The Intelligent Body® Movement Program- Sitting And Standing With Comfort

In this lesson, Sitting And Standing With Comfort, you'll perform a series of exercises in a chair designed to increase your ability to sit comfortably in a variety of ways while learning to move lightly in a chair.

You will then move from sitting to standing with the same quality of lightness.

• Before you begin this or any other Movement lesson, make sure to find a quiet, comfortable piece of the floor, preferably a part with some cushion carpeting. Choose an area covered with a carpet or a mat large enough for you to lie down and stretch out your arms and legs in all directions without being constrained by furniture or any objects. 

• Wear the most comfortable clothing you have, making sure not to have on shoes, belts, heavy jewelry, or any constrictive clothes whatever. 

• This lesson and most of the lessons I've designed for you are about 45 minutes long. This is an ideal length of time for the maximum benefit for most people, and I recommend you do one whole lesson at a time. However, if you find it uncomfortable to complete the lesson, either because of physical discomfort or an inability to concentrate for the whole time, please feel free to stop and continue later in the day or even the next day. 

• There are several obvious pauses throughout each lesson where you could stop if need be. If you must separate a lesson into two parts, make sure you complete at least half a lesson so the benefits are clear. Don't wait for more than one day between sessions. That way, the experience of both halves can be more easily integrated. 

• When you have time to return to a lesson after a break, I suggest you lie down and try to recall as much of the lesson as you can before you continue. One way of doing this is to imagine what you have done to the best of your ability and then try to repeat any of the movements that you remember. Some people find rewinding one section of movements and replaying it helps better integrate the second part of the lesson into the whole. But do remember, each lesson is designed as an integrated experience and, therefore, should be performed from start to finish in one session if at all possible.

• Do not feel compelled to do every movement in each lesson. If I'm giving an instruction and you feel some old injury hurt or something is simply impossible for· you, rest on your back. Imagine the rest of the sequence that you're finding difficult. Then when you've rested sufficiently, return to finish the lesson. Do not feel compelled to go on in pain or fatigue.

• Tired muscles are incapable of learning something new. We're not interested in exercising old habits here, but we are interested in developing a better, more effective way of functioning with a more intelligent body.