Member-only story
12 Reasons Why Sitting (in a Chair) is Bad for You
And what to do about it
There are three things I’ve hardly seen in my travels to Japan: Chairs, walking sticks, and wheelchairs.
There is a reason why.
Japan has the oldest population in the world, life expectancy is 84. Not only they live longer, they live better.
They keep physically and mentally active until the end and they engage in all sorts of voluntary activities and that requires fitness.
On my first visit to this amazing country I noticed many peculiarities about their culture. Most restaurants, hotels, or homes can do without one the most common pieces of furniture: the chair.
Park benches are also rarely seen, people prefer to do the Asian squat when they have a break, even the very elderly.
First I went there, I was in my late 20’s and quite fit, however, I could not keep up with the constant sitting on the floor, squatting and trying to maintain a good posture throughout. Some elderly gentlemen even make fun of me for my stiffness (I’ve never been very flexible)
