Nearly everyone comes to a point in their life (early or late and often
during mid-age) where they realize they suffer from one or more chronic
challenges that are the result of injury, illness, stress, emotional distress, and/or
less-than-optimal attitudes, belief systems or habitual behaviors. A preponderance
of evidence shows that siting too much contributes significantly to disease, and is a
cofactor in workplace injury. In a meta-analysis of 47 articles (selected from nearly
21,000 studies related to the topic), Biswas (2015) found that there is a significant
correlation between prolonged sedentary behavior and comorbidity factors for
cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, musculoskeletal disorders, and several other
disabling conditions. There is compelling evidence that sitting less than an hour at a time
and fewer than four hours throughout the work-day significantly decreases associated
comorbidity factors. Additionally, by simply standing and changing posture while
working at a desk, one can increase caloric burn by up to 2Kcal/min through
Non‐Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (Levine, 2004). Biswas (2015) concluded that
additional evidence shows that exercising after work will not significantly reverse the
damage caused by sitting too much throughout the day. But there is good news, the
simple act of standing up and moving around within the workspace for a few minutes
every half-hour to hour can minify many of the harmful effects of sitting (Buckly,
2015).TERM PAPER stuff
Solution: GUM! is a comprehensive set of scientifically proven movements,
meditations and attitudes taken from the best practices in Taoist (ancient
Chinese) Taiji and Qigong tradition, modern physical therapy, Yoga, and other
Eastern and Western methodologies. This solution is delivered through a mostly
fixed set of movements, exercises and meditations (forms) that the student at
first follows along with and ultimately masters. The explanations given while
practicing help students relate the movements to physical, emotional and/or
psychological or emotional challenges they may encounter throughout life.
GUM! involves exercise, meditation, and lifestyle modifications developed to
help people move more, more regularly, and in more beneficial ways. Traditional
Chinese martial arts and healing exercises are the foundation of the program. These
ancient Taoist practice from China helps improve the flow of life force energy (Qi), and
thus offers greater health and longevity to the practitioner. In Western terms, practicing
this gentle repetitive movement helps improve circulation, balance, mobility, and
strength, while reducing stress, fatigue, and stagnation. Qigong activities are a healing
practice that can be traced back over 5,000 years in ancient Chinese culture. In modern
times, studies done in both the East and the West show that multiple categories of
benefits are derived by practicing this art. Some of the categories of benefits studied are:
bone density, cardiopulmonary effects, physical function, balance, fall prevention and
related risk factors, quality of life, self-efficacy, patient reported outcomes, psychological
symptoms, and immune- and inflammation-related responses (Jahnke, et al.,
2010)Buttons for each subordinate pageIntro videoAccording to the U.S. Bureau of
Labor Statistics, people most at risk for sitting too much are in jobs such as software
developers, bus drivers, long-haul truck drivers, accountants, lawyers, engineers, and
EMTs and Paramedics, just to mention a few. The pandemic has thrown many others into
the mix. With distance learning, teachers and students became mostly sedentary as
well.GUM!
