I'm one of the lucky people that get to deal with back problems more often than I prefer. Couple that with all the sitting that comes with my role as lead pastor and you have an dreadful relationship. Spending money and time attempting to remedy my spinal ailments isn't my favorite pastime. Now that I've made a big investment getting my back in shape I want to keep it there. That demands I have to do something about all the sitting my position requires. I've read much over the past months about the dangers of sitting all day and I've come to learn the danger isn't isolated to just my back. It's dangerous to my overall health. In April 2011, The New York Times published an article titled, "Is Sitting a Lethal Activity?" The author writes:
Sitting, it would seem, is an independent pathology. Being sedentary for nine hours a day at the office is bad for your health whether you go home and watch television afterward or hit the gym. It is bad whether you are morbidly obese or marathon-runner thin. “Excessive sitting,” Dr. Levine says, “is a lethal activity.”
There is nothing I like about the word lethal being attached to any of my daily activities. Hence, I've made some adjustments to my office area at home. Here are some photos of the changes I've made to my desk.
I raised my desk with brick pavers that I purchased at a local home improvement store. In this case it's fortunate that I'm not tall. I only needed to adjust the height by eight inches. Initially, I was fearful that the desk would not be sturdy standing on stacked bricks but that's not the case at all. I've pushed, pulled, and shaken the desk and it's quite stable.
I'm not standing 100% of the time. I use a stool when my legs or feet begin to tire or ache.
I'm unsure how long before I will completely acclimate to these new settings but I'm already seeing and feeling the benefits.
