I've been working at stretchsitting for about a week. My work chair is fabric and when seated back, it's just above the lower portion of my shoulder blades. I've found when I try to hitch to a chair, I'm using my upper abdominal muscles to keep me in this postion. I feel like when I relax them, my spine settles back down and is no longer stretched. I also have difficulty reaching around and checking to see if I have a back skin roll.
2 years 1 month ago
12/15/2010 - 7:51am
Hi there,
It could be that your chair back is too high. You want the back of the chair or the cushion attached to your backrest to meet you below the shoulder blades. If you want to stick to this chair, i would suggest using a towel or blanket to meet you lower than where it is currently.
If it takes muscular engagement to hold yourself in place, then it will be difficult to receive the benefits of the stretch. It could be that your back has a lot of tightness and is slightly rounded forward (Kyphosis). If this is the case, then you may want to scoot your bottom a bit forward, so you don't just fall forward and off of the backrest the minute you relax. In this way, you will feel like you are leaning onto the backrest (without leaning back however) and the backrest is fully supporting you in an upright position.
If you cannot reach around to feel the pinch of skin, that is perfectly fine. If you feel a stretch, that could be a good indicator. Or, if you are really curious, ask someone to feel it for you!
I hope this is helpful to you.
Warmly,
Charlene Hannibal
Gokhale Method Teacher, San Francisco and Palo Alto