Everyone says that sitting is the new smoking. That prolonged sitting increases the risk of many chronic diseases.

It’s true. Most of us spend most of our time sitting and it’s killing us.  We sit to have breakfast. We sit in cars or buses. We sit on beach chairs and park benches. We sit at restaurants and bars. We sit on the couch to watch TV. We sit at our computers. And while we phone and text.

That’s a lot of sitting!!

Going to the gym or the track once or twice a week will not counteract the effects of the sitting disease. Is there a better answer?

Let’s look  “outside of the box” for another possible solution. The conversation about sitting disease is really talking about sitting elevated. In a chair. On a couch. On a park bench. Prolonged sitting on an elevated surface causes poor posture and shallow breathing. It limits the opportunity to get up and down. It increases the risk of many chronic diseases.

What if we expanded our sitting repertoire to include sitting on the floor or the ground? Ground sitting is a great alternative to chair sitting.

You don’t need to schedule a ground sitting workout. Just start to add ground sitting to your everyday life. Begin by taking one of your existing habits down to the floor. Reading a book, talking on your cell phone, checking your email, waiting in line.

You may struggle, at first, with your new ground sitting practice.  Your body is not used to it. But the benefits are worth the effort. Your mobility, strength, and posture will improve quickly.

Here are 3 ground sitting positions for you.