We all know by now that "sitting is the new smoking".
Sitting constitutes physical inactivity and sitting for too long each day or on most days implies having a sedentary lifestyle, whether or not one exercises.
Physical inactivity is linked to more than 3 million preventable deaths every year globally, ranking as the fourth leading cause of death resulting from non-communicable diseases (NCDs). (1)
Research has linked sitting for long periods of time with a number of health concerns. They include obesity and a cluster of conditions — increased blood pressure, high blood sugar, excess body fat around the waist and abnormal cholesterol levels — that make up metabolic syndrome.
But the worst part of prolonged sitting is the blockage that a misaligned spine does to our spinal cord and nerves and its damaging results over time to the organs in our body.
One in four American adults sits for longer than eight hours every day, reports the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Have you ever question what happens if a nerve that's coming out of the lower part of your neck that's controlling the beating of your heart, is pinched or damaged? Untreated, your heart gets sicker! Same thing happens for the rest of your body.
In the medical world, if a scoliosis (significant curvature in the spine) reaches 40 degrees, surgery with two big rods to straighten to spine is recommended. Studies have proven that a bad scoliosis in a person's spine takes 14 years off their life because it damages the nervous system and shuts down the organs that are on the other end.
What if there are two degrees of pressure on the nerve that goes to your heart?
What if there are two degrees of pressure on the nerve going into your wife's reproductive system?
What if there are two degrees of damage to the brainstem of your parent or child?
Would you be concerned?
Just because we don't have symptoms right away, if posture is not addressed, dysfunctions of the compromised organs will occur over time.
If you don't address the alignment of your spine, no diet, supplements or medication will fix it.
The most important part of our body is the brain. Our brain has an enormous healing power, it sends messages down through our spinal cord and across our nerves to every organ, cell and tissue in the body.
Any extended sitting — such as at a desk, behind a wheel or in front of a screen — can be harmful.
For every inch that your head moves forwards in front of your shoulders, you have an extra ten pounds of weight that will be carried on the bottom of your neck on that spinal cord and the nerves. They call this "the posture of looking at your own grave".
An analysis of 13 studies of sitting time and activity levels found that those who sat for more than eight hours a day with no physical activity had a risk of dying similar to the risks of dying posed by obesity and smoking.
If any of the three curves (in your neck - the cervical curve, in your mid-back - the thoracic curve and in your lower back - the lumbar curve) are lost inside of our body, scientific study have proven that it directly correlates to dysfunction and disease in our organs, and herein lies the cause of most diseases we now see. The reason you get disease in one area, or in one organ but not another is due to the damage to the nerve controlling that organ.
Daily posture exercises and caring for your frame is a must in today's technological world.
Assess Your Posture (see a specialist if needed)
Fix Your Sit
Fix Your Sleep
Stretch Your Body
Strengthen Your Postural Muscles
Stay Active
Breathe Mindfully