Well, now I can, but I couldn't. At one point in my life, I couldn't sit on the floor comfortably in any position! Think about that ...I just said sitting on the floor was HARD! I remember from elementary school all the way through junior high during assemblies in the gym and students would sit on the floor - sometimes for a few hours at a time... I always felt tight no matter what position I was in. If I sat cross-legged, my hips and ankles would kill me! My hips were unable to open up and so my ankles would have to twist immensely for me to even try to get to that position! Below you will find pictures of what me sitting on the floor looked like 5 years ago compared to now (note: the before pics are reenacted in my small condo hallway).
If I tried sitting with my feet out in front of me I would be totally hunched over putting a lot of strain on my neck and back!
If I decided to put my hands behind me to create a little support my shoulders and neck would start to hurt from the extreme tension!
No matter the position, I could never really feel my sit bones (ischial tuberosity) on the floor. (see picture below)
The most comfortable position I ever found was sitting on my butt on a portion directly superior to the sit bone with my knees bent and my hips externally rotated and my back very rounded ...much like a sad bear.
At first, I wondered why I couldn’t sit comfortably like my peers. I knew I was bigger than everyone else so maybe there was some fat mass getting in the way of joints moving in their greatest range. Maybe my connective tissue was just more dense than others’ because my limbs were heavy and could produce a lot of force so the connective tissue adapted to be stronger and thicker and less mobile? Whatever the reason was, I knew it didn’t matter and that I wanted to be comfortable on the floor. So what did I do? I started figuring out what was limiting me and working to mobilize and increase joint capacity in those areas. More on this in part 2!
Can you sit on the floor comfortably?
If you're interested in some exercises to help you get more comfortable on the floor and help prepare you to stand up stay tuned for Part 2 which will be up later this week!
Thanks for reading!
Stephen Cornely
www.triadwellnessphilly.com
FB: Triad Wellness Philly
IG: @stephenjcornely
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