When you were a kid, sitting criss-cross-applesauce for a long period of time meant that it was e…

When you were a kid, sitting criss-cross-applesauce for a long period of time meant that it was either show-and-tell day, or that your teacher was reading you a particularly compelling chapter from one of the Boxcar Kids books. As an adult, though, it likely means that you’re parked on your couch with your computer in your lap, trying to find a comfortable work from home position.

If this sounds familiar (#itme), you’ve likely realized that sitting with your legs perched under your body is decidedly not as comfortable as it used to be, and untwisting your body at the end of the day can leave your hips screaming. “When we stay in any one position for too long, we place increased stress on the tissues around the area,” says Ashley Speights O’Neill, PT. According to Jaclyn Fulop, PT, founder of Exchange Physical Therapy Group, sitting in any one position for more than 20 minutes can cause a trigger point or a knot (aka a taut in your muscle that becomes tender to touch), so it’s important to change the way you’re sitting every 20 minutes.

“When we sit cross-legged, we tend to put a lot of stress on our sciatic nerve, which is the area that branches from your lower back through your hips and glutes and down each leg,” says O’Neill. She explains that while you likely won’t wind up with any injuries from sitting in this position for too long, you may wind up with some irritation in your muscles.

The best way to deal? A few easy stretches. “You will want to stretch the posterior