Do your museum visits often go hand in hand with back pain?
Do you ever notice you can walk quite a distance without a lot of back pain, yet as soon as you’re in a museum, standing around, listening to a tour guide, checking out everything there is to see, it seems so physically demanding?
Why is that? It’s actually quite simple.
You’re made to move. Not to be in one static position. A bit of movement typically makes your body feel better than staying stationary. But there’s something else.
Think about a big, fancy museum you’ve visited recently. Do you remember the floor? It probably wasn’t cushy rubber matting. The floor in your typical museum is hard—very hard–often made of marble, concrete, tile, or another extremely hard material.
A hard surface is hard on you! That’s why remodeling your kitchen with a tile floor isn’t a smart idea. And why those with tile or marble floors in their kitchens often end up needing anti-fatigue mats. It’s also why, if you have a standing desk at work, buying an anti-fatigue mat is a good investment.
So, you want to go on vacation and visit a museum. What can you do to make it the best (physical) experience possible? Here are six suggestions:
- Go in the morning when you’re fresh and not physically tired.
- Choose one or two exhibits and plan to stay no longer than two hours. (If you want to see more, plan to come back on a second day.)
- If you do plan to stay for two hours, take a coffee break at the café halfway into the visit.
- Get the audio tour and walk around as you listen to it, as opposed to going on a tour with a docent and having to stand still to hear them.
- Keep walking around.
- Take occasional breaks to sit down when you can.
Now that my mom is getting older, I’ve been traveling quite a bit with her, both domestically and overseas. We always go with the same educational-based tour company. One of the things the company provides is a small earpiece connected via a cord to a lightweight battery pack you can put in your pocket.
With the earpiece in, you can hear the tour guide quite well, even if you’re out on a loud, busy street or in a museum. I especially like having the earpiece when I’m in a museum because it allows me, for example, to walk around an artwork as the guide explains, instead of having to stand still in the guide’s proximity to hear what they’re saying.
I last a whole lot longer in the museum because of that earpiece! And the best part is, if the guide is going on and on explaining more than I want to know, I just turn down the volume!
What strategies do you have for making your travel as physically comfortable as possible? I’d love to hear your tips and tricks below in the comments.
Image by wal_172619 from Pixabay
P.S. If you enjoy the content of this blog, you’ll love my recently published book, What Your Body Wants You to Know: Exploring Body Awareness, Posture, and Movement with the Alexander Technique.
