Back to (baby) basics

Are you sitting comfortably? On a chair? On the sofa? Or on the floor? We've all read articles about how unhelpful it is to spend hours in a chair every day so what should we do at home? My own yoga teacher, John Scott, has a really interesting take on improving and maintaining mobility and flexibility where he takes it all back to how babies learn to move, crawl, stand and walk. He was inspired by seeing a toddler in a park years ago as well as by his guru, Shri K Pattabhi Jois, who was still able to get up and down from the floor in his nineties by moving like a baby. How can we incorporate this into our daily lives? Start by sitting on the floor whenever you are watching TV. The first posture in John's baby sequence is baby badddha konasana (where you sit with your feet touching and your knees out wide, as demonstrated by Barnaby on the right). The second is baby virasana which rotates the legs in the opposite direction and takes the feet next to the hips as demonstrated by Tansy on the left. You can pop a cushion under your bottom to make it more comfortable. Sit with a tall spine and engaged core. If you have children you will probably find that they can do these postures without any trouble. They may be able to lie flat on their backs keeping their legs in position or fold completely forward. Be inspired by them and help them not to lose these amazing abilities.