Floor Living

Modern humans are unergonomic. Return to the floor to practice proper ergonmics

~ August 24, 2024 ~

Over the past half year, I’ve become more and more interested with spending more time on the floor. The main idea of floor living is that modern human furniture is fundamentally unergonomic leading to chronic health issues, so we should actively seek methods of simpler means of interacting with them.

My journey began when I was cat sitting at my friends apartment earlier this year. Since I was working remotely there and didn’t have my typical desk setup, I opted to sit on the floor and work from their instead. Besides making it easier to pet their cat, sitting on the floor had great benefits for the chronic shoulder tension I had been feeling. On the floor, I immediately gained the freedom to stretch your whole body in ways that you can’t when sitting on a chair or even standing. Your body is free to subconsciously release tension this way.

Since then, I’ve been exploring the concept of floor living in my personal life. In that time, I’ve begun sleeping on the floor (on a yoga mat), eating on the floor, and even using my computer on the floor. I’ve felt noticeably more flexible because of it, and don’t care to return to normal furniture anytime soon.

This simple feeling of being connected with the ground is something that we as humans have lost in the past centuries. As our furniture advanced and our habits (i.e. writing/typing) required more unergonomic positions, we started experience chronic orthopedic issues such as back and neck pain. Returning to the floor can help combat this pain.

Just try it; sit on your own floor, legs-crossed and palms on the floor. Feel the different points of pressure your able to apply through your palms, up your arms and through your shoulders. Realize how stiff we as humans our today due to our missing link to the floor.

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