by Ram
 |
| Getting Married Sitting on the Floor |
As a child growing up in India I remember sitting on the floor for all kinds of activities, including eating, writing, reading and playing several indoor games. Growing up in a family of moderate means, owning several furniture items or a dining table or a cot was considered a luxury, and the pleasure of having these items at home was similar to the pleasure one achieves owning a Benz or Lexus. The dining table and its associated cutlery items were used only when there was a guest at home. On a daily basis we sat on the floor to eat, often off of a banana leaf.
 |
| Eating off of Banana Leaves |
Sitting on the floor and performing all the above mentioned activities required us to lift our backs, arch our spines slightly and fold forward a few inches in order to complete the activity successfully. We could assume any sitting position, including Sukhasana, Siddhasana or Ardha Padmasana (without involving the hand mudras). Full Padmasana posture (Lotus pose) was adopted only when we sat to pray or meditate. My paternal grandfather always extolled the benefits of sitting or squatting on the floor and decried the use of chairs and tables. But peer pressure and being scoffed at by friends for sitting on the floor, often compelled us to use the chairs in the absence of grandfather’s glaring vision.
Now the benefits of sitting on the floor as advocated by my grandfather comes in the form of a published scientific paper that links sitting on the floor to overall health and life span extension. In the December 13, 2012 issue of the journal European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, in the article Ability to sit and rise from the floor as a predictor of all-cause mortality, de Brito, et al strongly suggest that the ability to sit and rise unaided from the floor serves as a predictor of mortality. The Brazilian researchers discovered that subjects who scored poorly on the “SRT score” (sitting-rising score) were at the risk of being 6.5 times more likely to die in the next six years.
The study involved more than 2,000 people ages 51 to 80, who had to sit on the floor and then rise to a standing position using as little support as possible. While the speed with which the subjects sat and stood wasn’t a factor in the scoring system, using a support to rise was a big factor in the scoring system. The more support a person required to rise (for example, placing the hand on the floor or knee or both for support), the lower the score for such action and points were deducted for using support. Rising up with an unsteady gait from a seated position or looking wobbly on the way up or down resulted in deduction of scores. A perfect score of five for each action (sitting and standing) was the goal. The final SRT score varying from 0 to 10 was obtained by adding sitting and rising scores and divided into four categories: 0-3; 3.5-5.5, 6-7.5, and 8-10. More than half the participants with ages from 76 to 80 who scored 0-3 were 6.5 times more likely to die during the course of the study (the study lasted for 6.3 years), compared to people who scored in the higher categories. Thus, during the course of the study 159 of the 2,000 volunteers died, with the majority of the deaths coming from the group that had the most trouble getting up and down. Interestingly, a 1-point increment in the SRT score was related to a 21% reduction in mortality.
The authors believe that muscle wasting and sarcopenia leading to lower limb muscle strength and poor trunk flexibility may influence the ability to sit and rise from the floor. (Baxter has already highlighted this article and mentioned several poses to strengthen the quads, lower back and hamstrings that would help in a smooth sit-rise transition. See From Independence to True Longevity.)
The work and results of the Brazilian researchers were so interesting that the editor of the journal suggested that simple tests like SRT are warranted in general health examinations in order to assess an individual’s mobility, flexibility, functional capabilities, health-related quality of life and outcomes in non-hospitalized aged adults. Meanwhile, I realized that my grandfather, who insisted and inculcated on us the practice of sitting on the floor daily, may just have been a temple priest but he sure possessed unrecognized scientific instincts!
My take home message? Spend more time sitting on the floor! Below are my ten tips for building or maintaining a daily sitting schedule. You can think of adapting one sitting pose and incorporating others gradually, or you can dive into doing most of the activities all the while sitting down. Practice rising up first with a suitable support until you are able to stand up unaided.
- Sit and watch TV or listen to your favorite music
- Sit and make all your phone conversations
- Sit on the floor and do your bills
- Sit on the floor and read your favorite book
- Sit and browse the computer or send SMS
- Sit and do your homework
- Sit and do the yard work
- Sit and play some indoor games (Uno, chess, cards, Monopoly, etc.)
- Sit on the floor and start practicing the art of eating (snacks and meals)
- Sit in the bathtub or shower cubicle and take a shower
 |
| The Groom With His Parents |
Note from Nina: If you haven’t already spent a lot of time sitting on the floor in a crossed-legs position (or any seated position where your legs are externally rotated), it might be best for you to start with shorter time periods on the floor and work up to longer periods, rather than simply changing all your seated activities to the floor. This is to prevent the possibility of injury due to over-stretching your hip and thigh muscles. Also, consider using a cushion or folded blanket under your sitting bones. And if you have hip, knee, or any other problems that prevent you from being comfortable in a crossed-legs position, feel free to experiment with propping or other seated positions that work for your body (or get some advice from your yoga teacher about alternatives). The important thing is for you to be comfortable!
Follow Yoga for Healthy Aging on Facebook ° To order Yoga for Healthy Aging: A Guide to Lifelong Well-Being, go to Amazon, Shambhala, Indie Bound or your local bookstore.
This is really interesting. I recently decided to try the experiment of sitting crosslegged more, starting out on my sofa, as sitting in this position seems to help my achy hip and back. I will see if I can progress to the floor. I am also wondering about squatting more, not comfortable for me, but a common position in many countries (such as Vietnam, where many families still eat squatting on a low large table). Any thoughts on this position, besides needing to be careful of wonky knees?
Dr Ram, Your review about the Sit-Stand article brought back childhood memories as it was very informative. At the same time it reminded me about how we have failed to acknowledge or recognize the regular simple daily practices on which we were raised. In our quest to ape the West and in coming to this country that has provided so many luxuries to this physical body, we have invited only miseries to the mind and body. I have to admit that I can no longer sit on the floor or even use the floor toilet seats that are commonly seen in Indian toilets. This after sitting on the floor (10 years ago) for nearly 5 hours each day for three days to get married to my lovely lady. After reading your article my wife and I have decided to practice at least one of the tips daily. Thanks for this wonderful blog site and for the informative insight.
I read an article about how sitting in chairs for long periods actually causes harm to the body. There are some interesting articles on the website bodyconsciousdesign.com
Thanks for this article. It makes sense & I am converting to the ancient practice. It's obvious that the muscles used to rise & sit on the floor get very weak from years of sitting on the floor. Many people over age 35 can no longer squat down to sit on the floor or rise from the floor without injury or assistance.
I purposefully use no furniture to sit on. I do all my activity from the floor and I even sleep on the floor. I have a low table for putting laptop, etc. on.
The study has several flaws- you name done .. it does not give or take and points for speed. Thus anyone who uses a hand or elbow slightly for short support has points deducted even tho he or she can rise very quickly wiht small support. This ONE test then is used to make many determinations about a persons' overall health! Shameful! I am 66. I use one hand briefly yet due to scoring system I am due to die sooner and have many ailments. I do yoga daily with fast -paced 30 year olds. I look early 50s and have vibrant energy but am not about to get a knee replaced because of many peoples' stupid use of a single test..