Educated Guest: Amy Troy at Chicester Massage and Bodywork (http://chichestermassage.com/) offers these "Tips for Slouchers"
Amy, licensed massage therapist and owner of Chichester Massage, offers chair massage as part of our UNH School of Law Student Wellness Initiative. Muscle tension associated with typing and poor posture while studying can trigger headaches, sleep problems, and repetitive stress injuries, all of which interfere with academic success. Amy offered these suggestions for how to arrange yourself at your desk in an ergonomically correct way. Face it, you spend so much time at your desk (or in the library,study rooms, etc.) you might as well be comfortable. Here are Amy's tips:
Monitor
Place the monitor at a comfortable distance for viewing without causing eye strain, 18-24'' inches from your face.Use a monitor that can tilt and pivot, which will allow you to adjust its position so it can be directly in front of you.Use a document holder next to screen, rather than lying papers flat on table.
Keyboard
To avoid turning your body when using your keyboard and mouse, align them in front of your monitor.
The keyboard should be movable and tilt adjustable. Keep wrists in neutral position so fingers float over keys. Do not plant wrists while working (wrist rests only for resting).
Chair
The chair should be height adjustable allowing your feet to touch flat to the floor. You may need to use a foot rest to provide a right angle at hips and knees
The chair arms should be padded and height adjustable. Adjust seat with upper arms at your side and elbows bent at a right angle. Adequate lumbar support should be built into the chair. If more is required, find a chair large enough to accommodate a lumbar support pillow or cushion.
Telephone
Place a phone within easy reach of the non-dominant hand, leaving the dominant hand free for writing and other tasks. Make use of a phone that has both headset and speaker phone capabilities.
Break Timers
Even if you maintain good posture at the computer it is important to frequently change position and perform 1-2 minutes stretch breaks every hour. You can set a timer on your computer to help you do this regularly.
Fun with Feng Shui
Not getting along with your roommates? I asked Feng Shui consultant and Educated Guest Sandi Powers for a recommendation.
Question: I live with roommates. How can we arrange our common area to keep the apartment harmonious?
Sandi's Answer:
1. Keeping the space uncluttered is very important. Put your items in your room/space. If someone repeatedly needs to move your clothing, books, computer etc., negative energy will start to manifest.
2. In the relationship corner of the room, which is the far right corner as you enter the room, the element is earth and the energy of the elements must be balanced to enhance the earth energy, which is grounding. The feeling you want to create is receptivity, ( give and receive). There are so many variables however to simplify you want pairs of things, items with a square/rectangle shape (tiles or picture frames with photos of all the roommates taken at a happy time).
3. Again there are very few spaces that would fall into a simple Feng Shui solution, the most important part of energy enhancement is INTENTION. When you fix your common space, have the intention of living together harmoniously. Do not forget to use your intuition or gut to know when a space is balanced.
Question: I live with roommates. How can we arrange our common area to keep the apartment harmonious?
Sandi's Answer:
1. Keeping the space uncluttered is very important. Put your items in your room/space. If someone repeatedly needs to move your clothing, books, computer etc., negative energy will start to manifest.
2. In the relationship corner of the room, which is the far right corner as you enter the room, the element is earth and the energy of the elements must be balanced to enhance the earth energy, which is grounding. The feeling you want to create is receptivity, ( give and receive). There are so many variables however to simplify you want pairs of things, items with a square/rectangle shape (tiles or picture frames with photos of all the roommates taken at a happy time).
3. Again there are very few spaces that would fall into a simple Feng Shui solution, the most important part of energy enhancement is INTENTION. When you fix your common space, have the intention of living together harmoniously. Do not forget to use your intuition or gut to know when a space is balanced.
