National Post columnist and talking head Andrew Coyne wrote a humorous column (last year already?!) about the research showing the health consequences of sitting all day. He ended the column with a call to arms, writing that “we can no longer stand for sitting.”
All joking aside, I’m finding the transition from an active day to a sedentary one rather challenging. I used to spend my days in the park throwing a Frisbee or pushing someone on a swing or playing tag — and running errands, of course. Errands are a staple of daily activity when you have young ‘uns in tow who are enthralled by a walk through the ‘hood.
But now I’m in front of my laptop for the six hours daily that the kids are in school, and it’s amazing how fast the time goes. The EAC invited a chiropractor, Dr. Kimberley Macanuel from Forces of Nature Wellness, to speak to us about strategies — taking breaks, stretching, sitting on an exercise ball — to counteract the negative results from sitting for prolonged periods at our computers, but it’s so easy to log on and then look up hours later and realize you haven’t once altered your zombie workstation position.
Today I said, enough! I got on the bike to go to the dentist and then did some errands, including hauling groceries by hand. I love physical activity, and the reality of sitting all day isn’t as glamorous as I once dreamed it would be when the kids were younger and the opportunity to sit down and read or have a cuppa was rare. Along with developing my brand, attending seminars, marketing myself, studying my trade, and staying current with social media, I guess finding the right balance between sitting and standing is just one more ball to keep in the air.