Yoga at Your Desk
Along with forgetting to breathe, we often find ourselves hunched over a keyboard or our phones and sitting at our desk for long periods of time without even moving anything but our fingers.
I know how it is. I was working in an office and cubicle for 7 years.
But it’s important for blood circulation, energy levels and overall mental health to insert some movement periodically throughout the day.
Here’s a quick and easy guide to Yoga at Your Desk! You don’t have to do them all in one shot. Remember to hold the pose as recommended and breathe.
Included in this post is link to my youtube video, instructions below, and a link to download my handout, so you can refer to it right at your desk!
Meditation: Focus on Your Breath
Benefits: relieves stress, increases circulation, tones the abdomen, stimulates parasympathetic nervous system
- Sit up tall to lengthen and straighten your back, stacking ribcage over pelvis, shoulders drawn down and away from the ears, hands resting in your lap
- Feet flat on the ground, legs at a 90 degree angle
- If you experience low back pain or discomfort, place a rolled up towel or pillow under your bum or between your lower back and back of the chair
- Close your eyes and take a deep, steady breathe in, down into the belly, allowing it to expand like a balloon. Exhale all of that air out of the stomach and lungs, notice the navel drawing inward. Do this 5 times.
Neck Opener
Benefits: relieves neck and shoulder tension, increases range of motion
- While seated, tilt the head forward with the chin toward the chest and pause for 3 breaths. Then, tilt the head back, looking up at the sky and opening up the front of the neck for 3 breaths.
Seated Cat/Cow
Benefits: corrects and counters bad posture, counters degenerative effects of aging on the spine, legs and feet, builds strength and awareness in shoulder blades, back, and tones the abdomen
- Adding on from the neck opener, as you inhale, puff the chest out, squeeze the shoulder blades together and slightly tilt the head back. If that is painful for the neck, look straight ahead (cow).
- As you exhale, round the upper back like a cat, draw chin to chest, pull ribcage in, and round the shoulders forward, stretching back of neck (cat). You can place your hands on your knees can gently pull back to stretch the neck and shoulders more. Repeat 5x
Spinal Twist
Benefits: lubricates the spine and disks, stimulates digestion
- Stay in the same seated position and take your left hand and either put it on your right knee or lightly grab your desk, reaching to the right side. Grab the back of your chair with the right hand.
- Inhale as you straighten the back and exhale as you twist, lift the chest, broaden the shoulders and lengthen the spine. Hold for 5 breaths and switch sides.
Seated Side Stretch
Benefits: Stretches the sides, Lats and spine, and allows deep breathing
- Keeping chin tucked now in (double chin) Gently grab the left side of your chair with the left hand.
- Inhale as you extend your right arm in the air.
- Exhale as you bring your right arm over the right ear and bend to the left feeling a stretch in your right side. Anchor both your sitz bones down. Continue to roll right shoulder back to avoid caving forward.
- For a deeper stretch, grab the right wrist with left hand
- You can either look up or look to the side, whichever feels best for your neck. Hold for 5 breaths and switch sides.
Wrist Exercises
Benefits: strengthens and relieves wrists and forearms, helpful for carpal tunnel, tennis elbow, weak wrists
- Extend your right arm out straight, palm facing down.
- With the left hand, pull back lightly on the fingers on the right hand. You should feel a stretch in the wrist and bottom of the forearm. Take a couple breaths and then stretch the left wrist.
- Extend the right arm again, palm down. With the left hand gently press against the outside of the right hand to feel a stretch in the wrist and the top of the forearm. Take a couple breaths and then do the left wrist.
- Another option is the chicken wings. Place the backs of hands against your ribs, drop the shoulders and elbows, and let gravity and your breath assist with the stretch.
Seated Eagle with Neck and Trapezius Stretch
Benefits: Engages and tones inner thighs, stretches the outer hip, glutes, shoulder blades, and upper back
- From your seated posture, take your right elbow under the left. If this is not possible, just hug yourself
- Cross your right knee over the left, and if possible, wrap the right foot around the left calf
- Lift elbows and hands up away from chest as shoulders drop down the back
- Take the hands to the left, and the right ear towards the right shoulder. Do not hike up the right shoulder. Keep chin tucked in
- Hold for 5 breaths and switch sides: left elbow under right, left knee over right, hands to the right, left ear to the left
Figure Four
Benefits: stretches hips, glutes, relieves stiffness in lower back
- Sit back in your chair.
- Start to bring your right leg up, crossing the right ankle over the left knee (the left foot should still be on the floor with the knee bent).
- Start to pick up the heel on the left foot. The higher you pick it up, the more you should feel a stretch in the outside of the right leg. You may also push lightly on your right knee to get a deeper stretch but don’t push it too far. Flex the right foot slightly to protect the knee. Hold for 5 breaths and switch sides.
Quad stretch
Benefits: stretches the quads and hips
- From your seat, turn sideways with your right side facing out and feet flat on the floor. Balance on the chair on your left buttock so that your right leg is outside of the chair leg.
- Hold the back of the chair with your left hand. Bend your right leg and grab onto your ankle with your right hand.
- Pull your heel back toward your butt, until your knee is pointed down at the floor. Hold for 5 breaths and switch sides.
Garland Pose/Squat (If you have ankle and hip mobility AND you don’t care what anyone in your office thinks!)
Benefits: Stretches the groin, lower back, sacrum and hips, stimulates metabolism and digestive organs, tones abdomen
- Come up onto your chair (maybe take your shoes off), with your feet slightly wider than hip distance apart (or just do it on the floor!). Pivot your feet so your toes are wider than your heels.
- Bend your knees, sinking down until your hips are lower than your knees.
- Bring your palms together at heart center, and wedge your elbows to the inside of your knees.
- Push your elbows into your knees to open your hips, and gently press the inside of your knees into your elbows. Draw your heart forward and up, attempting to bring length into your lower back and spine. Hold for 5 breaths
Warrior 2
Benefits: Stretches the hips, thighs, tones the thighs, abdomen and glutes
- From your seated posture, open your right leg to the right, and extend the left leg back, so that the left foot is on the floor, stretching down into the heel
- Press the right hand into the right thigh to lengthen the torso, lift the left arm up so that it is parallel to the floor.
- Raise the right arm as well
- Stretch open the chest, look towards your right hand, and push down into the left leg, almost lift yourself off the chair and let the legs support you. Hold for 5 breaths and switch sides.
Downward Dog
Benefits: Stretches neck, shoulders, arms, back, and hamstrings.
- Stand behind your chair so that your just far enough away that you can still reach forward and grab the back of the chair and your feet should be about hips distance apart.
- Raise your arms straight overhead and start to hinge forward from the waist with a flat back, until you can grab the back of your chair.
- You may need to step back a little further but you want to feel a stretch in the shoulders and even a little in the upper back. Hold for 5 breaths and switch sides.
OPTIONAL: Forward fold. Release your hands from the back of the chair and fold forward. Just let yourself hang like a ragdoll, maybe grabbing opposite elbows with opposite hands. This will stretch your hamstrings and give your vertebrae a break from being compressed all day while sitting and/or standing. Hold for 5 breaths and switch sides.
Restore: Legs up on chair (if the floor is clean :))
Benefits: reduces swelling, increases blood flow and circulation, rejuvenates heart and brain, reduces stress
- Lay on the floor and move your bum beside, or to the base of a chair or coffee table and rest your calves on top of it so that you have 90-degree angles at the knees and hips
- Close your eyes and stay here for as long as you need!
Smile big, open your eyes and conquer your day! 🙂
Namaste
