Post number 4 from Mz. Woo’s Guide to Life was originally posted June 19, 2011, and is the last post I made to the blog. It will be ruthlessly deleted, although it may be floating around in an internet cache somewhere, as one of my readers has discovered. If I have more posts to make under Mz. Woo’s Guide to Life, I will make them here, rather than attempt to keep up with a second blog.
— Mz. Woo Wiggles —
Mz. Woo has a bad habit. She cannot sit still. When she was younger, she continually jiggled her leg in a maddening metronome manner that seemed to bother viewers but that was completely unconscious to herself. It was the sort of thing that made adults say, “Stop wiggling!”
But, Mz. Woo cannot stop wiggling. While she no longer engages as often in the leg swinging, she does continually shift position, rub her neck and face and stretch her back. She even gets up and walks away from the computer when she is stuck in her writing, but only for a moment, long enough to get a drink of water or blow her nose. Then, she is back at it.
Recently, Mz. Woo has become aware of studies that have been done on how too much sitting shortens human lifespans. While this is horrible news for those who enjoy lots of sitting, it is great news for Mz. Woo because it validates all the wiggling she has done in her life.
(Just now, Mz. Woo got up to use the bathroom, not because she really had to, but because her brain signaled to her body that it was time to move … even though she was tapping her feet while writing the first half of this blog post and continues to do so now that she’s back. Writing this post seems to be making her more wiggly than usual.)
Even though Mz. Woo has only recently read of these studies on sitting too long, there have been many articles on the subject in the popular press for over a year. Here are some of them:
[The New York Times] Behavior: Too Much Sitting Shortens Lives, Study Suggests
[The New York Times - Opinionator] Stand Up While You Read This!
[Shine from Yahoo!] Beware: Sitting too much may shorten your life
[American Public Media - Marketplace] Sitting at work bad for your health?
[Mashable] Are You Sitting Down? Why a Stand-Up Desk Might Save Your Life
[Mashable] Just How Dangerous Is Sitting All Day? - A particularly smart Infographic in Mz. Woo’s humble opinion.
[Ragan's PR Daily] 5 famous writers who stood while they worked – Mz. Woo thinks it was counterproductive for the author of this post to pick so many writers who died before they were 70 (over 1/2 of those listed).
Mz. Woo is happy that her wiggling efforts may be keeping her healthy.
———-
Mz. Woo says: Wiggle while you work. (You can even whistle while you do it, unless your coworkers give you the stink-eye.)
Mz. Woo recommends: The Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle Treasury because it is filled with delightful stories and Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle has “wiggle” in her name.
☼ Dear Mz. Woo Wiggles: These days, They Medicate [4 yr and above] for hyperactivity [also they May diagnose it as ADHD], and Medicate as well as for Restless Leg Syndrome! Just Be Glad that you Grew Up in the Bygone Days when it was Okay to just be a Kid, and Every Moment Wasn’t Structured FOR You!
Ah, the good olde daze, when we had to Imagine a STICK was an ocean going vessel, or a Space Ship, and we had to Imagine our Own Gimmicks!
► My Max Time of sitting without Jumping Up, is 5-10 Minutes, sooo I definitely Need to be Medicated!
♫ My Guess the Reason you’re: ” Writing this post seems to be making her more
wiggly than usual”, is Because You’re Trying to Figure Out How to Phrase what you’re Trying to Say? …Since, Language Is a Virus From Outer Space!
♪ If THEY give you the Stink Eye, Give Em the Evil Eye Back!
And, I can only do one thing at a Thyme, so Wiggling & Whistling are mutually
exclusive of each other! ♫