SITTING

 

Sitting often occupies a large part of our day.  Our sitting patterns can be a place to initiate action and feel support of our torso on the chair underneath us.  This would enhance our vital capacity and comfort.  Our sitting can be place to hold still, slump, seek the support of props (arm rests and lumbar supports, for example), and feel the strain being chased here and there through the torso, neck and head.  Sitting can be very active or passive.  There is a place for both.

 

Here we are exploring a more active form of sitting.

 

Sit on the front of a hard flat surface- a piano bench, stool or dining chair is usually flat.  Place both feet flat on the ground in front of the hip joints, with the shins perpendicular to the ground.  If your chair is an ideal height, the thighs should slope down slightly from the hips to the knees.

 

Get a sense of the four boney landmarks around the floor of your pelvis:  the tailbone, pubic bone, and the two sit bones (ischium).  Feel with your hands if you need to.

 

Now, rock the pelvis forward and back like a see-saw on the sit bones.  You will be flexing and extending at the waist as the pubic bone and tail bone alternately rise and fall.  Let the chest relax but not collapse as the pelvis rocks.  When the tailbone is high and the pubic bone is low, a hollow will form in the small of the back (extension).  When the tailbone is low and the pubic bone high, the chest will be somewhat sunken (flexion).

 

Come to rest at the extreme with the tailbone down and the pubic bone elevated.  Without efforting, take a couple full breaths, observing the amount and quality of breath available.  Notice any strain in the torso, especially the upper back-neck junction.   This is flexion.

 

Now rock to extension with the tailbone elevated and the pubic bone down.  Take a couple more full breaths and observe the amount and quality of breath available.  Notice any strain in the torso, especially the lower back.

 

Seek now a balance between flexion and extension, with the pubic bone slightly down (the weight slightly forward of the sit bones).  Observe the triangle formed by the pubic bone and the sit bones.  Let the weight of the abdominal organs rest and sink through the this triangle into the chair.  As the weight sinks through the front triangle, the effort in the lower back can release, so that gravity, rather than effort, is supporting you here.  Take a full breath and observe the quality and amount of breath available.  You should be able to expand into both the lower back and upper chest.  As you practice, this comfort and support will be easier to find.

 

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