No matter how much you want to stay fit, you can’t just leave your office to attend a yoga class. But that doesn’t mean that you spend hours on your chair doing nothing. Don’t hurt yourself. Here are seven most effective yoga poses you can do in your office.
1. Wrist release
With time, typing a lot may strain your forearm and wrists. Here is what to do. Using your other hand, push your fingertips bringing them close to the top of your arm. Change your other hand. You can then press your fingertips to bring them close to your wrists and bend your wrists towards the opposite direction. Lastly, shake your hands rapidly to release the tension. Do this more often, every day before and after long hours of typing.
2. Seated twist
Sitting on a chair for longer hours may harm your back. There are high chances you are already experiencing some pain on your back. Here’s what you can do. Ensure your back is straight and your spine is tall. Breathe in and then when breathing out, twist your upper body focusing on the lower parts of your spine to grab your chair’s armrest. Take some few seconds in that position while breathing in and out. Repeat on the other side.
3. Sit and stand pose
If you remain seated for longer hours, your hamstrings and glutes won’t be able to put much effort in lifting your body up the next time you are trying to stand up. Make them active again by doing a sit and stand yoga pose. In your seated position, ensure your feet are flat on the floor and knees bent at 90 degrees. With your heels pressed down, stand up and then slowly sit. While doing this, try not to shift your hips to both sides and don’t lean forward. Do this ten times.
4. Pigeon pose on your chair
Again sitting wrongly, may cause both your lower spine and hips to imbalance. Solve this by doing a pigeon pose. Cross your left leg over your right leg. Flex your foot to avoid pressuring the knee. With your chest up and upper body straight, ensure that the weight is equally distributed between your sitting and lower back bones. Stay in this position a few seconds and then shift.
5. Plank pose on your desk
Plank pose will lengthen your spine and stretch your hamstrings. Here is what you’ll do. With your hands placed on top of the desk and shoulder width apart, step back until your feet are under your hips. Gently move your hips inside to create a traction feeling on your spine. Hold this position a few breathes.
6. Crescent moon pose while sitting
After longer hours of sitting, you may feel like your side body has collapsed leading to shoulder and neck discomfort. Doing a crescent moon pose while sitting may solve this. Here is what to do. Lift both your arms above your head and then widen your fingers. Lean to your left side while taking a few deep breaths then change the other side.
7. Chest stretch
More often when typing, your neck and chest will be bent forward straining your chest. Avoid any discomfort by doing a chest stretch. Move towards the edge of the chair and then cross your fingers behind you. Ensure that your palms are together and facing towards your back. Lean forward and raise your arms to stretch your chest. At this position, take a deep breath. Breathe out while trying to move your shoulders away from your neck. Hold this position a few minutes and breathe.
Don’t strain yourself. Do these exercises gently focussing on the areas that are likely to be affected after long hours of sitting.