old habits die hardest, including where and how
we sit.. sitting is today a very common position..
people sit on chairs for many work situations
then sit on chairs or worse lounges to relax,
watch videos etc, and to eat food..
as a long time traditional karate student/teacher
and serious daily yoga practitioner and meditator
there is no doubt, that sitting positions will and
must and cannot but effect major joints incl
your spine from pelvis to neck..
what we do most often [repetition] and for longest,
and within which we move our major joints
[eg, trying to get comfortable etc]
are all methods used to reset joint range of movement..
ie, for those interested in joint health and efficiency
these methods are used to create full movement..
those sitting in chairs or lounges etc typically dont
use this method for improvement, rather use it
to accelerate degradation and the opposite of
general joint health and function...
sitting on [but not, in] a motorcycle can be,
beneficial for all major joints, depending how
you actually 'sit'.. just like any, position
held for any length of time..
as rider56 notes, slumping encouraged by sitting
even within some motorcycle ergonomics can
[and will] cause focus of stress' in the spine
and other joints radiating therefrom..
for many if not most people today, just riding
a typical motorcycle should be therapeutic..
back health and function is fundamental to
any physical skill and effects 'everything'..
also feeding input to your back for support
[or not] are support structures of shoulder/
arms/hands and pelvis/hips/legs/feet..
even fingers and toes...
fortunately for us, our motorcycle ergonomics
are fairly neutral for stressing the spine etc,
and should be somewhat therapeutic even for
those with poor postural alignments/habits
if they attend to riding the motorcycle
as a different, special, activity/skill..
not just another form of slumping..
not just another version of one-sidedness..
we have our clutch and gear lever on the left
and our brake and foot brake lever on the right,
plus various other hand uses both sides..
being a single track vehicle with vertical alignment
we are 'taught' by simply riding to sit in neutral
positions to the motorcycles center of gravity..
we can take advantage of this by merging with
those realities, relaxing/releasing existing
uneven postural habits of sitting etc..
its helpful and beneficial for riders
to do simple major joint movements
under some loading, such as squats
with balance [back on a wall perhaps]
or pushups [elbows in, controlled]
perhaps standing, off a wall..
also any simple stretching such as forward
bending [unhurried] and torso twisting
[swinging arms lightly] plus making fists
and lifting heels up onto balls of feet,
are potentially very, beneficial for
riding and for just living..
just mimicing a normal yawn motion
can be very, beneficial.. just that..
these are things anyone can do
before, going out to go riding..
when stopping for a rest during
a longer ride [highly recommended]
and even with caution during some
parts of the ride itself..
motorcycle riding as a therapeutic tool