5 Yoga Poses You Can Do At The Office
Yoga is often associated with mats and yoga pants, but did you know that the office is also a good space for yoga? Staying at your office desk all day can be strenuous on your body. You need to take time to take deep breaths and stretch to stay fit. You don’t need to be all weird and freak out your co-workers. Below are 5 yoga poses that you can at the office during your lunchbreak.
1. Seated Backbend
While seated with a straight spine take a deep breath and reach all the way up to the ceiling with your arms open wide. As you exhale, let your gaze slowly draw behind you and bend slightly from your upper back and chest. Hold this for a few seconds, release arms to your sides, then repeat a few times.
2. Seated Twist
Sit in your chair with your spine tall and straight. Take an inhale and on the exhale, twist to one side from the bottom of your spine (more from your abdomen, less from your back) grabbing your armrest. Breathe here for a few seconds, then do the other side.
3. Extended Wrist Stretches
Extend the arms to the sides or overhead and draw 5 to 10 circles inward and outward through the wrists. Place the hands one on your desk, palms facing up and fingers towards you, putting gentle pressure to counterstretch the wrist and the forearm. Hold each side 5 to 10 breaths and repeat every two hours.
4. Chair Pigeon
While seated in your chair, both feet flat on the floor, cross your right leg over the left at a 90-degree angle, keeping the foot flexed as to not place pressure on the knee. Maintain equal weight distributed between the sitting bones while staying in an upright seated position. Hold 5 to 10 breaths before switching sides.
5. Sit and Stand Chair Pose
This is a two-part pose helps awaken leg muscles after sitting for too long. Begin seated with your knees bent 90 degrees and your feet flat. Press down from your heels, trying not to move the feet in toward your chair or use your arms, and make your way up to standing.
Slowly sit straight back down aftet standing. Try not to lean forward or from shifting the hips to one side or the other. Repeat 5 to 10 times.
