You may have heard that people in Japan have the best life expectancies in the world. Not only do they live longer than everyone else, but they tend to stay in good health, even in old age. This means that even their centenarians have pretty impressive mobility and flexibility.
If you want to emulate them, there may be one simple practice that you can learn from the residents of Okinawa (https://www.bluezones.com/2020/07/why-the-okinawan-practice-of-sitting-on-the-floor-is-linked-to-health-mobility-and-longevity-how-you-can-practice-it-at-home/#). Rather than sitting on a chair, try to make a habit of sitting on the floor. It doesn’t sound like much, but you’d be amazed what it can do.
Sitting on the floor means having to regularly stand back up and sit down again. That’s exercise. Every time you do it, you work your muscles, from your core to your back to your legs. If you take up residence on the floor every time you eat or talk to a friend, or even just when you are relaxing, you’re going to be standing up again dozens of times in a single day. That’s a lot of muscle work.
It’s not only the standing up part that can have positive benefits. If you’re sitting properly on the floor, your posture can also improve. Research indicates that your overall musculoskeletal fitness will improve, with benefits to mobility and flexibility as well as strength.
In fact, studies suggest that people who can sit on the floor and then stand up again without needing extra support are more likely to have long lives overall. There is a genetic component to longevity, but even more important is our environment and how we live. Sitting and standing are such small things, but they can have a big impact.
We all know how important exercise is to health, but that doesn’t mean activity should be confined to the odd trip to the gym. The more active you are throughout the day, even if it’s only small activities, the better. By designing your home in such a way that you force yourself to move more, you are giving yourself the best chance to improve not just your longevity, but your quality of life.
Of course, there’s more to living like an Okinawan than sitting on the floor, and this is only one aspect of your overall lifestyle, but it may still be something worth giving a try.
