Traditions, rituals, and customs of India never cease to fascinate and allure us. No matter we are getting modern, infusing western culture in our lives, there are some common practices in India which are still an inevitable part of Indian people.
Have you ever wondered why Indians refuse to sit on chairs or sofas and prefer to sit on floors? Sitting cross-legged while having food is an old age tradition of India which has its root in Yoga and Ayurveda. Though this practice represents that Indians are very down to earth and respect their motherland, there are some health benefits associated with it which makes this act worth including in our significant life for all the good reasons.
Reasons why sitting on the floor while eating is good for health:
• Helps in the digestion of the food
When we sit on the floor and eat from the plate placed on the floor, we naturally bend forward slightly to take a bite and go back to actual position to swallow. This constant back and forth movement activates the muscles of our abdomen and secretes stomach acids which help in digestion.
• You do Yoga at the same time
When you sit cross-legged on the floor to eat your meal, this position is called sukhasana in yoga. This posture helps your mind to calm down. It also applies pressure to lower spine that facilitates relaxation, our breathing slows down and muscular tension releases which benefit our health.
• Helps in weight loss
You brain calm down and focus on the food you eat. When you sit down to eat, there is a vagus nerve which functions effectively and sends signals from stomach to brain when you are full. This posture helps you to feel full faster preventing overeating which is the main reason for gaining weight.
• Makes you more flexible
Your muscle in the lower back, around the stomach and pelvis stretch, when you sit down on the floor to feed yourself. The regular stretching of muscles makes your body flexible and keeps you fit and healthy.
• Reduces pain and uneasiness
Pain also happens due to bad posture (When we sit, lay carelessly anywhere, in any position). The sukhasana corrects our posture by making our back straight, lengthening our spine, pushing back our shoulders reducing all the pain, and discomfort.
• Helps in improving posture
Good posture is an important aspect to stay healthy. Sitting down while eating on the floor keeps your back straight, lengthen your spine which improves your posture and you all know good posture prevents us from injuries by reducing the chance of excessive strain on certain muscles and joints.
Keep your knee and hips joints fit
By sitting on the floor, the hips open, making our pelvis and legs more flexible. It also strengthens our core muscles, and our ankles also get stretched which leads to flexibility. With flexibility, comes better lubrication which keeps our joints healthy and free from diseases like osteoporosis and arthritis.
• Improves blood circulation
When we sit on a chair to eat, more blood flows to the legs. As they are at a much lower level than the heart, it gets strenuous for the hearth to maintain the flow of the blood but when we sit on the floor, the pressure on our heart decreases as it pumps blood easily to all the organs needed for digestion.