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Meh. I've been sitting at a computer for the past twenty years or so let's be honest. Yet in just a few months I feel my posture improving since I started psyc
by johndoe489 9y ago
Meh. I've been sitting at a computer for the past twenty years or so let's be honest.
Yet in just a few months I feel my posture improving since I started psychotherapy and somatic experiencing therapy for trauma. Along with that I go to yoga once or twice a week. It's importnat to note here because I see the cogs spinning already... I actually did yoga years ago and did not notice the same effects. Therapy has been key to the changes I've observed in my posture.
My conclusion is a lot of bodily tensions are connected with unresolved emotional charges. This is related to the nervous system at some level.
My point is that posture, and general routine is symptomatic of your general emotional wellbeing.
As with all things in life, moderation is the key. Just doing a 1h30 yoga class once a week will probably offset much of the problems mentioned in the article.
I mean, I've sat at a computer (both for passion and work) for the past twenty years and have NEVER been fat. In fact I was underweight due to anxiety. I put on some weight in the gym in my early thirties which 70% have stayed without doing any regular exercise (which further confirms a health issue symptomatic of emotional / nervous system troubles affecting appetite).
I suspect that improving posture and making an effort to keep a good posture goes a long way also to offset the problems of sitting.
Don't get me wrong.. I can see in yoga class that sitting a lot has made muscles between inner thigh and pelvis very tight, as well as all the front making it diffuclt to stretch in various postures.
The problem here is assuming that N hours spent sitting equal N equivalent "damage". But that's not how our body works. It may be that you only need a good gym or yoga session just once a week to offset much of the problem. Not that it "undoes" the damage; but rather seeps into the rest of the week with more tonus in posture, and more postural awareness.
TLDR: context. Nobody gets fat because of sitting. If weight is really an issue I would suggest to seek therapy or if you feel that is not needed, try yoga or massage. Anything that takes you out of the left hemisphere's imbalance (cf. "The Divided Brain" by Iaian McGilchrist), and nurture more being in direct contact with the body, sensations, breathing.. as well as being more connected with others outside of intellectual activities. Surprisingly a lot of people think that "socializing" means talking. No, to be truly with others around you, is to be able to be there instead of taking refuge in the mind. That means to be at home in your body and how it feels. It's a journey.. it doesn't need to be taken in a couple days ;)
- chrismealy 9y agoWhat kind of therapy?
- johndoe489 9y agoIn general yoga is always great. The quality really depends on the teacher however. I had a teacher of Iyengar style who was somewhat strict in his approach. His heart was in the right place but he was too focused on "correct" posture. After a good yoga course of ~1h30.. your mind should feel quiet. If it isn't then it's not a good course. Over time, you should also become aware of bodily tneisons in various areas. ANd perhaps even become aware of old memories, perhaps even cry. Those are completely normal aspects of yoga when it has a therapeutic potential. It happens as consciousness is more evenly distributed in all parts of the body. It restores the left/right brain hemisphere balance, it takes you out of the map, and more in touch with reality in its raw form.
- carapace 9y ago> My conclusion is a lot of bodily tensions are connected with unresolved emotional charges. This is related to the nervous system at some level. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_Reich#Character_Analysis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_Reich#Character_Analys... > ... Reich proposed a functional identity between the character, emotional blocks, and tension in the body, or what he called character (or muscular/body) armour (Charakterpanzer).
- johndoe489 9y agoYes I am well aware of Reich and Lowen. As I am in therapy for trauma I have concluded after many experiments that bioenergetics is not complete, and in case of trauma is not very helpful. The way to heal trauma is to create a safe environment, and for the individual to gradually also come out of dissociation that comes not only from drugs but also anger... one has to put the shield down so to speak.. to be able to regain the full range of physical and emotional sensitivity and feel alive in this world. With that said, it is one year of self exercises from a bioenergetic book that helped me become aware of the anger I had repressed much of my life. And that was the necessary step to go and reach out for assistance. But once I started therapy the exercises just made things more difficult. I found the same with chinese plants. Some plants clearly have noticable effects on emotional states, such as Bupleurum, Cyperus, ... by helping release constriction in the solar plexus / liver area. However afterm onths of experimenting with them and in the context of trauma, I can only conclude that it made things more difficult. In the end, it is consciousness that heals. So no amount of plants of bioenergetics sexercise can heal trauma. That's because they are still a way of controlling experience, while healing is the opposite direction: to release control, to allow everything to bubble up in awareness. Control comes from the left hemisphere, and is precisely what created the suffering in the first place.