This exercise is super simple and requires no movement. Just 10 minutes a day can improve your posture and relieve stress!

Many people often use "no time" or "no place" as excuses, as if exercise and health are unattainable luxuries. In fact, exercise can be very simple, and you don't even need to move a step!

Today, I would like to recommend to you an exercise that has “zero cost, zero threshold, and can be practiced anytime and anywhere” - standing still.

Image source: Internet

A simple yet effective static exercise

Standing in a posture, literally, means standing like a wooden stake, maintaining one posture without moving.

Don't underestimate this "standing still" action. Standing still is a traditional static exercise that can effectively exercise the body's balance and stability by maintaining a specific standing posture. This exercise helps to strengthen the lower limbs, improve posture, and relieve the discomfort caused by sitting for a long time.

Walking requires coordination of limbs and balance, while standing requires only one action: "Stand still." As long as you can stand, you can practice it, and it saves space compared to walking.

Standing does not require complicated techniques or a special venue, and is very suitable for the following five groups of people:

1. Sedentary office workers : relieve stiff shoulders and neck, and prevent lumbar disc herniation

2. Middle-aged and elderly people: improve balance and prevent osteoporosis

3. Patients with chronic diseases: auxiliary treatment of hypertension, diabetes, and insomnia

4. Pregnant and postpartum women: Improve pelvic floor muscle function (doctor’s guidance required)

5. Students: Improve concentration and relieve test anxiety

Special note: Patients with severe cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, acute joint injuries, and severe osteoporosis need to consult a doctor.

Stand for 10 minutes every day.

What changes will occur in the body?

1

Correct posture and relieve back pain

Modern people sit for a long time and look down at their phones, which makes them prone to hunching their backs and tilting their pelvises forward. When standing in a stance, you are required to "sink your shoulders and elbows, hold your chest and pull your back up", just like a rope pulling up the spine from the top of your head, which is similar to the essence of the popular Pilates exercise.

This posture helps to "activate deep muscle groups" and straighten the spine. Therefore, whether you are an office worker who sits for a long time or a person who wants to correct your posture, you can try standing training.

2

Enhance lower limb strength, strengthen knee stability and prevent falls

The standard posture for standing still: bend your knees slightly, lower your center of gravity, and keep your thigh muscles exerting force.

This static training can strengthen the muscles around the knee joint and improve balance. Wang Jun, associate professor of sports physiology at Beijing Sports University, found through experiments that standing still can strengthen the lower limb muscle groups and improve balance through static contraction.

3

Regulate the nervous system and relieve anxiety

When standing in a posture, you are required to focus on your breathing and relax your mind. This state can allow the brain to enter the "alpha wave" frequency, similar to a meditative state, which helps relieve anxiety and improve emotional stability.

4 Steps to Master the Correct Standing Method

Although standing still may seem simple, if the posture is not correct, it may cause extra burden on the joints and muscles, affecting the training effect. Wrong posture may hurt the knees and waist! Standard movements will achieve twice the result with half the effort.

Image source: Internet

The method of standing is: relax your whole body, stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, bend your knees slightly, relax your shoulders and sink them down, put your center of gravity on the center of your feet, open your hands slightly, and place your arms in front of your chest like hugging a big ball. Please see the following introduction for specific methods.

1

Ready Position

- Stand with your feet parallel and shoulder-width apart

- Slightly bend your knees (do not extend past your toes)

- Imagine there is a "high stool" under your hips and gently "sit" back

2

Adjust your upper body

- Tuck your chin in and lift your head as if it were being pulled up by a rope

- Relax your shoulders and let them sink, with your arms like you are hugging a big ball, your elbows dropping, and your palms facing your body.

- Lightly touch the tip of your tongue to the roof of your mouth and breathe naturally

3

Key Points

- Slightly retract the abdomen and curl the tailbone slightly inward (to avoid sagging waist)

- Keep your weight on the center of your foot and don't let your toes grip the ground

- Maintain a state of "loose but not slack, tight but not rigid"

4

Closing action

- At the end, straighten your knees and rub your hands together to warm your waist

- Walk slowly to relax and avoid sudden stops

When practicing standing, many people encounter the problem of "easy to start, but difficult to stick to it for a long time". In fact, as long as you master some tips, standing can be easily integrated into daily life. For example, you can use a few minutes to stand during work breaks, while waiting for a bus or watching TV, instead of relying entirely on special exercise time.

Beginners' advice: Start with 3 to 5 minutes each time, twice a day. Slight tremors and fever are normal, but knee pain requires immediate stop.

If you want to improve the training effect more efficiently, you can do some simple warm-up exercises before standing, such as stretching the shoulders and neck, deep breathing, etc. This will not only reduce the discomfort of beginners, but also help you get into the state faster. After persisting for a period of time, you will find that standing has become a habit, and even a way to relax your body and mind.

Frequently asked questions about standing

Q: Can standing still be considered exercise?

A: Standing still is a type of "static training". Although it looks static, the muscles of the whole body are actually working.

Q: Why do some people feel more tired after standing in a posture?

A: It may be that the excessive pursuit of "low posture" leads to muscle tension. Remember "less is more", and a 5-degree knee bend is enough for beginners.

Q: Is it better to stand in the morning or in the evening?

A: Standing in the morning can help wake up the body and improve energy and concentration for the day; standing in the evening can help relax the body and mind, relieve stress, and promote sleep. Whether to choose morning or evening can be decided according to personal schedule and needs.

Standing is a low-threshold but highly effective way of exercising, suitable for people who don't like strenuous exercise or have limited time. It doesn't require you to sweat profusely, nor does it require special talents. As long as you give yourself 10 minutes of quiet standing time every day, you can feel the changes in your body.

Note: Due to significant individual differences, the content of this article cannot be used as a substitute for medical advice. If you feel unwell, please be sure to seek professional medical help in time.

Planning and production

Author: Zhao Qian, an expert in rehabilitation medicine and rehabilitation therapist

Reviewer: Ji Gang, deputy chief physician of orthopedics, the First Hospital of Hebei Medical University

Planning丨Wang Mengru

Editor: Wang Mengru

Proofread by Xu Lailinlin