10 Ways To Maximize Your Active Sitting Experience

10 Ways To Maximize Your Active Sitting Experience
Achieve wellness exploring these creative techniques
Zoe Wilder

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Once people try active sitting, they usually weave it into their daily routine. Even a single active sitting session can enhance one's awareness of good posture and produce noticeable increases in mood and productivity. The goal with active sitting is to make it a regular occurrence, and replace the “bad" habit of sitting statically. For many, transitioning from a lifetime of static sitting to an active routine takes a small amount of practice. It helps to phase in new sitting habits, piece by piece, in a variety of ways, to keep things interesting. Progressing this way encourages a positive experience whereby people tend to adopt healthy active sitting methods as a way of life. Here are 10 wonderful techniques that will help newcomers ease into it. They’re also great for people already accustomed to sitting actively.

Diversify Movements
When you’re first starting out, active sitting doesn’t have to be an all-day, all-the-time type of practice. Use an active sitting product like a Venn Chair or Meditation Cushion for a few minutes each session, switching from traditional seating to active seating at regular intervals throughout the day. You can set reminders to do this; yet many people find they automatically gravitate toward active sitting because it simply feels-good. The idea is to not overdo it. Your body needs time to rebuild sitting muscles that have been dormant from years of sitting statically.

Have Fun
Bounce away on a Venn while listening to music, watching TV, or answering emails. Encourage your friends and coworkers to do the same. Sit actively in groups. Offices around the globe are now offering active seating products at their desks and conference tables. Try eliminating the table itself! Actively sit with your peers and pass a ball or prop around when it’s each person’s turn to speak. Why not try an active seating arrangement at your next dinner party? The subtle movement stimulates people’s mind and can promote great conversation. It’s the ultimate ice-breaker. You’ll find that people can’t help but smile when they’re bouncing around. 

Stretch Your Limbs
A Venn Chair is excellent for stretching. Laying across the chair on your stomach, side or back, encourages a deep yet supported bend, allowing you freedom to breathe and stretch deeply throughout your day. Take a minute to do downward dog then perform a backbend across the Venn Chair. While sitting on the chair, stretch your legs and feet out in front of you as you breathe deeply. Active sitting is a great way of staying productive while loosening your muscles. 

Stand Tall
If you normally sit throughout the day, try a standing desk. Standing is similar to active sitting because it encourages you to move your body and use your muscles regularly. A pneumatic or crank-adjustable desk will allow you to raise and lower desk height, switching from active sitting positions to standing positions while you work. Keeping the body in a state of gentle motion promotes muscle growth and better circulation.

Embrace Meditation
Sitting on a Meditation Cushion while performing normal tasks is a great way to encourage the body into new formations, allowing you to ease in and out of meditative moments as you go about your day. Apps like Insight Timer offer various audio-guided meditations for you to choose from, allowing you to customize your experience even more. Sit, stand, chat, meditate; it’s this varied and interesting movement that promotes wellness and shakes out old cobwebs. 

Mimic The Alphabet
Whether sitting or standing, slowly spell out the alphabet with various parts of your body while working or taking breaks. This is a great way to practice active sitting while simultaneously engaging in some gentle movement. Start by isolating a particular part of your body. Try your foot or your torso and work your way from A to Z, moving the body part in the shape of every letter. Pair different parts of the body together for a more intense session. Move through letters A-Z using different combinations; like one foot and the opposite hand. Shift your body through the alphabet backwards using your head and hips. It’s quite fun!

Make All The Shapes
Don’t just stop at the alphabet. Make geometric shapes like triangles, octagons, circles, hectagons, too. You can pause along the way and reverse motion for extra muscle isolation. If you’re reading a magazine or computer screen, mime the shapes in front of you to keep things interesting. Whenever you read a question mark at the end of a sentence, move through the shape using each foot. If you see a banner ad flash across the screen, spell the ad copy out with your lips or jaw. Once you begin moving habitually dormant parts of your body on a regular basis, you’ll notice the possibilities for sitting actively are endless.

Adjust Your Lighting
In addition to active sitting, full spectrum and color LED lighting can enhance your mood and increase productivity. Properly balanced and colored lighting can improve vision, increase contrast, and boost creativity while decreasing eyestrain and fatigue. It’s a scientific fact, human eyesight functions most effectively in natural sunlight. Full spectrum and color LED lighting products help bring the full range of sun spectrum into your home and workspace. Coupled with active sitting, better lighting can make challenging tasks easier and more exciting to perform. 

Incorporate Aromatherapy
Scents and smells affect human physiology and psychology. The practice of aromatherapy pairs the desired result with the proper scent. Citrus scents, like Lemongrass and Orange Oil, are known to promote mental alertness and increase focus. Citrus can also be very helpful in mitigating anxiety. Scents like Lavender and Sandalwood are known for their pleasing and relaxing effects. Mixtures of aromas like Nag Champa are great for meditation and brainstorming. Frankincense and Myrrh are commonly used to relax and stimulate an open mind. Use aromatherapy oils, candles and incense around your home or office to enhance the benefits of active sitting. 

Concentrate Your Energy
While active sitting moves the body and muscles in various ways, people tend to challenge themselves further throughout the day. If you’re right-handed, try going left for a few intervals during the day. Use the mouse with your less dextrous hand. Type your next three emails one-handed, then switch sides for the next three. As a mental exercise, at the end of the day, make a list of all the ways you used active sitting. See how many you can remember. Encouraging your brain to work in new ways stimulates neural connections and enhances the health of your brain.

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