opposites

My whole thrust as a Pilates instructor is to help people learn to listen to their bodies. And hopefully to live fully and well inside of them. The idea is to start earlier in life, rather than to wait until things have progressed to pain and people feel they have to undergo drastic measures, surgeries or the like in order to function normally. 

It is hard in our day and age to stay off the computer. We use it for work, school, and recreation. But all of that repetitive use can have some negative consequences. The same principles that we apply to our backs can be applied in this case and throughout the human body.

So what to do when we encounter this dilemma? There is simply no way we will cut back on use of the computer (or tablette), so what are the options? The most obvious thing is to break down the position and analyze what the various joints are doing, then simply, put them in the opposite position. (Note to over achievers: don't overdo the range of motion nor try to beef it up with resistance or what-have-you)

Here is my recipe to nip the problem in the bud...

•  Assess how much time you are in the position. Be honest if you want to be able to benefit from the stretches.
• Know that you would ideally spend equal time in the opposite position, but realistically you can't.
• Aim to take pauses in your computer time to stretch. I like to do it at 20 minute intervals. I also add the stretch in an opportune time, for instance during my afternoon coffee break. Get creative with when you can add a little stretch time.

To me, taking the time to do these stretches is akin to eating kale. I might not always like it, but it is really good for me and once I have my first bite, I realize that it is not so bad after all ;)