Sitting Still and For Too Long

In contemporary society, many individuals commute for long hours each day, to find themselves immobile in front of computers in businesses and offices. Then they come home to mostly sit in front of smart phones, smart tvs and tablets.   Even tradies need to complete and email a customer payment or transaction using a laptop.

Unless a person consciously incorporates into his or her daily regimen purposeful walking or other activity, modern life continues to be sedentary. House cleaning, walking the dog, gardening and grocery shopping are outsourced by those who can afford it and say they have no sufficient time to do those chores.  These same individuals may be the ones who sweat it out though at boutique gymnasiums, stop two blocks away from their transport and walk to their destinations and have a fitness trainer for boot camps on weekends.

Money is made by playing the speculative markets in shares, options and property. People can get rich by sitting around instead of actually performing physical activity. Over consumption of food is synchronised with a so called higher standard of living. 

And when people take holidays, perhaps they can walk more but many just sit on beach chairs in resorts. The human body is made for purposeful physical exertion rather than continuing sitting on our bums.

Are we having standing work meetings, social catch ups and dates running through parks? Only the few and the health conscious. Most of us find ourselves sitting in pubs or fancy bars, lounging in hotel set ups and home outdecks or driving the kids around. We prefer to take escalators or elevators instead of using the stairs, even when we are able. 

Entertainment in this so called modern age are littered with over long movies, confined seats watching live performances (unless you are in the mosh pit) and relaxing in home cinemas. We look for seats in public transport and many these days do not give up their seats on buses and trains for more deserving fellow passengers.   have you tested yourself by standing on a moving train for 90 minutes, improving your posture at the same time?

Yet there are those amongst us who undertake hiking pilgrimages, perform ball room moves, charity runs and dawn bike riding exercises. Healthy past times can on the other hand be achieved when sitting down, like meditations, yoga and indulging in meaningful conversations.    The Fit Bits and smart phones can measure your active and sedentary statistics if you allow them to.

The bottom line I reckon is the proportion, regularity and balance between sitting down and not, between moderation and excess and between a natural cycle and forced patterns.