Stop sitting still !

Wiggle, Squirm, Stretch and Reach.

What you are taught to do, what you are paid to do and what you were designed to do, have very little in common.

When you were three years old you ran, bouncing up and down with arms and legs flailing. Movement is joyous to a small child. Around age six you were admonished repeatedly to sit still, stop squirming, sit up straight and behave like a little grownup.

Your parents trained you to be accepted in any social venue, to be the social and professional equal of anyone regardless of class so you learned manners. Being "polite" doesn't encourage stretching, skipping or waving your arms about.

Your company hired you to keep your nose to the grindstone and your butt in the chair for eight hours with only a couple of pee-breaks and a short lunch. Unless you have a job as a telephone lineman, a mail-delivery person or a basketball coach, you don't stray far from your assigned seat. Your supervisor wants his or her department to shine and will replace you in the blink of an eye if you don't march in lock-step to the corporate drum de-dum dum.

Mother Nature, on the other hand, had only one thing in mind . . YOUR SURVIVAL! The basic blueprint for your body and your mind includes fairly constant MOVEMENT.

Mother Nature spent tens of thousands of years designing a human body and mind that either moves or sleeps. You are designed to endure for a very long time and be productive until you cease to exist. In our hunter/gatherer history (which is most of the timeline for our species) every person had to keep up and share in the workload and therefore humans evolved to do just that.

In a thousand years we will perhaps evolve into creatures with reeeeeally skinny fingers that work digital keyboards more easily, large buttocks to pad our vulnerable sciatic nerves when we sit for days and our eyes will be closer together for better screen focus. We probably won't need peripheral vision by then anyway. But as of today, WE ARE NOT DESIGNED TO SIT IN A CHAIR. . . . NOT EVEN AN ERGONOMICALLY CORRECT ONE!

The human blueprint has evolved as the result of tens of thousands of years as hunter/gatherer. You could say that we are stuck in a challenging transition with a beautifully designed hunter's body that hasn't had time to adjust to our life in a corporate "cage." Your body is "making do" and it pays a very high price for this new lifestyle. As if that weren't enough of a burden, we are living almost twice as long as our predecessors. A small mistake (like sitting in a chair) takes a very big toll when you repeat it thousands of times over 80 years!

Since it is unlikely that you will decide to return to your hunter/gatherer or agrarian roots, the challenge becomes: HOW CAN YOU THRIVE IN CIRCUMSTANCES THAT ARE DRAMATICALLY DIFFERENT FROM THE WAY YOU WERE DESIGNED TO FUNCTION? We could explore this dilemma for at least 100 pages but for now let's try to distill the problem down to a few easy suggestions.

Moving big CORE MUSCLES for a couple minutes every hour will move along your blood and lymph fluid effectively even though you are stuck at your desk or airline seat. Relatively tiny muscles are not up to the task (like wiggling toes and circling ankles).

Core muscles are the big THIGH MUSCLES, BUTTOCKS, ABS and DIAPHRAGM (the floor of your lungs). Alternating sides while remaining in your seat, raise one KNEE at a time as if you are marching in place. Each foot will leave the floor a couple inches. Keep your upper body straight and still. Then tighten your BUTTOCKS, alternating sides, as if you are marching with your bottom. Then, as you exhale, draw in your BELLY BUTTON as if it can touch the back of your chair. Relax as you inhale. Then press your SHOULDER BLADES into the chair back. Of course, KEEP YOUR BREATHING SMOOTH AND EVEN DURING ALL EXERCISES! Next, blow out all your stale air and BREATHE in evenly through your nose.

Unfortunately you will do these exercises ONCE after you read them. Then, in spite of good intentions, you will be so engrossed in your work that you will forget in spite of the fact that you feel much better after you do them. Me too. Use your computer, your watch or your iPhone to SET AN ALARM FOR ONCE AN HOUR. The quick and easy exercises are guaranteed to give you more energy, to refresh your mind as well as your body. This is good for you AND your boss.

written by Diane Neuman

information from http://www.selfgrowth.com/

CORE of Support

When your core is strong, you'll feel easier in your poses and more capable in your life.

By Andrea Ferretti

This sequence by Harvey Deutch and Sarana Miller, a student of Ana Forrest, taps into your core, the literal and symbolic center of power. But this isn't a "Get a six-pack in six weeks" deal. Instead of focusing on the rectus abdominus (the six-pack), you'll work the deeper layers of the abdominal area, such as the transversus abdominus.

Switching from the six-pack to the deeper layers takes subtle awareness, so be patient even if you can't access the muscles right away. (When all else fails, try laughing, says Miller, since you use the transversus to laugh or cough.)

It's important to persevere, but don't work to exhaustion or you'll end up using your lower back and hip flexors. Plan on doing just a few repetitions each day, and your body will respond quickly. The result of all your hard work? A stronger core, more ease in your poses, and a more powerful you.

Before you begin

Mula Bandha (Root Lock)
Engaging Mula Bandha, or the perineum, contains your energy and strengthens the pelvic floor. Sitting in Virasana, roll your sitting bones back and engage Ashvini Mudra (the anal sphincter muscles). Bring your pelvis back to neutral. Now try to feel the perineum, the area right in front of the anus. Engage Mula Bandha by lifting the perineum (the action is very similar to Kegels). Do 30 lifts 3 times, breathing naturally.

Finding Your TA
The transversus abdominus (TA) is the deepest of the four layers of abdominal muscles. It runs from your lower ribs to your pubis and acts like a girdle, wrapping around your body. Lie back with your feet on the floor. Place your first two fingers on your frontal hipbones and move them an inch toward your navel. Exhale and engage the TA by drawing your belly back toward the ground. Take5 breaths, keeping it engaged.

Please click on the images below to see them in more detail

1. Happy Baby Pose, variation Lie on your back, engage your TA, and reach your arms up. Lift your legs off the floor, with your knees over your hips and your shins parallel to the floor. Keep your TA drawing in as you move your arms and legs back and forth a few inches, like a baby reaching up to play with a mobile. Continue for 30 seconds and then rest. Repeat 3 to 5 times.

2. Toe Taps With your TA engaged, breathe normally as you slowly tap your right toe to the ground and return to neutral. Do the same with the left foot. Repeat 4 times. A sore lower back or hip flexors means you're relying on them instead of your TA to do the work. Reduce the number of repetitions and try it again tomorrow.

3. Setu Bandha Sarvangasana (Bridge Pose) Bring both feet to the floor. Place a block between your thighs. Reach your tailbone toward your heels and lift your hips into Bridge Pose. This doesn't have to be your highest version of Bridge; focus on keeping the TA engaged. Stay for 3 to 5 breaths. Repeat 2 to 5 times.

4. Dolphin Pose Come onto your hands and knees. Place your elbows under your shoulders and press your palms together firmly. Come into Dolphin, feeling the abdominal area hollow out and the perineum lift. Stay for 5 to 10 breaths.

5. Dolphin Plank Pose Walk your feet back until your body is parallel to the floor. Keep pressing your hands together and hug your inner legs toward the midline. Hold for at least 3 full breaths, using your TA for stability.

6. Salabhasana (Locust Pose) Lie on your belly and bring your arms to your sides, palms facing up. Draw your lower belly toward your spine and lengthen your tailbone toward your heels to engage your TA. Lift your chest off the floor, drawing your heart forward and spreading your collarbones wide. Now lift your legs off the floor. Keep your neck completely relaxed. Stay for 5 breaths.

7. Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward-Facing Dog Pose) Come into Downward Dog. To feel Mula Bandha and the transversus, roll your sitting bones toward the ceiling. Then draw your tailbone toward your heels and hug your thighs as if you're holding a block between them. Exhale, then draw your lower belly toward your spine. Stay for 5 breaths.

8. Low Lunge Step your right foot forward between your hands into a low lunge. Bring your hips over your back knee. Press the top of your back foot into the ground and tuck your tailbone. Place your right hand on a block and reach your left arm up. Bend to the right to create a stretch in the left side of the belly. When you're ready, inhale back to center, then step back to Downward Dog. Repeat on the other side.

9. Adho Mukha Vrksasana preparation (Handstand preparation) Stand in Tadasana with your back to a wall. Place your feet a few inches from the wall and hug a block between your thighs. To feel Mula Bandha, roll your pelvis forward and take your thighs back. Then draw your tailbone toward your heels and squeeze the block. Bring the lower ribs toward your spine as you reach your arms up, palms facing the ceiling. Come onto your tiptoes, using the wall for support.

10. Adho Mukha Vrksasana (Handstand) Now it's time to put it all together-upside down. Place your hands a few inches from the wall. Come into Downward Dog. Inhale as you kick up. Use your core muscles to help you reach your heels higher up the wall. Stay for 5 to 10 breaths, then come into a forward bend.

information from http://www.yogajournal.com/