Psychological effect of cars and sitting in chairs (not news but I dont' care)

[JurisDoctorOfDoom]

This is really important stuff. I found it from doing a search for "legs stability chakras" as I've been examining my own body and how it relates to the functioning of the chakras. My legs are ginormous compared to my upper body and, as I suspected, this correlates to certain chakras that involve "rootedness". This author makes the point that car culture (and sitting in chairs too) destroys this so to me it is no surprise I'm so resentful of the culture of hypermobility

http://books.google.com/books?id=kE7PnqEduNYC&lpg=PP1&pg=PA15

REad pages 15-24 if this stuff is of interest to you. On 24 she gets into the fascist overtones of the chair. Just its very presence in a room indicates where it is and is not okay to sit. So what is the aggregate psychological effect of this on a culture?

She makes a great point around page 21 in that some of cultural tendencies - like the desire for miracle cures - are rooted in our passivity which is encouraged/conditioned from Day 1 by the omnipresence of chairs. I would include the tendency to fall for get rich quick schemes into this as well.

Yeah, I know this is not breaking news but it's my forum so I don't care. This is really important stuff.

[mtlouie]

This brought back to my mind a book I read years and years ago on cultures who sit in chairs and cultures who sit on the ground.  I don't remember most of it, but I do remember them talking about cultures who sit in chairs having hernias, constipation, and all manner of back and leg issues, etc.

I like this:  "Individuals can be immune to brain-washing memes if, and only if, they are good judges about which memes are beneficial, and which ones fail to contribute to a meaningful life."

For some reason it reminds me of that bible verse, "I see men as trees walking." 

[saltypickles]

" My legs are ginormous compared to my upper body "


Well, you know what they say about big legs.............    Wait, or is that feet?

[Deckard1973]

This is funny, myself and two co-workers were having a conversation the other day about how Asian people who sit in the "squatting frog" on a regular basis (not just a few minutes but for a hour at a stretch while fishing, cooking, eating etc) have less lower GI problems then us Westerners.

Thanx for the read.

Can we use "membot" in reference to politicians, economic experts/pundits (e.g. Kramer, MSNBC??)

[wordnerd]

Thank you for posting that
I have read the pages you recommended - and will go back and reread the entire thing later
Great information!
So far I really like what she has had to say
She says what I believe (and probably many of us on here ) but from a different perspective - one I had never thought of before.
And you know me by now - I LOVE learning  about different perspectives  

[PerfectScotty]

I'm impressed that your researching chakras Matt, let me know if you find a really good way of opening them. Probably staying away from our modern lifestyle would do it.

[ballad]

I am not saying this is not true, but citing one single book as a source for this, is not enough.

Have you seen some of the books out there?

[wordnerd]

 Energy medicine by Donna Eden is a good book
I've been reading about Chakra's for awhile noe - in several different contexts
I'm not an authority or trained - just a reader
Shaman Healer Sage by Alberto Villoldo, Ph.D. - has some Chakra exercises
Even Shirley MacClains book, Going Within - has some good exercises
I know there is another one I really liked - but I can't find it right this moment - I will post it later, when I find it
Another good book about our bodies and energies is
Your Body Speaks Your Mind by Deb Shapiro

I think I need to go back and reread these
I was kind of going in one direction - and then I found Derrick jensen and Latoc - and have taken a detour. Now the 2 roads seem to have merged.
THAT is how life works 

[Chesyre]

another industrial maladay soon to be solved by peak oil.  people won't be able to afford to drive and will be to busy to sit for long in a chair .

[Timactionfigures]

I particularly liked the part about holding a newborn baby with caution...all the effort put forth to ensure the new baby isn't harmed. Mom wheel chaired to the front door of the hospital for the sake of not tripping and dropping the baby. Once there the baby is loaded into the car and sent on it's way barreling down the highway at 60+mph. Yep...the car is MUCH safer than mommy's arms. 

[Colonel Coconut]

At work I find it very helpful if I get up and walk around every 30 minutes or so. I also do Kegel exercises in between.

Sleeping on the ground works for me as well.

These are long recommended to counter the effects of modern sitting.

[memills]

While I'm not a believer in chakras,  I am in the process of converting
my offices with stand up desks.

In addition, I am setting up an treadmill exercise workstation --
so I can walk while I'm using the computer.

For example:

 http://www.treaddesk.com/

But, you can create a setup yourself much more inexpensively:

  http://officewalkers.ning.com/

[sittingstill]

I love it - the article alludes to a point I made in another thread about human evolution - chiefly, that the new agey notion that humans are "evolving" to a higher level of consciousness is silly given that the selective pressures imposed folks living the modern lifestlye made us duller and less observant - pg 21 "modern memes are about speed, efficiency, and becoming more oblivious", comparing this with the selective pressures under which human consciousness evolved - being observant of the natural world with respect to hunting/gathering.   Perfect!!!  

These are the lives we all endure.  I feel somewhat less oblivious already.

[ballad]

For example:

 http://www.treaddesk.com/

But, you can create a setup yourself much more inexpensively:

  http://officewalkers.ning.com/

Dude, that looks so tacky it is unbelievable.

http://officewalkers.ning.com/profiles/blogs/week-5-the-will-i-miss-it-test

Last week marked Week 5 for me and my walking desk! On Thursday, I left to go to Long Beach, CA, for a quick little 5-day vay-cay to visit family. Here are the two concerns that came to mind upon taking off on the airplane: (1) Is being away from my walking desk for 5 days going to cause me to gain back the 4.8 lbs I've lost over the last 4 weeks, and (2) Will I miss my walking desk or will I secretly be happy to get a break?

Sad fat  bitch.

[heathenmom]

I thought it was pretty damn cool.  Then again, I'm a sad, fat bitch too.