Warning – sitting here could damage your health!  Or – The Perils of Christmas.  During the holiday season, people often sit much more than usual, and particularly they sit on the sofa.  I was reminded of the perils of this when a new pupil related how his neck was worse after the weekend when he had spent a lot of time on the sofa.  He sits at work, but has improved his work station and chair and with the help of his Alexander lessons has a good position.

We all want to relax on the sofa, but a good design should allow us to relax supported in a good posture.  Unfortunately, the average model does not do this – too deep for the average thigh, too low, too soft, too raked back.  Some furniture is so bad that if you suffer from back or neck pain, it will cause discomfort even with the best posture in the world.

We can’t dash out and replace most of the seat furniture in our house, although this might make a big difference to our spinal health.  Try improving the sofa with throw pillows at the back, and maybe a board under the seat cushions.  What someone called ‘guerrilla ergonomics.’

And don’t sit there [no matter how well] too long.  Go out for a walk.  Exercise is good for us, but even better if we exercise with good Alexander use.