Slashdot Mirror
Dealing with Posture Problems?
WebfishUK asks: "Musculo-skeletal problems (such as back pain) affect most computer users sooner or later. Like others I spend many hours sat in front of a computer and wonder what the long-term health implications will be. I recently came across a website for an application called Posture Minder which apparently runs in the background and uses your web-cam to monitor how you are sitting and warn you about bad posture habits. It sounds like a neat idea (prevention being the best cure and all that), although the website doesn't have a download. Do Slashdot readers have other devices or any habits that they have adopted to mitigate the health risks of spending a lot of time in front of a computer?"
Litterally. Isn't that reminder enough?
I dumped my 18-year-old chair (one of the wheels is broken anyway) in favour of a pilates ball.
It's way more fun and forces you to keep your back straight.
And you can bounce on it while waiting for something slow to complete.
Good for sex, too; my gf says it feels like floating.
Ignore this signature. By order.
That's one thing I hate about changing jobs ... it takes a while to "break in" the new employer to the idea that bringing a dog to the office isn't some sort of "radical" thing, but tht it will improve health and productivity.
If I have been feeling back pain, I simply shift to sit on the front half of my chair. It forces me to sit more upright and lesss slouchy. It forces me to stop kicking my feet out at random angles and support some of my weight. It forces me to type with better arm positioning.
(I type this while sitting nearly on my back, knees up, with kid in my lap... so take my advice with a grain of salt.)/p)
[
I've spent twenty years working in the control rooms of various particle accelerator facilities. I earn my money by sitting on my ass, using a keyboard, mouse and trackball and staring at a bank of monitors.
:-) Some of my collegues like to lift.
.max
i find that almost any kind of upper body excercise helps a lot. I live next to a river, so i kayak regularly -- it really helps keep the musculo-skeletal parts all tweaked up. Juggling is good. I imagine climbing, basketball etc help too. Bicycling is almost useless (i ride a lot, it's just not good for upper back problems). Unicycling is way good.
There's only so much posture / workstation ergonomics can do for you. Excercise is the real key.
that they used in the Simpsons. Though you may lose all feeling in the left side of your body....
Monstar L
In all seriousness though, this "Posture Minder" thing is nonsense. I'd be willing to bet it's nothing more then an overpriced motion sensor with a few health tips. My advice? Invest in a post-it note or two (or schedule a periodic alarm) and remember to get up and stretch every once in a while.
I only mod funny =D
Also when sitting at a computer it is more important to get up every once in awhile for me than to conciously try to sit "correctly". When I sit for 3-4 hours without getting up no matter how I sit I am miserable the rest of the day.
An Education is the Font of All Liberty
Don't take that the wrong way - I am a firm believer in the idea that sitting in awkward, unnatural positions can cause some nasty problems, but honeslty I don't think a webcam can collect enough information to make an informed decision about whether or not you are sitting 'safely.'
If you want to prevent damage, take a rest break every 15 minutes or so to stretch out your arms, wrists, and back, don't type on a laptop keyboard, don't rest your hands on your keyboard, and above all, relax and vary your how you sit now and again. Stick a leg up on that desk. Pull the 'Thinker' pose. Lean back absurdly. Sit on your armrest. Perfect that slouch. Exercise may help, from what I've heard.
Not only will you surprise your coworkers, you'll find that you really don't like sitting in the same damned 'good posture' pose all the time. Sometimes, it's just bloody uncomfortable.
Disclaimer: have had RSI symptoms before. Got me a buckler-spring keyboard and an interesting chair to sit in and never looked back.
"Do Slashdot readers have other devices or any habits that they have adopted to mitigate the health risks of spending a lot of time in front of a computer?""
Wear a lightweight lift-belt. It's basically heavy-duty elastic with adjustable velcro on the front, and a reinforced section around the spine.* Helps with weight-issues too. Also get a proper chair with arm-rests and support that goes up to your upper-back. As well as a foot-rest that'll raise your feet enough to keep the circulation going in your legs (I'm not certain about the vibrating ones).
*Yes, it helps with posture.
BTW don't be afraid to ask a doctor about this. Slashdot's cheap. Health problems are expensive. Get it right.
http://sourceforge.net/search/?type_of_search=soft &words=workrave
This is a pretty good program that pops up a reminder at set intervals, telling you to get up and stretch. If I'm not mistaken it provides stretching 'tips' as well. Forewarned that you need to take time to change the default settings once its installed. They are atrocious and you'll end up cursing me out for ever suggesting it if you don't. It'll also minimize full-screen games and what not.
It's not posture-related but I came across another tip. Stick your finger out (I prefer index, but if your having a bad day make your choice) about a foot, focus on your finger for 20 seconds, then look in the area behind your finger for 20 seconds, repeat a couple times -- or until you start to hear people laughing. It's supposed to relieve eye strain. Works for me.
Get a good bed and matress.
Practice Tai Chi in a good school that treats it as a martial art, not gymnastics, such as the ITCCA. (It's a good idea to research the lineage of the teacher before committing.)
"When I first heard Daydream Nation it quite frankly scared the living shit out of me." -- Matthew Stearns
Get yourself an olympic barbell set, a power rack, and flat bench. Lift weights 2-3 times a week. Bench press, chin ups, deadlifts. Slowly and in good form.
A small glass and small plates force you to visit the kitchen more often.
My fav are the short glasses with a thick heavy base. It has a good weight even when empty.
"Give orange me give eat orange me eat orange give me eat orange give me you." -Nim Chimpsky
I work at home, where I spend about half my time hunched over a computer, the rest at a workbench hunched over a sketch pad or over little tiny parts which I'm assembling. Both are bad for posture. The second best investment I made was in a decent adjustable chair for my worktable. I'd always had one at the computer, but for the other work I sat in a kitchen or dining room chair, or a folding chair. No more. That helped a lot with back and shoulder problems.
The very best investment was in an eight-year-old beagle, a recycled and rescued hunting dog. He absolutely requires a long walk and some activity each day. Aside from that, he needs to be let out from time to time, and he has no shyness at all about letting me know--forcing me to get my butt out of the chair to let him out into the yard.
If you can't take your dog along to your workplace (and I never could), you can at least make time for a long walk and a few Frisbee or tennis ball tosses before or after work. You may find that the dog is actually better behaved and more obedient after a walk, and for you it will pay off in terms of relaxation, un-kinking of abused muscle groups, and possibly even better sleep.
I could do all of this without a Beagle, but somehow I could never be bothered. Having the dog turns it into an obligation.
"Here's what's happening. You're starting to drive like your Dad..." - Red Green
Back and neck brace.
You mad
Poor posture is caused by a laziness, lack of mobility, and a lack of strength along your postural chain. You can combat the laziness by using tools to force you to sit up straight - a well inflated, firm exercise ball, forcing yourself to sit at the front of the chair, or a program to remind you to sit up straight. You can even get really simple and simply use a note to remind yourself. As low tech as it sounds on Slashdot, one of my colleagues has a reminder note stuck to the bottom of his screen that says "Remember to sit up straight". Basic, but it helps.
Lack of mobility and lack of strength can't be solved as easily. Lack of mobility is caused by the limited range of motion that most desk workers (i.e. most of us) put ourselves in. We're rarely challenging our body by suscepting it to forces in a number of positions. We tend to just sit on our asses and look at the computer screen. Because of this, some muscles that normally should be longer (more flexible) have become contracted, and some which should normally be shorter (less flexible) have been stretched. A basic example of this is your neck - if you're constantly sitting down and staring straight ahead or slightly down, the muscles on the back of your neck are more accustomed to being stretched constantly than they would be if you spent most of your time standing up. Pretty much, we're not made to sit down and stare at computer screens for long periods of time. All the muscles along our neck, back, spine, butt and legs suffer because of this.
When sitting up straight, you need to activate the muscles in your lower back, shoulders and abdominals. The correct way to sit up straight is to have your stomach forward and strong, the muscles of your lower back engaged, and your upper back and shoulders back slightly to form a arch in your back. This is how our back is supposed to be postured. You've probably seen a similar posture in some kind of musculo-skeletal diagram before. The problem is that most people these days actually lack the strength to sit properly for any period of time! It requires at least a moderate amount of strength in the back and abdominals, and you're not going to get that strength from sitting at a computer or the tv most of the time. You're not going to get it from going for a walk or a run, either. You're only going to get that kind of strength from resistance training. In previous eras, people would get strong by working in the fields, smacking steel with an anvil or carrying heavy things about in their work. Now, because we're such a lethargic society, you need to go out of your way and lift weights in the gym. Putting your body through a range of motion will also increase your dynamic movement range, and therefore help with flexibility as well. If you're not sure what you should be doing, 99% of gyms are able to give you a half-decent program to get started with. It won't be the best, but it will be a million times better than not doing anything, or trying to figure something out when you don't know what you should be doing.
Really, the best way to fix your posture is to:
- Be disciplined about sitting properly
- Go the gym, lift weights and stretch!
Really.Here's a funny story.
I've had bad/lazy posture for most of my life. I'm tall, so slouching is something I'm good at. In addition, I sustained a minor injury in my teen years that aggravated the state of affairs and as a result, most all of my adult life included intermittent back pain (pinched sciatic nerve) along with the usual visits to doctors, chiropracters, massage "therapists" and nights of sleeping on a bare floor. The doctors offered addictive drugs; the chiropracters offered instant relief, weird bone cracking noises, and a dent in my pocket book; the massage therapists mostly just made me feel sore.
A few years back, my sister decided I should attend a Yoga class with her. I thought, "What the hell - why not?" and agreed. She picked me up in her car late one afternoon from a cafe where I'd sat drinking espresso and smoking cigarettes for a few hours with some friends. New sweats and T-shirts were in a bag waiting for me.
We get to the "studio" and walk through the building past various workout rooms where people are using free weights, performing aerobics and you name it, and walk up a circular staircase to a glass-walled room on the top floor. As we turn the corner, I look into the room and see twenty or so people in an identical pose but notice an amazingly attractive woman in her early twenties, at least 8 months pregnant, standing, like everyone else in the room, motionless on one leg with the other leg held vertically straight above her. My second thought was, "I really don't think this is for me." I was expecting a small group of new-age types, but the group was a nice cross-section of what you'd expect in any city. Ordinary guys included.
To make a long story short, I spent the 60 minutes engaged in one of the best workouts of my life! I can say that because I used to use free weights, run, and box, but for the record, I dislike exercising -- free weights satisfy one's vanity, and while other activities can be fun, I'd rather sit at in front of a computer and smoke cigarettes.) At any rate, the Yoga workout, by comparison, was head to toe. I came out sweating, relaxed as a baby, and my posture was normal, probably for the first time in my life. And it was fun.
I took a few more classes, and eventually stopped. After each class, the "effects" lingered for some time so, given that I walked, sat, slept and did everything else better than I ever had, and my sciatic problems magically just disappeared, it was easy to slack off and go back to my usual habits knowing that I could bend down and put my hands flat on the floor whereas in the past, I was never able to touch my toes. With one exception. I could practise my Yoga adequately from home with no fuss.
Yoga, for those unfamilar with it, is, at its essence, just streching. And breathing. Breathing is the most important part. Stretching while holding your breath is an excercise in futility and laughable. Heaving breathing (or heavy exhaling, to be more exact) without stretching *is* relaxing, but won't do much for your body. Combine carefully learned and structured postures and movement with heavy breathing and you get Yoga. It's almost a no-brainer, but the practice dates back further than you want to know, so yes, there is definitely more to it.
My advice? Skip the expensive furniture. Ergonomic chairs are nice, but the best chairs are also best at making you comfortable while in a ridiculous, cramped, or otherwise unhealthy posture. And horribly expensive. Skip the therapists, too, unless you have a real medical condition. You'll get more satifaction by hiring a hooker. Learn some basic stretches (read Yoga postures) and BREATHE. You can practise Yoga in an hour-long class, at home, or by simply taking a few minutes out of a hectic afternoon and doing some basic stretches. I'll guarantee it.
Check out your local phonebook for a Yoga class near you. In my area there's one called Stiff White Guys Yoga. Says it all, doesn't it? If nothing else, you'll find lots of very relaxed babes, all willing to help out a novice, and you'll learn some things you can use for the rest of your life.
I'm surprised nobody has posted on these yet - while a lot of people have mentioned using yoga balls to make you sit up straight, there are also kneeling chairs (where you kneel, rather than sit) which force you to do the same.
...although, there probably is a certain satisfaction in being able to hurl your yoga ball at co-workers.
They take a little getting used to, as more of your weight is on your knees, but are probably more acceptable in an office environment.
Link to an example: here.
I suufferes for years with bad posture and back pain. I went to MANY chiropractors and massage therapists to no avail. It wasn't until I worked in a hospital that a Professor who was walking behind me asked did I have AS. I obviously had the dummy mode look because he signed me up for diagnosis. It turns out I have fusing of my vertebrae. Upshot, chiropractors are not doctors. Now I swim as often as I can get to the pool. I can play with my soon. It's great!
Here are a few things you can do to prevent such back pain. First, take up walking. At least 1 mile a day. This helps because the muscles in your legs attach to your back and help stretch it out. Not sure of the mechanincs, I just know it helps me. Second, get up, off your butt at least 1 time each hour. This will a little. Funky chairs help some, but the real issue is sitting for long periods of time. Third, take up an exercise routine. Focus on your whole back. Yoga actually helps, as there are some yoga postions that are will help take pressure off your back. Search for the 'Z-position yoga', its basically a chair position, only horizontal. Lastly, get an ergonomic setup at work and practice how you sit at your computer chair. Only practice will train you. Yes the program that you mention may help you get into the proper position, but you need to practice it and be conscious about how you are sitting. Hope this helps.
Only 'flamers' flame!
Does slashdot hate my posts?
My advice would be to suspend yourself from the ceiling using an elaborate system of pulleys and wires.
If you're lucky enough to live near a Kieser Training centre then this is best thing for correcting bad posture. I had a debilitating weakening of the back and neck caused by computer stress and nothing, including physio, osteopathy, chiropractic or yoga did anything for me. Then a friend recommended Kieser Training and I improved dramatically such that I can do full days on a computer so long as I keep up the Kieser sessions. The UK National Health service is clueless in the treatment of back and neck problems so I consider the £8 per week spent on Kieser Training to money well spent.
While I've not yet tried one for more than a few hours, I came across an interesting addition to the standard desk - the Egroport Posturepod - http://www.ergoport.com.au/HowThePosturepodWorks.h tml
:)
Combine it with seriously raising your monitor, and a good chair, and it seemed like it worked. It certainly reduced my tendancy to lean forward, thus putting more strain on my wrists and arms.
The other thing i find helps me, is to go indoor climbing twice a week - boulder hard
When I'm not actively working the keyboard, just scrolling and reading something, I make a point of returning my hands to my lap in between page-downs. That one thing has solved most wrist strain problems for me.
Who said he should do plenty of chest exercises?
Anyway, do your:
Deadlifts
Squats
Rows
And add for example cleans, benchpress, legcurls and military press if you want to add more exercises. (Stomach exercises such as crunches or front squats probably helps aswell.)
Sitting in a quite ergonomic posture probably helps to but if you do those exercises I doubt it matters that much how you sit...
Not sure if you have seen an Airdesk (http://airdesks.com/). It helped me in the sense that I can lean back on my chair now and bring the laptop to me. I imagine you can simply keep your keyboard where I keep my laptop. They also have an Airdesk specifically for desktops, but I do not have any experience with that. Hope it helps.
Sit in the lotus position, then telepathically control your keyboard.
Do Slashdot readers have other devices or any habits that they have adopted to mitigate the health risks of spending a lot of time in front of a computer?"
Once every hour I take the elevator down, go outside, and suck down a cigarette or two. None of this chronic back pain or deep vein thrombosis for me, no sir!
I have found there are just two ways to go.
It all comes down to livin' fast or dyin' slow. -REK, Jr.
for providing the useful links.
Get a good standing desk (not a crappy server-room type) and stand the hell up.
Make sure your mouse, keyboard, and screen (especially your mouse/wacom/spaceball/powerglove/whatever) are at an ergonomic level. The first 2-3 weeks are a little painful, but they'll pass. Get a drafting chair with no armrests for when you get tired. They're uncomfortable enough for you not to want to stay in them for longer than you need to.
You'll feel much healthier, be less fatigued and more active. Also helps keep away the acid reflux that comes with bad posture and scoliosis.
Death and danger are my various breads and various butters.
The Alexander Technique teaches how to maintain the correct posture in all circumstances, including while sitting in front of a computer. There's no easy answer: it takes (at least initially) conscious effort to sit properly, and is undeniably hard work. This is the only real way to avoid long-term back problems, by unlearning all the bad habits that have been picked up over a lifetime.
I had back problems. I tried a bunch of different ergonomic stuff which didn't help. I finally went to a (free NSH) pyhsiotherapist. She identified my problems as stemming from a weak set of back muscles (rhomboids) and over-extended ligaments (or tendons--I forget). This gave me upper back and neck problems. Esentially, I was hiunching forward with relaxed back muscles and the ligaments were taking all the load while my back atrophied. This put an unnatural strain on parts of my back (which also explains why stretching didn't help) and essentially left me unable to support my neck/back properly for long periods (which made the posture worse).
The solution is to work those muscles. You can look on the muscle/workout chart at your local gym, or do these exercised: pull down behind the neck, sideways arm raises, shoulder raises and horizontal rowing. You can get through 3 sets of 12 in well under an hour (more like half). Going even once/twice per week was enough to make my back pain clear up in about a month, and it hasn't yet returned.
SJW n. One who posts facts.
One of the simplest things to do is to raise your monitor up to eye height. Then get a chair with armrests, a decent keyboard, and arrange everything so that when your back is against the chair back, you can type comfortably with your arms supported.
I have to take special care of my upper back and neck since a car accident a few years ago.
this one's simple. Car accident induces "trauma" in the body's fascial (connective) tissue. If the body's stored trauma level is low, the new trauma is simply absorbed without any other symptoms. Every body has a carrying capacity for "trauma", and as long as that cup is less than full there are no problems. But as soon as the body's trauma carrying capacity is exceeded, symptoms will result.
The solution is simply to "empty the cup". All the crutches in the world (you mention mattress, pillow, MSM/glucosamine chondrotin, getting up every once in a while) are ineffective so long as the body is "stiffened" from traumas previously incurred. Cranial manipulation is the best method I've found... Either Cranial Osteopathy or Cranio-Sacral Therapy (from a Registered Cranio-Sacral Therapist [RCST]).
See The Nature of Trauma and Osteopathic Treatment Questions. (Both these doctors use an advanced form of cranial manipulation known as the Biodynamic model...)
I've some comments on osteopathy in my comment history, so you might want to subscribe and browse the older ones (surely #'s 24-48 will have at least one, and the first one you find will link to even older comments...) for more on my experience thereof.
Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.
www.teslabox.com
http://www.sit4less.com/index.php
http://anusara.com/
we speak the way we breathe --Fugazi
1) a decent ergonomic chair. I recommend the Herman Miller Aeron chair. I used one at work for 3 years and actually saw an improvment in my overall back health during that time. Drawback - costs $900. But I think it is worth it. That chair saved me from some serious pain during 10 hour days in front of the computer. 2) get up and take a brisk 5-10 minute walk every couple of hours. And do some stretching ( the best stretch I can recommend: lie on your back and pull your knee to your chest (1 leg at a time. THis will stretch your gluts and lower back, keeping you from sitting with your pelvis pushed forward, which causes some serious straing on the back.)
... you are dead. Life is painful, pain is a good thing, it means you are still alive.
I'll never understand all these people who try and fight it. It is futile and silly.
Life is painful, just accept it.
get your lazy ass to the gym on a regular basis and your pains and aches will be gone, problem solved.
Your comment and the parent were interesting to me.
6 08.html_ lab/c e-fit_x.htm?csp=34
:-)
:-) We work at home, so dogs and workstation customizations are more possible here. Could ergonomics be a push for more home offices?
We are setting up workstations with treadmills, inspired by Dr. James A. Levine's work at the Mayo clinic:
http://www.mayoclinic.org/endocrinology-rst/11206
http://mayoresearch.mayo.edu/mayo/research/levine
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2005-06-07-offi
While we had a custom tray made for a treadmill by a generous neighbor a couple days ago, on reading your comment I do now realize it is a bit low and I am hunching to use the keyboard and mouse on it. So a few boxes to prop up the keyboard and mouse pad added just now and it feels better.
As the parent post to yours suggests, having multiple monitors also helps, and I have three in this setup, and it is nice to switch between them for moving around the neck and so on.
Anyway, the treadmill may be nice, but for the week or so that I was standing just with a drafting desk moved to standing height with three LCD monitors, I felt a big improvement. We also had tall chairs for variety, and also a floor rest for alternating resting feet while standing. The more you can keep moving in various ways and vary your body position while working for a long time, the better. The treadmill is mostly geared towards weight loss in my case.
And I am typing this going half a mile an hour on the treadmill, having just walked about a mile during the two hours I have been web surfing (including reading this slashdot article and replying to this).
Well, except for hopping off the treadmill to give a treat to our two dogs.
A 21st century issue: the irony of technologies of abundance in the hands of those still thinking in terms of scarcity.
I spent a year in an unhappy relationship, and the combination of no will to live plus a job known for twisting a brother into knots was not good for me. I've spent the last 1-2 years getting healthy again, and it takes a lot of mental energy more than anything else. Rather, mental energy is the root of the problem/solution, and therefore that's the part of yourself you need to master.
I find that doing yoga is very helpful. Running, though I kind of hate it, is high-impact and so it jars all of the muscles I've allowed to atrophy into code-monkey shape, and it oxygenates your body, allowing you to heal. I just started taking a martial arts class, and I'm pushed insanely hard in it, which is great. If you're not into martial arts, dance.
I think the single biggest factor in mainenance is becoming hyperactive again. I used to always be stretching, correcting my posture, pausing to do pushups and crunches throughout the day, running whenever I had to go anywhere (like, between the door of my job and the car), and overall just acting like an obsessive compulsive lunatic. But then again, I notice that my attachment to computers is unhealthy and somewhat obsessive compulsive, so it makes sense that I require the same amount of fervent fanaticism to counteract the bad stuff from it.
(pseudoscience alert - I do not stand by these statements as a matter of scientific fact, rather a theory governing one's relationship to one's body. Then again, I have felt qi as a real thing, so who knows?)
I notice there's a big energetic component to stuff like arm strain. I notice that I hold onto energy that I am compelled to express through my hands/arms, and then I have nerve pain in my arms. I know it's psychoemotional problems that have me restrict myself in such a way, and it's really hard to get around it. I used to live in Mexico, where people are far more expressive with their hands. Living in the US, I have a tendency to hold my hands to my sides more even in the face of a desire to express something. I notice that I fold in around my heart center, and sometimes my solar plexus, which is the seat of self. Which is fairly accurate when describing my psychological problems.
I really just recommend you be really present in your body, and develop your own science for relating to yourself. Physical exercise helps you maintain that connection, and I highly recommend kinetic, fluid movement such as dance, aerobics, or martial arts to counteract the sitting.
Please stop stalking me, bro.
Get a better ball. *giggle* Go to almost any physical therapy clinic and get your pilates ball there. It will cost you a bit more but they are much better made and more durable than the cheap thing from the grocery store, Target, etc. That it is, if you simply must have the Pilates ball.
My solution - it's really simple and best of all, it's free. It's called getting your fat a$$ up and going for a walk. Get a good chair or ball or what ever makes you happy. Be sure to set your desk up properly. Most companies have someone who can help with the proper ergonomic adjustments. Even with all that there are still times when you just feel cramped. When that happens, get up and go walk around the building. It won't take 10 minutes and you'll feel ever so much better. Then you can go back to work.
2 cents,
QueenB
HDGary secures my bank
Posture Minder? I can't believe anybody would pay for a gimmick that nags them like their mommy (and maybe nuns in grade school if they are Roman Catholic :-) did when they were little kids.
.sig when researching this reply:
,"WOW WHAT A RIDE[!]"
"Sit up straight!"..."Don't slouch!"..."Keep your elbows off the table!" Who needs that crap?
Then again, the kind of sick masochistic fitness freaks who buy into the "No pain, no gain." nonsense are notorious for spending big bucks on fancy home gyms, trendy weight loss products, and the health-food/weight-loss plan/diet of the week... I just think of Eule Gibbons, pitchman for Post Grape Nuts, who died of a heart attack after years of promoting his own wacky notion of a healthy diet.
I don't discount bad posture as being a root cause of many kinds of bone, joint, and muscle pain people experience as they grow older. On the other hand, I know for damn sure that I won't be writing great code if I'm being nagged by a program that doesn't like the way I sit/slouch at the keyboard. I might not be writing great code anyway, but at least I'll be comfortable while getting nothing useful done!
I came across this relevent
Life should not be a journey to the grave with the hope of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather throughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly procaiming
"You're young, you're drunk, you're in bed, you have knives; shit happens." -- Angelina Jolie
It is great! Really helps flexibility and strength if you get a good teacher. Somehow makes you more relaxed in general too (a lot less stressed about Microsoft vs Linux for example). Just being able to sit there and breathe helps a lot for instance calm when Windows crashes for example. Just remembering to look for the positives in life helps a lot if you're working on something that's not so fun at the time.
Yoga as a whole is a complete system for life. Like a decent object orientated design there's the really abstract levels at the top, then slightly more concrete stuff leading to the various implementations. A lovely thing is that it's all friendly. You can mix and match, even if practicing any of the more spiritual styles, and it's fine.
Anyway - some sites I found out about from a yoga event I went to this weekend (and came back from suitably relaxed and feeling generally brighter all round). I also spent some time with a yoga therapist who was great!
http://www.yoga4fellas.co.uk/ - Not maybe for computer geeks, but funny!
http://www.budokon.com/ - Yoga for martial artists - quite serious!
http://druyoga.com/ - Saw this demo-ed. Looks amazing! Yoga dance!
I practice Hatha mostly, Kundalini sometimes, trying all sorts.
1.) Do some sport on a daily basis (Mo - Fr, ~1h)
;-)
;-) loose up your muscles
My experience has shown that something like taiji, hatha/ashtanga yoga or pilates works better than Football, running, tennis, etc.
2.) From time to time do something like feldenkreis or rolfing(!!!!). IMHO better than massage systems like shiatsu because the effect is deeper and lasts longer (nevertheless shiatsu is cool
3.) Rest regularly at work: stand up shake, twist, turn around
4.) Buy VIVO shoes from Terra Plana. This are the most freakin cool shoes on earth, very good to improve your walking and standing. Forget MBT Shoes!
This advices are easy but not easy to follow, but they are worth the effort and money - after some time your pain vanishes, you will be healthier and you will be able to sit longer (non-stop) without pain and discomfort.
It works. Really. Give it a try.