Alea: Where or how would you like to be more comfortable in your day?
Client: You know, I sit for most of my day at work and by the end my neck and shoulders are usually really bothering me. Sometimes it’s my low-back.
Alea: Alright, do you have an adjustable chair?
Client: Yes
Alea: Do you ever adjust it?
Client: Uhh…..occasionally.
Nearly everyone I speak with who has discomfort after a day sitting at work also has an adjustable chair… but they never adjust it! They took the “set it and forget it approach.” In today’s world however, of personal expression and shoe options our attire affects how we sit in a chair. Do you adjust your chair to fit your shoes?
How many different height heals do you wear, and how often do you wear flats? The general guideline for a professional women’s shoe is a heel that is 3.5 inches or lower; well say you were wearing flats the first time you sat in your adjustable work chair. You sat down, felt you could probably be more comfortable, reached awkwardly under the side of the chair, grabbed the lever, and proceeded to do the little dance of lifting up and sitting down until you found a height that felt good. A couple days later, you decide to mix up your look and wear your 2-inch heals; but did the thought of that little lever cross your mind?
Now try this: sit on the front edge of whatever chair you’re in, feel how comfortable you are and notice your low-back. Then lift your heels off the floor so you are only on the balls of your feet… what happens to your low-back? Does it round? Does it arch? Do you feel certain muscles engage? Did your breathing get a little shallow? If you don’t adjust your chair, those higher shoes can force you to sit in a way that takes the natural arch out of your back! That small change is reflected in your entire spine, including your neck and shoulders, and as a result we all experience different levels of pain and discomfort.
A FINAL THOUGHT
If we don’t adjust our chairs on a daily basis, the shoes we wear can throw our spines into all manners of positions, creating pain and discomfort in the low-back, neck, shoulders, and more. Whether you wear the same shoes everyday or have a different pair for each day of the week, you should check in with the height of your chair each morning. How we is not just a product of our shoes, but also by the way we feel, our level of stress, our level of excitement, what we did the previous day, and how we slept the night before. Your system works hard to carry you throughout your day, so take 15 seconds each morning to make sure your chair adapts to you and not the other way around!
If you find this suggestion to be useful, take advantage of our FREE Phone Consultation and we can discuss what other benefits you might get from Feldenkrais! Go to our Book Online page to pick a time.