Is it really a shock that spending over 8 hours per day sitting at our desks isn’t good for you? The strain of sitting in your office chair can lead to lower back pain, over-stretching of the mid and upper back, as well as neck and shoulder pain. As a result, we’ve selected 5 basic yoga poses which you can do anywhere:
Let’s start easy:
1. Wrist and Finger Stretches
Start by stretching your arms out up above your head and drawing circles with your wrists. 10 is usually a good number to start with!. Then spread the fingers and close into fists quickly a couple of times, this reduces tension. Then place your arms outward in front of you with your palms facing away from you. Apply pressure on each set of fingertips by gently pushing your fingers backward, alternate between each hand. It will help with increased blood flow, so try and get this basic yoga pose in a couple of times a day.
2. Do the Twist
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Standing spinal twist
Stand up straight with your feet together. Inhale and stretch your hands in front of you, palms facing each other. Exhale and slowly twist from the waist to the right, keeping your legs and hips straight. Look back over your shoulder. Breathe in and return to centre. Breathe out and repeat on your left side.
Repeat this basic yoga poses multiple times on both sides.
Blog to Read: What Yoga Can Do for You
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Sitting spinal twist
While seated, move your right arm across your body and hold onto the left side of your chair, twisting your chest and abdomen. Hold this position for around 15 seconds, (try and take 4/5 breaths during this time) and then move onto the other side. This movement is great for massaging your abdominals, and lengthening the spine.
3. Chair Pose
Start sitting down in your chair, place your feet flat on the floor, with your knees at a 90-degree angle. Pressing down into the floor using your heels, make your way to a standing position using your legs and glutes. Then make your way back down to the sitting position without shifting your hips from side to side. This basic yoga pose can help muscles that become weakened over time from sitting such as your hamstrings and glutes.
4. Standing Camel
This is a great pose if you have been leaning forward for a long amount of time. Come up to standing, place your hands on the back on your hips with your fingers facing down, pull your elbows towards each other, and gently lean backwards. Hold this position for 10 seconds, before slowly coming back up to standing. This will give your neck, upper back and shoulders a stretch all at once.
5. Restorative Pose
This is the perfect ending pose. Place your feet flat on the floor, cross your arms on your desk and lay your forehead onto your arms and breathe deeply for a few moments. Allow yourself the time to listen to your breathing and unwind. This will help you get back into the work flow with a new energy.
