Most of the ladies spend painful hours sitting cross-legged and assuming that this posture make them look more feminine and elegant. This 'lady- like' manner of sitting cross-legged is actually very harmful for your body.

Sitting cross-legged for a long time increases your chances of getting varicose veins or spider veins. Normally, genes are responsible for varicose veins but crossing legs also result in inflammation of compressed veins. Tiny valves in blood vessels make sure blood flows in the direction it should, but when we cross our legs, the pressure on these blood vessels weakens them because of which blood flows in the wrong direction and gathers in the legs which makes veins swell, resulting in varicose veins. Cross-legged posture can also lead to a stooping back and hip problems. Also, when you put your knee over the other, your inner thigh muscles get shorter and your outer thigh muscles get longer. This can Make joints out of place and even lead to pelvic imbalance.

Sitting in the same posture for hours can also lead to peroneal nerve paralysis but sitting cross-legged increases your chances of getting the affliction. Sitting cross-legged for prolonged period of time can even cause problems in proper blood circulation and increased health risks. Sitting in this posture results in a spike in blood pressure because circulation of blood gets restricted and blood pressure rises. Another reason is that blood gets pumped up from the legs towards the chest and results in the heart pumping out excessive blood, which also leads to an increase in blood pressure.

So ladies, relax and sit in a normal relaxed position more often with your legs apart if you want to avoid all these problems.