The more we sit and compute, the more of an adversarial role we tend to take with our chairs. Just recently the Posture Police were called in to resolve the fight pictured above between a beagle and lounge chair.
Earlier this week Businessweek published an interview with Alexander Technique teacher, Teva Bjerken advising on chairs in a SOHO furniture shop. At the end of the article, she idicates after having rated many chairs, that if the person uses their body poorly, they may use any chair poorly. Agreed! A well-designed chair does not guarantee that a person will sit in it well. Nonetheless, a chair designed well for the purposes of working at a computer can encourage less strenuous sitting.
Here are some guidelines to consider when purchasing a desk chair or modifying one that you already have.
1. It's the right size - Make sure that you can adjust the chair so that your feet touch the floor when you are sitting all the way back. A foot rest and or added back support can help if you would prefer to modify a chair you already have.
2. Not too cushy - Whether you'd like cushioning at all is up to you, but either way you should ideally be able to feel the firm surface of the seat of the chair. Sitting on something firm helps to prevent us from sinking down and too much cushioning near the front of the seat can put a lot of pressure on the backs of the thighs.
3. Angle of seat - Make sure that the seat isn't angled back. Instead check that it's flat or even angled slightly forward and down toward your feet. This will help to keep your thighs from tensing up. A foam wedge can do the trick if you'd like to modify a chair that you already have.
4. Back of Chair - For working at a computer, make sure that the back is straight up and that when you lean back, you're butt is all the way back in the corner so that you use the support and don't slump. Save chairs that angle back for lounging.
So, Snoopy, after taking these tips into consideration, have you decided on a chair that will suit your needs?
You manage to sit human-style with very little trouble. No chair required. You look upright and comfortable. Is that a PC or a Mac you are using?
Check out the Businessweek article for more information on choosing a chair.
New and varied technology is being developed so quickly, that these rectangle screens on which we view content, make content, send emails and messages, and place phone calls are generally being referred to as "devices". A nice blanket word for a smartphone, tablet, laptop, or tablet that morphs into a laptop, and vice-versa.
If we thought that we were developing back, neck and shoulder pain sitting at a desk in front of a computer, we now don't even get a rest from our technology-induced postures when we are on the go. The good news is that using a device does not have to be synonymous with strain.
Here are a few things to keep in mind when using your devices:
1. Move down, don't drop down - Typing on a smartphone or tablet usually involves holding it far than your eyes and looking down at it. What causes strain is when you collapse down toward the thing that you are looking at. Resist the urge to push your chin forward and sink down into your chest. Instead of collapsing down, move down. Start by looking at your device by first only moving your eyes, then let your head tilt by moving your brow first, not your chin.
2. Lift your device higher - This may seem obvious, but it is commonly ignored. Move your device closer to your face with your hands so that you don't have to move down as far to see it. Make sure that you don't lift your shoulders or pull your shoulder blades together as you lift.
3. Less "work" doesn't mean less strain - Touch screens and the soft keyboards on laptops hardly require any effort to use . . . hardly any effort for the finger that is touching them, that is. The low impact-typing that is required can actually be more of a strain than a relief. The keys on ergonomic keyboards are designed like the old-school keyboards from the 80s and 90s. You actually have to exert some effort to press the keys down and that effort demands that your arms, back, and even your legs be engaged in a very positive way. When softer pressing is required, it begs very little support from the rest of the body.
You may find it useful to purchase an ergonomic keyboard at your desk, but when you are out and about with your device, give yourself an extra reminder to be aware of your feet on the ground and of your back and neck and head as you touch-screen-type. Also, imagine that the sensation of your finger touching the screen is traveling through your arm all the way to your back.
If you really want to experiment with high-impact typing, then invest in a typewriter! Kidding! (Sort of.)
Last weekend I enjoyed a meal at Gustorganics in the West Village. One of the highlights of the meal was the cup of Chai tea that I ordered. The tea itself was delicious and spicy, but what captured my interested even further was the innovative tea bag and how it gave a lovely example of how the arms and ribcage can work together in harmony.
The arms are easy to forget about when they are hanging by our sides and often become tense and pull up into the shoulders and in turn the upper ribcage or we let the arms hang loosely, which is really no better, as they then drag down on the ribcage. In either case the ribs are not allowed to move freely as they would otherwise and breathing becomes restricted. When lifting the arms, it is common to lift the shoulders necessarily and tighten the upper back, also restricting the ribs and breathing.
Ideally, our arms should be like wings extending like elastic from our backs as if there were a continuous sheet of muscle going from the back, along the back of the arms, all the way to the backs of the hands and the finger tips. The arms can be lively and consciously engaged, but not stiff, even when they are simply resting at our sides.
When we use the arms like wing-like extensions of our backs, the ribs can move more freely and expand more during breathing. The ribs start way up at the collar-bone and most of them wrap around from the spine to the sternum. I mention this as it is a common misconception that the ribs are only in front.
When the arms and ribcage interact in a unified, connected, elastic way, the result is a springy feeling, rather than a tight or heavy feeling.
The handles on the teabag reminded me of the arms expanding out and allowing the springy fabric of the bag to expand like the ribs.
Spatial intent is different from movement. It's not a position. It's not posture, but it determines our posture. Our spatial intent is where we are aiming ourselves and underpins everything we do. Spatial intent is usually unconscious.
I have a background in acting and I often ask my students what their "super-objective" is at any given moment when they are walking along the sidewalk in NYC. In acting, a character's super objective is their most basic fundamental intention that colors all other objectives and actions. When I ask this question, common responses are:
"To get where I'm going."
"To avoid bumping into people."
These examples are objectives, but more fundamentally, a person walking along the street has the intention to stay upright and to breathe. Many of us can take this for granted and let breathing and uprightness become relegated to background noise. We manage and get by. We keep breathing and we don't fall down. Generally, though people stay upright and breathe inefficiently, with much more effort than they need.
Why?
Because even though they are managing to stay standing, sitting, or to maintain whatever position or movement they wish to maintain in the face of gravity provided by planet Earth, they are aiming themselves down. Aiming down, diminishes our naturally ability to be springy, creates strain in the neck, back, shoulders and legs, and makes breathing more effortful.
People often search for solutions to problems such as an aching back, a sore neck, or tight shoulders and they search for the solutions outside of themselves. They try a new exercise, they switch jobs, or they do something relaxing. There is nothing wrong with any of these things, but they likely won't change that the person is chronically aiming themselves down in space.
Look at the cartoon image above. The character is eagerly looking for the right way to go, yet finds himself bewildered. There are many directions to take, but they aren't labeled and the paths they will lead to aren't clear. He's looking for something outside himself to point him in the right direction, but take a look at how he's standing and his body is compressed down and simple act of looking up to read the signs distorts his back.
Perhaps if he understood where he was already going (down) and resolved that issue, he would be able to read the signs and understand where they are pointing.
When people first begin Alexander Technique lessons, they are asked to slow down their movements, do do things more deliberately, and to learn to feel through the guidance of the teacher, where their spatial intent is. They then learn to use their own thinking and internal directing to shift that intention.
Acknowledging a downward intent and reversing it to aim yourself up is a milestone in achieving presence and clarity, feeling more confident, and releasing tension that causes strain-related pain.
Many people these days are unhappy with their posture. Unfortunately, posture is often thought of as a mechanical way that people hold or align themselves, which can be changed by the person holding or aligning themselves in a different way. This reasoning ignores that posture is an effect of how we go about our lives.
Posture is an attitude, a physical manifestation of how we respond to the stimuli that we encounter every day. We respond emotionally, psychologically, and physically. Posture is how our attitude looks from the outside and reflects how we feel on the inside.
The environments that we spend time in on a daily basis affect how we feel and in turn affect our posture. A few years ago, I read an article in the New York Times about a house that had been built on Long Island by an architect couple that is intended to help maintain health and feeling young.
I recommend reading the whole article, but as you are reading this blog, take a look at the headline photo and you'll get an idea as to what is meant by "tentative": uneven, sloping, bumpy floor, odd angles, and distortion of perception.http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/03/garden/03destiny.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
The architects' intention in creating this home was to create an environment that the inhabitants have a tentative relationship with. If you are reading this from a comfy couch in your living room, you may find this concept absurd. Why would anyone want to live in a home that is more like a fun-house than a house?
I encourage you to read the article to learn more, but I will give you my perspective on this phenomenon as an Alexander Technique instructor with insights on posture.
As civilization has developed, in many ways humans have become more and more "comfortable" and life has become more and more predictable. Our daily lives are likely to involve walking on many flat surfaces, hours of sitting, and navigating through environments that change infrequently. We've invented things like traffic lights, that are useful and promote safety, but keep us less on our toes about crossing the street. We stare at computers and make repetitive movements, tuning out our surroundings. People send emails while walking on the sidewalk, relatively confident that they won't trip over a tree branch. We zone out and we get lost in thought or listen to music on our drive or walk home. The path is well-worn and we don't expect to encounter any lions.
Sometimes our tuning out of the present moment gets us into trouble, but most of the time we get away with it. We get away with it for the moment, but we loose receptivity to what is around us and something slowly happens to our bodies. We physically pull into ourselves and sink down because we lack the energy that comes with alertness. Then when we need to suddenly focus, we overreact and launch into action with too much effort. All of this compression and tension puts a lot of strain on the body and results in what we call "poor posture", which can negatively affect health and make us look older.
Alexander Technique lessons can help people reactive the balance that they've lost in their own bodies and help them to stay alert, focused and present without strain.
Even if you've never had an Alexander Technique lesson, something can be learned from simply putting yourself in a new situation. Take a different route home. Make an effort to tune into what you are hearing around you as you type on your computer. Go for a hike and notice how navigating rocks, branches, and uneven ground engages your mind and body in a way that the treadmill at the gym doesn't. You may even experiment with rearranging your furniture at home once in awhile or if you are brave, purposely create obstacles to navigate. If you have children, leave the toys out on the floor once in awhile and walk through them without stepping on them. Use your creativity and challenge yourself. You may stand up straighter, breath more easily, feel happier, and look and feel younger!
Share your experiments in the comments below!
Would you live in a house like in the New York Times article? Make sure to read it: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/03/garden/03destiny.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0#
If you live in New York or any other large city, you likely find yourself in close quarters with many other people on a regular basis, such as on the subway during rush hour, in an elevator around lunchtime, or walking shoulder-to-shoulder along the street.
How do you define your space? Do you practically tie yourself into a knot on the train as to avoid contact with another human or do you boldly make elbow room for yourself? Do you smile sweetly at the person in the neighboring seat who has just fallen asleep on your shoulder or do you nudge them awake?
Our sense of how much space that we'd like to ourselves varies from person to person and culture to culture. Were those tourists who asked you for directions the other day standing uncomfortably close to you, oblivious to your discomfort?
Moving along from rush-hour commutes and other crowded situations, you might also notice how much space you prefer to place between yourself and other person with whom you are sharing a conversation. If you tie yourself in knots on the subway, you are likely pulling back in some way from everyday conversations.
Start to pay attention to how you use your body in different social settings. Start with the more extreme ones that involve crowds and then begin to notice your more subtle habits related to the space between you and others. Do you pull away? Do you spread yourself out? Somewhere inbetween?
If you tend to pull away from the folks on the train, watch what happens to your face during a face-to-face conversation. You may find that you tighten your face, which may come across as reserved or guarded. If you are tightening your face, then you are likely tightening your neck and the front of your chest. Your breathing may become shallow and your voice tight. If you find yourself engaging in habits like these, see if you can allow your face, eyes, chest, and the front and back of your neck to soften. Don't let yourself sink down or loose your awareness of your feet on the floor in the process.
If you tend to strain toward other people you also can benefit from letting your eyes soften. Allow the other person to be in your field of vision without straining toward them. Become more aware of your back. A simple way of beginning to increase your back-awareness is to tune in to sounds that you hear behind you.
Noticing and adjusting your habits relating to how you hold your body when you are around other people can help you release tension and compression, and improve your breathing, and posture. You may also become more confident in social situations and find that people find you more open, engaged, and present. With less restriction in your breathing, your voice can be richer and more resonant. Alexander Technique lessons can further bring your awareness to your habits and help you to change them!
Please leave a comment below if you have made note of the physical habits that you have developed to define your personal space.
Happy New Year! In my last post, I talked about the challenge of being and feeling more integrated in your body, being able to sense your body as whole and unified as opposed to separate parts that are vaguely linked.
Today's post will walk you through a practical experiment that can help you to feel more connected throughout your body. Changing how the parts of your body work together is just as mental as it is physical. We use our proprioceptive sense to feel our position in space and the position of our parts relative to one another. If you close your eyes, can you can likely touch your nose with your index finger or sense your position in space when walking through a dark room. That's your proprioception at work as messages from nerves in your muscles are sent to your brain to tell you where you are. We use our proprioception all the time, but it usually goes on auto-pilot and stays in the background of our awareness unless something goes wrong (like you trip, for example.) We can turn up the volume on our proprioception just by paying attention. It may seem like it requires a lot of concentration at first, but with practice and Alexander Technique lessons, it can become second-nature.
Try this: Bring your attention to your right hand. Do you suddenly sense your right hand more clearly? I suspect that the answer is yes. Now that we've established that you can turn your proprioceptive sense off of autopilot by bringing your awareness to a particular area of your body, go ahead and do the following experiment:
1-Stand with your arms stretched out to the sides and imagine that you are a star. (Avoid lifting your shoulders, but don't press them down or back either.) Your head is the top point of the star, your arms the two side points, and your legs the two bottom points. Your torso is the center of the star. The goal here is to allow all of the points to expand away from the center. Most people pull the points of their star into their center, which often results in back pain and shallow breathing.
2- Bring your attention first to the center of your back and then, like playing connect the dots, draw a mental line from the center of your back along the backs of your arms to your elbows, to your wrists and out to your fingers.
3- Bring your attention to the middle of your upper back and mentally connect the dots from your back up your neck to the joint where your head meets your neck (feel where that is with your hand - it may be higher than you think) and then to the top of your head.
4-Draw two more mental lines from your lower back down along the backs of your legs to your knees, to your ankles, to your heels.
5-Now put your arms down at your sides and repeat the three steps. You can still imagine that you are a star, but now the side points are folded.
Make sure that you are just thinking about drawing the lines by bringing your attention to each area of your body. Do not use muscular effort. Don't hold your breath. If you start to feel stiff and your breathing becomes shallow, stop and restart. Make sure that you are really only thinking the directions. If you are confused, bring your attention back to your right hand and notice how just bringing attention there increases sensation and apply that to the star directions.
Speaking of directions, what you are experimenting with is what F.M. Alexander called directing. The word in this context has the double meaning of giving yourself mental directions and for the directions to go in a particular direction - from the center of the body out away from the spine.
The aim of this "connect the dots" exploration is to encourage the body to be more open and integrated, to simultaneously encourage the head/neck and limbs to release habitual tensions and pulls and to encourage them to integrate and work together.
During Alexander Technique lessons, students learn how to clearly sense and direct their bodies so that they can sit, stand, walk, and do everything that they do in a more fluid, integrated way. Benefits are a sense of feeling both calm and energized, freer breathing, and reduced pain related to strain. People also often feel more confident and engaged with the world.
If you did the exploration above, I encourage you to share how it went in the comments below!
