Do you sit at a desk for part or most of the day? Whether you’re working in an office or sitting at your desk at home, you probably already know the discomfort of sitting. You know the powerlessness that comes from sitting and looking at a screen for hours. Sagging shoulders, slack neck, tight pain in the lower back, and overall tension in the body. It’s become common knowledge that sitting all or most of the time can be unhealthy, but there are still ways to get some exercise that will benefit you. Also at your desk.
Your body craves movement, it wants to use your muscles, move between your joints, and keep blood flowing through your body and brain. That’s what we’re supposed to do – move. But sitting at a desk during the workday is pretty common. I understand that in this day and age, sometimes we have no choice but to sit at a desk and do what needs to be done. There are a few solutions to the problem of being sedentary. You can get reminders to get up and move around every 30 minutes, do a standing desk, or take a few minutes to do some office yoga.
Ever have a moment where you long to stretch without even realizing it? Raise your arms and straighten them as if you just woke up, or grab a couple of bolsters. Is it sometimes because you have pain in certain areas? This can be caused by tightness in certain areas and prolonged sitting. However, there is hope! Set aside some time at regular intervals throughout the day to open up your body and relieve pain symptoms.
Tightening and closing the forward curve of the front of your body can also make you sleepier than you want rather than awake, and can even lower your mood. Some studies have even shown that longer screen time is associated with a higher prevalence of depression, in part because looking down at a screen creates a closed-off attitude. For this reason, taking even just a few minutes during the day to wake up your body, open your mind, and wake up awake can be very beneficial to you and your workday.
As workplace yoga classes grow in popularity, so do the many benefits of practicing yoga in the workplace. These benefits include reduced stress, increased focus, enhanced immunity, improved posture, increased self-confidence, improved morale, improved digestion, increased energy, improved breathing and increased flexibility. Workplace classes are great because the yoga teacher comes in and you get to practice in a classroom-like setting in an actual workplace. A classroom setting is helpful when someone guides you and provides direction for your practice. Whether it’s a workplace course, an online mentoring sequence, or a short exercise at a desk like the following sequence in this article, there are benefits.
This is a sequence that doesn’t take more than 10 minutes. I have a feeling that just these 10 minutes can boost your productivity for the day. You can do it anywhere you sit in a chair for a while, even in the office. You can get really creative with these sequences, working in the order you want and experimenting with different moves. For timing, you can set a timer for 10 minutes for practice. If the timer feels too abrupt or time-limited, a more interesting approach might be to create a playlist with about 10 minutes of music of your choice, or find instrumental music for background music on YouTube or any other site you prefer .
Sitting cat/cow with hands on knees
Sitting cat-cow with hands on lap. Credit to joyoushealth.com
You can sit upright at your desk with your feet on the floor and your hands on your lap. As you inhale, open your chest while drawing your shoulders down and emphasizing the arch in your back. As you exhale, bend inward by arching your back and pressing your chin toward your chest. Continue these movements for several breaths. You can also practice traditional cat/cow moves on the floor if you’re comfortable on the floor next to a table.
represent a support
support
Sit with your spine straight and your feet on the ground, and use your breath to guide you through some neck and shoulder movements. For example, inhale to draw your shoulders toward your ears, then exhale to let your shoulders drop and roll back. For a cervical roll, exhale to press your chin toward your chest, and as you inhale, slowly roll your neck and rest your head on one shoulder. Exhale to roll your chin back toward your chest, then inhale to move to the other side. Breathe through these characters a few times. You can explore tight areas and spend some time focusing on specific areas or interesting tracks that you think need extra time and attention.
Arms bent up and sideways
Bend sideways, arms up. Photo credit napphotofestival.com
Raise your arms and actively stretch toward the ceiling. Keeping your arms straight up, move your shoulders away from your ears and down. You want to avoid shrugging. Inhale to rise, and as you exhale, bend your torso to one side, keeping your shoulders in a straight line and your chest forward. Inhale back to the center, exhale to the other side.
desk downward dog
The dog under the desk. imprint youtube.com
How about a dog facing a desk? To do this, stand up and place your hands on the edge of the table, shoulder-width apart. Keeping your hands in place, step back and bend forward like a downward-facing dog, extending your arms to hold