{"id":7593,"date":"2021-02-09T15:28:27","date_gmt":"2021-02-09T14:28:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/barefu.com\/home-without-a-couch\/"},"modified":"2021-11-10T11:34:36","modified_gmt":"2021-11-10T10:34:36","slug":"home-without-a-couch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/barefu.com\/en\/home-without-a-couch\/","title":{"rendered":"Home without a couch"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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A place that makes you active …<\/h1> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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The active interior and the change of body positions in everyday life fascinated me already in design lessons. At that time, this topic was mostly related to various positions at work and during learning, because we spend a lot of time with these activities. In the current pandemic situation, many people have stayed at home and they have moved their work or school to the dining table and couch. We should take advantage of this situation that we are at home and no one forces us to remain in a static position!<\/strong><\/p>\n

From my own experience at the almost 6-year “home office” (3 children and non-stop larger or smaller attempts at my own self-realization), I realize that I also perform most of my “work” activities while sitting.<\/p>\n

In this article, I focus on the importance of movement in our daily lives, different body positions at work or during learning, existing approaches in the world with links and, in particular, I share our own experience of life without a couch in living room. In the end, you will find tips on how to start moving in your own apartment. <\/strong>This article is just a small portion of an extensive topic about active home and natural movement in daily activities. If you are interested and want to know more, write us a comment and we can gradually dive into more details together. <\/p> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

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Changing body positions<\/strong><\/h2>\n

First of all, it is important to remember that the basic manifestation of the life of every being is the movement. The intensity and type of movement we perform during the day has an impact on the posture but also on the overall health of a person. It is natural that in positions which limit our ability to move for a long time, we feel uncomfortable and our limbs suffer.<\/p>\n

When looking at children’s play, we can see that a child is constantly moving, getting up, sitting, stepping on toys or crawling into small spaces. Even when really concentrating on something it does not stand still longer than 5 minutes without moving. An exception could be found in the “paralysis” of mobile devices, videos or games, and this is one of the aspects that a parent should consider when providing these activities to their children.<\/p>\n

At school, children come into a conflict with common perception of society about a suitable position for learning. Nevertheless, the need for movement is so strong that rocking on chairs, putting feet up on tables, or other “disturbing activities” are part of every shool course. Fortunately, society is moving forward also in this area, and many educational institutions allow students to take different positions in learning. <\/p>\n

The system of static positions is usually so successful that until we get to work, we are taught to sit and look at the computer, or to spend hours in another position without much movement. After coming home, we are usually so tired that we lie down or sit on the couch to rest. Of course, there is still many types of dynamic work – postmen, cleaners, foresters, cooks … and they should really relax at home with their legs outstretched. <\/p> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

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Various positions<\/strong><\/h2>\n

It would be necessary to write a completely separate article about individual positions, as each position has its pros and cons, and our body behaves differently in them. The information for the following descriptions was partly selected from the book “Comfort in the Microenvironment” by Veronika Kotradyov\u00e1, who described the topic of Somatic Comfort and Variation of Body Positions on 50 pages.<\/p> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n

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Image source: pinterest.com<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

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Standing<\/strong> – has been very popular in recent years, mainly thanks to greater availability of lifting tables. An important aspect in this position is the correct height of the table and monitor, standing on both legs or alternating legs under load or placing one leg on some footrest. For better involvement and exercise of muscles when standing, our balance LOGS<\/a> is a great helper.<\/p>\n

Sit stand – perch<\/strong> – is a position that is not as demanding as standing and is therefore a great relaxing alternative<\/p>\n

Sit astride<\/strong> – just such a saddle seat naturally encourages us to take the correct posture of muscle tone to the letter “S” and not to lean back<\/p>\n

Kneeling<\/strong> – is an alternative to a rectangular seat, while the support of the knees can provide a relief position for the spine<\/p>\n

Sitting on the ground and sitting on heels<\/strong> – these are natural working and relief positions for a person. In the Orient and Asia, such sitting is still a part of life. A simple and quick solution to incorporate these positions into our daily activities is to create a space with carpets or mats, which will create a comfortable place to sit. <\/p>\n

Squat –<\/strong> is a natural position for children, but with increasing age (sitting on a chair for many years) we lose the ability to stay in this position. Squat can induce a feeling of thermal comfort in a person, just as we can produce and especially retain more heat in the embryonic position. During squatting, thanks to the natural curvature and gravity, our spine stretches and relaxes. A suitable aid for re-learning the squat and staying in this position are our barefu balance LOGS<\/a>.<\/p> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n

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Rectangular sitting<\/strong> with and without backrest –<\/strong> according to some theories, leaning causes atrophy of the back muscles, which then cannot work without the support. Therefore, it is too exhausting for most people to sit longer in a chair without a backrest. On a chair with a backrest, the back collapses after a while, while the spine forms the letter “C”. Rectangular sitting has various variants that affect the overall posture.<\/p>\n

Static rectangular sitting –<\/strong> is clearly one of the worst types of sitting and unfortunately it is the most common type of sitting in schools and office environments. It is the discomfort of sitting that can reduce the effectiveness of education.<\/p>\n

Active \/ Dynamic sitting<\/strong> – the possibility to freely change the body positions or the possibility to take other positions within the whole space makes most sense in schools but unfortunately it is allowed mostly only in alternative schools (Montessori, Waldorf, Dalton …). There are many possibilities within dynamic seating – sloping seating, movable seat part, the possibility of rocking, using footrest, various types of backrests, sitting astride … Any active sitting should be replaced with a resting position after some time.<\/p>\n

Relaxing \/ passive seating<\/strong> – ideal are loungers which will provide relaxation in neutral position (it’s like a semi-sitting in a horizontal position)<\/p>\n

Half lying position<\/strong> – it is a leaning on one hand and in this position you can work or read for a short time<\/p>\n

Lying<\/strong> – even within lying, one can take various relief positions – with supported legs, on the side, on the abdomen, with a twisted spine on 4 limbs … <\/p> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

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The most important aspect of all positions is the fact that we should stay in them only for a limited time! Loyalty in the case of body position is not the right approach. We should change the position and live with movement!<\/strong><\/h2> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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Couple links <\/strong><\/h2>\n

Project SPACES<\/strong><\/a> of the world-famous designer Verner Panton was a real paradise for taking various body positions (the picture shows his installation Visiona II from 1970)<\/p>\n

Jader Tolja<\/a><\/strong> is an Italian medical doctor and psychotherapist with interest in “body conscious design”. In his research he focuses on the relationship between body, mind, space and movement.<\/p>\n

Designers:<\/strong> Wolfgang Haipl<\/a>, Peter Opsvik<\/a>, Svein Gusrud <\/a>…<\/strong><\/p>\n

Companies: Furnware<\/a>, Stokke<\/a>, HAG, <\/a>BeYou<\/a>, Neseda<\/a> …<\/strong><\/p>\n

Movement trainers who include movement in daily activities:<\/strong> Petra Fisher<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Slovak experts who deal with this topic:<\/p>\n