Here’s a blog I wrote for my doctor of physical therapy program at Regis University! It really applies to anyone who sits a lot. Sound familiar? …

Do you find yourself needing PT from being in PT school?

Is this the most you’ve sat still in a long time?

These questions consumed me on my first week of PT school. I could not handle (or believe!) all of the sitting, after being a PT aide at an aquatic center where I spent the past year moving around all day in a pool.

Feeling the ironies of my situation, knowing that a sedentary lifestyle is the reason many patients will come to see me in the future, I decided to make my PT school experience a challenge.

How much could I move in a sedentary environment?

How could I remain physical?

How could I find my own therapy, all day long?

With some help from biomechanist and movement advocate Katy Bowman, I hit the drawing board.

Neck Pain?

i gave my boyfriend this set up after months of neck pain. relief? literally, 100%.

Katy Bowman notoriously says, “Don’t just sit there, but don’t just stand there either.” Stagnancy is the problem— not sitting, not standing. A lack of movement is the root of many health ailments. We sit all day, move intensely for an hour, and expect our tissues to be compliant. Poor tissues.

Movement is linked with increased productivity and just about every health benefit…so as movement experts, why isn’t movement woven into the very fabric of our learning regimen? Why aren’t we innovating every day to find new ways to help those in stagnant jobs improve their situation? Why aren’t we modeling the way?

We have a duty as physical therapists to model the way out of stagnancy and into an embodied society. Can we practice as we preach? Can we create new movement positive environments together?

We can move all day long. I dare you.

Here are my tips to all the students and human beings out there.

In class:

Sit in different ways.
Take your shoes off.
Roll out your ankles.
Stand up and take notes while standing.
Do calf raises. Do calf stretches.
Do squats— mini ones if you’re embarrassed.
Go on a walk or climb some stairs whenever you have a break.
Roll out your wrists. Stretch your wrists against the wall.
Switch how you are sitting again.
Cross your ankles. Uncross your ankles.
Sit in a figure 4 stretch.
Sit on the edge of your seat.
Sit on your feet.
Practice diaphragmatic breathing.

Recovery Pose

yes, you can read on your back.

When studying:

Stand! Make a fun standing desk set up out of your many textbooks.
Make your computer at eye level.
Lay on your belly for a while.
Lay on your back and study for a while.
Lay with your legs up the wall and study for a while.
Lay in a hip flexor stretch and study.
Perform hamstring strengthening exercises while lying on your belly.
Switch the position of your legs often.
Switch the arm you’re leaning on… in fact maybe don’t lean on any arm!
Take movement rewards every 30 minutes.

Tummy pose

fold a pillow under your chest and voila! cobra pose meets computer pose!

(Please note: if you have any recent injuries, conditions, or limitations, consult with your healthcare provider team before attempting these positions, especially for a prolonged period of time)

Help! I Sit A Lot!