The Desk-and-Couch Season

Shorter, darker days mean more hours at a desk, in the car and on the couch. Your body adapts to whatever position you hold most, and in winter that's alot of sitting. Three areas take the hit.

Hip flexors. Sitting keeps the front of your hips shortened for hours. Over time they pull on the pelvis and lower spine. That's a big reason low backs ache more in winter even when nothing "happened."

Thoracic spine. Your mid-back is built to extend and rotate. Hours of rounding over a keyboard or phone stiffen it. When the mid-back stops moving, the neck and low back pick up the slack and complain about it.

Forward-head posture. As your head drifts toward the screen, the muscles at the base of your skull, your upper traps and the muscles along your shoulder blades hold it there all day. That's where tension headaches and "rock" shoulders come from.

What a 90-minute ashiatsu session addresses

• Long, continuous strokes along the entire length of the spine, reaching the deep muscles that hold you upright

• Broad, sustained pressure through the glutes and lateral hips, which tighten alongside the hip flexors

• Work through the upper back and shoulder girdle to open a rounded posture

• Enough time to treat the whole chain instead of chasing one sore spot

Sixty minutes gets you relief. Ninety lets me treat the pattern behind it.

One thing to do at home: stand up every 45 minutes and take one slow lunge stretch per side. It takes thirty seconds and makes the next session go further.