Most of us sit for longer hours than we should. In fact I had a feeling like I was constantly sitting on the chair, in front of my screen. My back hurt, my shoulders felt stiff and my body felt heavier than before. I also felt the dead butt syndrome! Every evening when I would shut my work laptop, I cursed myself for being so vain!
They say sitting is the new smoking. While I stayed away from the evils of tobacco, I couldn't stand myself succumbing to this. That's when I decided to fix the issue to bring ‘back’ balance in my life. It takes 21 days to form a habit and here are the things that I followed for 21 days (without a single day of cheating) and turned it into a lifestyle.
Stand and walk every 30 minutes
First up, I consciously decided to stand and walk every 30 minutes, even if it was for 2 minutes. To ensure I didn't miss it, I put reminders on my phone. There were times when I couldn't walk due to a meeting, then I opted for spot walking, which also helped me greatly in my daily step count!
Involve your family
Furthermore, I asked my whole family to keep telling me to sit upright if they saw me slouching.
Stretch, stretch and stretch
Then before going to bed and on waking up, I ensured I stretched my back muscles with cat cow pose, downward facing dog, cobra pose, child pose, bridge post and last but not the least two-knee spinal twist. I may or may not workout on a given day but I committed myself to doing these stretches before I started my day and before I went to sleep.
Verdict
By day 21, I was sitting better, I was walking better and my back and shoulders felt much better! Do you wish to try the 21-day challenge too?
