or kneeling position over lounging in a chair. Or adding carrying into our