Many of us are spending more time at home lately, and this gives us an opportunity to set things up just how we like ’em! Read on for some simple ways to create a home space that encourages movement and alignment like nature intended.
- Install a bar to hang from in a doorway. Hanging changes the alignment of our shoulders for the better and decompresses our spines. We used to climb trees, and now we barely raise our arms above our head. Bring this very human movement back!
- Get on the floor more often – eat a meal sitting cross-legged at the coffee table. Instead of plopping down on the couch, get into a child’s pose or a happy baby pose. Lie down on your back on the floor instead of reflexively plopping down on the couch.
- Design your work space with visuals at various angles and perspectives, preferably close to a window. This will encourage you to use your eyes in ways other than linear focus, which will have a positive effect on your posture and also your mental and emotional well-being.
- Invest in some meditation cushions to create inviting gathering spaces on the floor. Yes, meditate on them, too :).
- Keep floors clean and put some soft rugs around, encouraging bare feet. Spreading your toes beyond the confines of shoes or slippers is so important for your alignment from the ground up.
- Play! With your kids if you have them, yes, but also with your pets and on your own. Play creates new connections in the brain that didn’t exist before. It’s not a distraction, it’s a way of growing! And by incorporating playful movement into activities focusing on cognitive development, you’re actually able to create more meaningful associations with the ideas being presented.
- Keep a basket with your yoga mat, foam roller, and massage balls in a place where you will actually want to get down on the floor. Pull one out while you watch TV, while you listen to a podcast, while the coffee is brewing.
- Get a squatty potty! This is a more natural position for using the toilet.
- Use a pillow that keeps your head in a neutral position, and a body pillow if you’re a side sleeper, to prevent constriction and collapse of your shoulders and hips.
- When you are walking around your house or yard, try to make things interesting. Swing around a corner. Balance on a curb. Carry something heavy. Jump over things. Look up. The little moments make a difference over time.