This is what I’m talking about.
We sit all day. In the car, at work and home, and for hours at the airport and then onto the plane. We take the brunt of demands, sitting down. We get agitated, crabby and stressed, but do we really do anything about it? Take some action? No.
I, for one, am not going to take this siting down anymore, and I ‘m starting at the airport.
And why not? More and more people exercise at the airport. While you might be the lone spectacle at first, others will soon get brave and follow suit. A call to action takes time. It’s kind of amazing long we ignore the instinct to move around and stretch.
Here is a New York Times article from this week about exercise at the airport and suggestions for seated stretches.
Below are my recommendations when you are hanging around the airport lounge:
1. Modified Arching
This is the antithesis of sitting all day and is very important for spine flexibility.
Lying on your belly. YES. In the airport. Arms are out to the sides and bend your elbows. Palms are flat and all 5 fingers are touch floor. Press Up. Sense the force of the push traveling up your arms, into your back and down your spine. Continue to push your arms down and out into the floor and raise your head and chest off the floor. Keep the back of your neck long. Let your chest feel broad, your neck free, and your spine feel long. The shoulder blades should be drawn together behind you. The arms stay straight. Hold and take deep breaths. If you feel pain in your back, walk your hands out in front of you further, or prop your belly with your jacket. If you feel pain in gluts or legs. Stop.
2. Cat and Cow
On all fours (hands and knees), draw your nose towards the knees, round the spine and drawing the belly in. Next, extend your neck and tailbone up towards the sky, allowing the spine to sink towards the ground. Take deep breaths and move back and forth through these two positions, rounding and arching the back.
3. Roll Downs against the Wall
These feel great and provide a much needed spine stretch. Keep your tailbone fixed to the wall and follow the pictures and images below:
Don’t be shy. It’s for your own mind and body. Join in the movement revolution and I’ll see you at the airport. We can exchange knowing glances as we lay on the airport floor…
The Mind Body Moderate 
