Relationships June 5, 2018
Turn your office into a yoga studio.
More and more companies are scheduling morning stretches for employees and offering standing desks. This trend is in response to emerging research that sitting down for prolonged periods of time is unhealthy. While health experts now recommend getting up every 20-30 minutes, it’s sometimes hard to get up from our desks. Office yoga is a good way to get us up out of our chairs. Here are five basic yoga poses that you can easily do at the office or even at your desk.
Sitting all day can create tension and pain in the legs and lower back. This easy office yoga stretch will help ease that pain by increasing flexibility in your quadriceps and hip flexors.
Yoga Tip: If you don’t feel much try keeping your knees together for a deeper stretch.
Uncomfortable office chairs and typing away at a computer all day can cause shoulder, upper back and neck strain. Reverse prayer pose will help you stretch out our back and open your shoulders. You don’t even need to get out of your chair to do this office yoga pose.
Yoga Tip: Try to keep the palms of the hands together. If this pose is out of reach simply interlace your fingers behind your back.
Get out of your chair and into chair pose! This one works out your whole body. It stretches your shoulder and chest, while strengthening your ankles, legs and back. You’ll likely feel your heart rate start to go up as well. Who knew you could do cardio in a chair?
Yoga Tip: Try not to let your knees go past your toes. Sink low but keep your chest up and make sure you are putting weight into your heels.
This office yoga pose is so simple you don’t even need to get out of your chair to do it. It’s perfect for you extremely busy bees! Seated twists will help relieve tension along the spine and down your entire back. This pose will also stretch your neck and shoulders, as well as help open your chest. An added bonus is that twisting helps your digestive system, making this the perfect pose lunch pose!
Yoga Tip: Make sure both feet are planted firmly on the ground.
Here’s another office yoga pose you can do easily from your chair. Alternating between cat and cow pose will relieve tension in your back, neck and shoulders. It also helps strengthen your abdominals.
Yoga Tip: Inhale as you come forward into cow pose and exhale as you arch back into cat.
