New Delhi: Desk Job makes us lazy and reduces our physical activity. Sitting for long hours at a stretch with l no daily exercise can really affect your health. Our back, neck and spine are a lot affected and take a toll on overall health and posture. We often feel back pain, increased weight, spondylosis, varicose veins due to the lifestyle we maintain. Let your body stretch to allow rejuvenation of muscles and organs, and keep up the blood circulation. Yoga is a simple and effective way to take care of your exercise routine and stress levels, selective and helpful yogasanas that can help you in your schedule is a great way to get an effective break in between work.
Desk Yoga Seated Crescent Moon
Begin by lifting your arms overhead, connect the palms and stretch your fingers wide. Gently lean to one side for 2-3 deep breaths. Repeat on the other side.
The Crescent moon pose gives a deep stretch to your sides, lengthening your spine and allowing you to return to your work with better concentration.
Chair Pigeon
Whilst seated, place one leg over the other at a 90-degree angle, flexing the foot so as not to place pressure on the knee. Remain in an upright position, keeping an even distribution on both seat bones. When you feel a gentle to moderate stretch in the upper outer thigh, hold for 5-10 breaths. Repeat on the other side.
The seated pigeon pose helps us regain the balance we sometimes lose sitting in our desk chairs, whilst opening the hips and chest.
Sit and Stand Chair Pose
Begin in a seated position with your feet flat on the floor and your knees at a 90-degree angle. Pressing down with your heels and using your legs and glutes only, make your way to standing. Sit back down slowly, again solely using your leg muscles without shifting the hips from side to side. This pose can help awaken the hamstring and glute muscles that become weakened over time from sitting in a desk chair.
Desk Yoga Standing Seal Pose
Begin this pose in a standing position, stepping your legs 3-4 feet apart. Inhale the arms behind you, interlacing the fingers together. Squeeze the shoulder blades together and lift the gaze upwards before folding forward at the hips, bringing your arms in front of you. Keep the legs and arms straight, holding the pose for 4-8 breaths. To release the pose, squeeze the shoulder blades together as you inhale back to an upright position. Exhale to release the arms.
The standing seal pose stretches both the spine and legs, opening the shoulders. It also harmonises the connection between the heart and mind, improving mental function. This is our favourite of the 10 desk yoga poses.
Desk Yoga Wrist and Finger Stretches
Begin by extending your arms overhead and drawing 5-10 circles inwards and outwards with the wrists. Follow this by quickly spreading the fingers and closing the fists, releasing excess tension. Finally, place your arms in front of you, with your palms facing upwards. Gently apply downward pressure on each palm to stretch the wrist on each side. Switch the palms to face downward for a counter-stretch of the forearms. Hold each stretch for 5-10 breaths.
Working at a desk can build up tension in the fingers, hands and wrists, so these exercises should be done often throughout the day to increase the blood flow.
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