Friday, April 5, 2013

Crossed Legs? Seated Stretch for Scoliosis

If you're anything like me you probably spend most of your hours at your desk in 1 particular cross legged position. My personal favorite is right leg over left while leaning on to my left armrest. As you can imagine years of being in this exact same position is not doing anything to help my left curving scoliosis.

So I've decided to make a conscious effort to mix things up a bit. Wait for it... Wait for it...

Switch legs and lean in the opposite direction! 


(Photo courtesy this website)

Okay, I'll admit it. This post is probably not the biggest revelation on my blog, but I will say you will feel the effects of changing your position especially if you have been chronically stuck in 1 position for years on end.

To be a bit more precise, my new position is with my left leg over my right knee and with my body leaning to the right side of my chair. After years of leaning left and curving left, it's a challenge to remain leaning to the right. However, shifting my posture into the other direction give me a nice stretch through my right lower back and up through my upper back especially when I maintain the right sided lean.

For an added  stretch when the mood strikes, i will lean forward over my left crossed leg to get a deeper stretch through my lower back, shoulder blade, and even in my right abdominal obliques.

Of course it is best to sit with both feet planted evenly on the ground... but, really, this blog is about reality! I'll try to keep both feet on the ground, but I somehow inevitably end up with crossed legs. :/

This exercise is too easy to not give it a go. Try it and see what you benefits you feel!