In many Indian households you will find that people sit on the floor and eat their meals. While most of us have embraced the table a...
In
many Indian households you will find that people sit on the floor and
eat their meals. While most of us have embraced the table and chair as a
place to eat, there are those of us who prefer to sit in front of the
TV and/or sit on the bed and eat. While this might be very comfortable,
it might not necessarily be the best thing for your health. Our
ancestors definitely had a plan when they made sure we sit on the floor,
cross legged and ate our food. Here are 10 reasons going back to your
roots is the best for your health.
1.Helps improve your digestion:
When you sit on the floor, you usually sit cross legged or a half crossed leg which are poses that help in digestion (since it is believed that when one sits in this pose in front of food it automatically signals your brain to prepare for digestion). Apart from that when you eat from a plate placed on the floor, you will have to naturally bend forward slightly and go back to your starting position to swallow. This constant back and forth movement causes the muscles of your abdomen to be activated and also leads to increased secretion of stomach acids – making it much easier for you to digest food.
When you sit on the floor, you usually sit cross legged or a half crossed leg which are poses that help in digestion (since it is believed that when one sits in this pose in front of food it automatically signals your brain to prepare for digestion). Apart from that when you eat from a plate placed on the floor, you will have to naturally bend forward slightly and go back to your starting position to swallow. This constant back and forth movement causes the muscles of your abdomen to be activated and also leads to increased secretion of stomach acids – making it much easier for you to digest food.
2.Helps you lose weight:Sitting
on the floor and eating has significant weight loss benefits too. When
you sit in this position, your brain automatically calms down and is
better equipped to focusing on the food you eat. Moreover this position
helps you cognate the amount of food you have eaten and helps you feel
full faster. How does that work? Well, the main reason people overeat is
because they do not know when they are full. This happens because the
vagus nerve (the main nerve that transmits signals from the stomach to
the brain) sends signals to the brain as you eat, telling it if you are
satiated or not. When you sit on the floor this nerve is able to perform
better and transmit signals more efficiently. Also, since this position
makes you eat slower than you would while sitting on a table, it gives
your stomach and brain time to cognate the signals of feeling full,
thereby preventing overeating and bingeing.
3.Makes you more flexible:When
you squat or sit in half, the muscles in your lower back, pelvis,
around your stomach and those of the upper and lower abdomen stretch –
reducing pain and discomfort. This, in turn helps your digestive system
relax and stay in a normal position. Moreover, this position does not
compress your stomach in anyway helping you eat and digest better.
Moreover, the regular stretching of these essential muscles also helps
make you more flexible and healthy.
4.Aids in mindful eating:When
you sit on the floor and eat as a family it aids in mindful eating. Not
only does it help you focus on your food, but it also helps you make
better choices when you eat. Since your mind is calm and your body is
ready to accept nutrition, sitting on the floor is the best way to eat
the right amount and kinds of food. According to leading nutritionist,
Rujuta Diwekar, eating food while concentrating on every aspect of the
food – its smell, taste, texture and how much you are eating is the key
to losing weight – which is what sitting on the floor and eating gives
you.
5.Helps you bond with your family:Usually
the practice of sitting on the floor and eating is a family activity.
This time is great for you to bond. One of the reasons sitting on the
floor is better at helping you bond is because it leads to a calm and
happy mind – helping you listen more intently and peacefully.
6.Improves your posture:Posture
is very important when it comes to staying healthy. Good posture not
only helps prevent injuries but it also reduces the chances of excessive
strain on certain muscles and joints, which can lead to fatigue and
quicker than normal wear and tear. When you sit on the floor your
posture is automatically corrected, making your back straight,
lengthening your spine and pushes back your shoulders – beating all the
common aches and pains that come with bad posture.
7.Can make you live longer:Sounds
a bit unbelievable right? Well, it’s true, sitting on the floor and
eating can actually help you live longer. A study published in the
Journal European Journal of Preventive Cardiology found that people who
sat on the floor in padmasana and were able to get up without any
support were more likely to live longer. This is because being able to
get up from that position takes a considerable amount of flexibility and
lower body strength. The study found that those who were not able to
get up without support were at the risk of being 6.5 times more likely
to die in the next six years.
8.Lubricates and keeps your knees and hip joint healthy:According
to PS Venkateshwara, author of the book Yoga for Healing, padmasana and
sukhasana is one pose that has health benefits for your entire body.
Not only does it help your digestive system function better, but it also
helps keep your joints supple, flexible and less prone to injuries and
degenerative diseases like arthritis and osteoporosis. That is because
the constant bending of the knees, ankles and hip joint helps keep them
flexible and free of diseases. And with flexibility comes better
lubrication between the joints making it much easier to sit on the
floor.
9.Relaxes the mind and calms the nerves:The cross legged way one sits on the floor while
eating has a number of benefits, and one of its most significant ones is
that it calms the mind and relaxes frazzled nerves. A very handy tool,
it is believed that eating with a calm mind helps better
digestion and in some cases has even helped people relish food better.
10..Strengthens the heart by improving circulation:Have
you ever noticed that when you eat, you tend to feel warmer and in some
cases even sweat? Well, that is because when we eat our stomach needs
all the energy it can use to digest food. One of digestion’s most
important element is a sound blood circulation. To keep up with this
process, your heart tends to work overtime to help out your digestive
system. Here is where sitting on the floor and eating can help you out.
When you sit on the floor your heart gets the benefits of circulation as
the blood is easily pumped through the heart to all the organs needed
for digestion. This is in contrast to the pattern of circulation when
you sit on a dining table and chair, wherein the blood flows to the legs
as they are lower than the heart. Therefore sitting on the floor and
eating, affords you a healthy heart with strong muscles to help it cope
with the pressures of daily life.