Thinking About Furniture…
Furniture is everywhere, in a multitude of styles, materials, colors, but is most of it really even necessary? Is it smart? Healthy? There is the status of having the latest or fashionable furniture all over the house, Another consumer thing. Does Modern Furniture Design promote healthy posture and body? NO, not most of it and not the constant use of it, the dependence on it because it limits how we move.
It is only on rare occasions that many western people move to the ground and up- picnics are about the only exception and more and more people are bringing chairs out to nature, picknics and soccer games too!
There seems to be ideas about ease and comfort, as if moving up and down from the ground is a chore rather than a natural or joyful part of life.
Sitting all day in a chair at a desk causes all kinds of problems. These modern conventions for “comfort “actually cause weak muscles in the back and legs inevitably disrupting alignment, core strength and health.
If we rarely move down to the floor and back up those muscles become weak, the whole sequence of muscular movement, and balance used to sit on the floor are important for our continued physical health. Just consider your hips and the range of motion used to get to the floor and back up again.
Many of our elderly people, here in the west have weak hips and legs and poor balance; this is in part, directly related to how we don’t use our bodies through mid-life. In the west we start limiting the range of motion beginning with 1st grade, we sit for longer and longer periods on chairs and couches.
Two very good solutions for this: Cutting off the legs off the dining room table and sitting on pillows, and putting your mattress on the floor. Doing these two things will assure you are going down and up from the floor 4 or more times a day. Also your ceilings will appear higher (o; and room more spacious!
I always remember seeing elder people when I was in Tunisia; They would move with so much more agility and grace, lowering and raising from the floor with ease, and such great posture. Then returning to America, I noticed people strain to sit on the ground and middle aged and older people avoid it like it is dangerous! What is more dangerous is not doing it and losing that strength and range of motion!
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