Where I Work: Tony, a lifestyle coach who doesn’t have any chairs in his home – Metro.co.uk

As coronavirus pushes more of us into self-isolation and lockdown, what’s your working setup like?

We’re taking a look at people’s home offices – from the laptop trays stacked on sofas to the fancy marble rooms with standing desks – in our new mini series, Where I Work.

So far we’ve peeked at the desk of a comedian and seen how one writer is working on a houseboat.

Today we’re hanging out with Tony Riddle, also known as The Natural Life-stylist, an ultra-endurance barefoot athlete and natural lifestyle coach, in his home in Hampstead, London.

An interesting thing about Tony’s home and work setup: He doesn’t have any chairs in his home. No, not even a nice sofa to lounge on.

Hi, Tony! What do you do for work?

I teach people how to rewild themselves and their habits within their home and office habitat; to live more in sync with their natural human biology.

I do one-to-one coaching, online coaching tutorials, hold talks, classes, run workshops and host retreats.

And where are you working now?

I live with my wife Katarina and our four children aged ten, eight, three, and five months in Hampstead, London.

I usually coach London-based clients face-to-face at my studio in Camden or outside on Hampstead Heath. I also coach international clients via Zoom.

Because I work across different time zones, I have dedicated work set up at home. With coronavirus, I’ll be taking all clients online so working from home full-time.

Can you break down your working setup for us?

I have a low sitting desk – a low desk set up for floor sitting when working from home, for transitioning between ground sitting positions to help unravel, keep supple and strong.

I use floor sitting positions to help maintain my posture and athleticism and to keep me grounded and in my body.

I bought a large dining table from Habitat and cut the legs to accommodate our ground living experience.

I have plenty of plants – natural surroundings purify the air and help drop your cortisol levels, keeping you in a rest & digest state.

I wear amber glasses in the evening for Zoom calls to block the junk light (blue light). This keeps my circadian rhythm and sleep patterns in check.

We notice a lack of chairs – why is it that you only sit on the floor?

The truth is, we have become domesticated beings, spending 90% of our lives indoors, and 83% of us living in urban environments. Most of that time is spent sitting down.

Sitting for long periods of time creates stagnation and encourages lack of movement.

It is as detrimental to stand for long periods of time with poor posture as it is to sit with poor posture, so the archetypal floor sitting postures help nurture the appropriate posture for standing, walking and running.

Describe a working day for us.

Being a father of four, I try to get up before the tribe wakes. Most days start with waking up in an air-purified room; 20 minutes of mindful mobility; 100 cycles of nasal breath; intention setting; prep a plant-based protein smoothie and getting into nature – a barefoot trot to the Hampstead ponds for some breath and cold immersion.

I have coaching sessions in the morning and in the afternoon I have meetings or podcast recordings.

I’m training for another endurance run in September, doing the entire Three Peaks Challenge on foot – almost 500 miles in nine days – so I’m trying to get some miles in. I like to break up the day by getting outside in nature for a run.

Then it’s time with the family in the evening, and either a coaching session or Zoom call with my PA who is based in Australia after dinner.

I’m in bed by 9pm.

What are your personal rules for working from home?

I opt for sky time over screen time so try to spend as little time in front of my computer as possible. I prefer to arrange meetings outside or make calls out in nature.

I will still choose to get outside as much as possible and get grounded until the looming lockdown advises otherwise.

Studies suggest there’s a myriad of positive health benefits to getting outside; reduction in inflammation, increased cardiovascular health, increased immune function, increased sleep quality, faster recovery times, downregulation of nervous system (stress reduction), regulation of circadian rhythms – and that’s not including all the mental health benefits.

Getting out into nature as much as possible keeps me clear-headed, connected and on my A-game.

More: Lifestyle

Obviously with coronavirus things might change somewhat, and so I will adapt and choose to take regular movement breaks, downregulate with breathing techniques and eat, rest and sleep how nature intended to mitigate the indoor experience.

What’s it like working from home with four kids running around?

We unschool our children so there’s often distraction and a lot of noise to deal with around me.

This is where breathwork is so useful. It helps you down regulate and remain in a state of calm. And as a parent it’s important for my kids to see me calm and collected, especially in times of adversity, like the adversity we are facing now.

Inhaling for a count of four and exhaling for a count of six helps you to relax the mind and body and hit the reboot button. A longer exhale lowers your heart rate and blood pressure which drops you into a parasympathetic ‘rest & digest’ state.

What advice do you have for people new to working from home?

Working from home gives us an opportunity to take responsibility for our environment in a way that’s not always possible in an office. We can create an environment that helps restore our bodies to the way they were meant to be.

It’s an opportunity to create an environment that is growth-promoting and not compromising.

As we no longer need to commute we are gaining an hour either end of the day – this can be used for those all-important self-care practices. I find rituals and routines are key to refining the home-working experience.

Most importantly, it is key to move well regularly. Get out of that chair. Every 25 minutes get away from your desk and drop into a squat. This helps reset our posture from C-shape primates to more capable upright beings.

Spend some time moving between different ground rest positions – which help reinforce a strong superstructure. Move between a double leg kneel, a single leg kneel, a shin box sitting position, to a squat.

Call it chair care, ground living or simply floor sitting for Netflix binging – either way, use these rest positions to help rewild your posture – download my Rewild Your Squat Tutorial for guidance.

You can also join the NatLifeTribe for weekly movement flows and advice on upgrading your home and work environment for a healthier happier you.

More: London

Something I have adopted and recommend to clients who are entrepreneurs, and this will relate to those whom will now be in isolation and working from home, is to break the day up into 24 hours.

I set eight hours aside for sleep in the bedroom, then I have a whopping 16 hours remaining to be a successful human. When you view your diary this way, you soon see how subjective time can be.

If I stay focused I can complete most of my work in six to eight hours – I now have eight to ten hours remaining. That’s a good amount of time to appreciate family, friends, movement, rest, meditation, food, community and nature and be creative.

Do you have a brilliant work from home setup you fancy sharing? Get in touch by emailing Ellen.Scott@Metro.co.uk.

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