OFFICE YOGA
Sitting at desk all day can take its toll on your health . You are not using your muscles for hours and your spine, hips and shoulders are the areas that suffer the most.
I recommend these 3 office yoga poses to counteract long periods of sitting in a chair at work.
1. Seated cat – cow
Bring your palms onto your knees and plant your feet on the ground. ?Move forward in your seat and lengthen your spine. ?On the exhale, round your back and draw your chin in towards your chest; ?let your shoulders roll forward and engage your core. ?On the inhale squeeze your shoulder blades together and open through the front of your chest. ?Use your breath to work back and forth between these spinal movements.
2. Cow face arms
Sit upright in your chair; root your feet into the floor and lengthen through your spine. ?Inhale and lift your arms up. ?Bring your wrists in line with your shoulders and open your palms forward, thumbs up. ?On your exhale, turn your left thumb down towards the floor. ?Begin to bend at the elbow and slide the back of your left hand to your low back and then up to the mid back, towards the shoulder blades. ?Inhale and extend your right arm up towards the ceiling. ?Bend your right elbow and begin to work your right hand behind your back towards your left fingers, a strap, or your shirt. ?Breathe for 3-8 breaths and switch sides.
3. Seated figure 4 stretch?
Plant your feet into the floor. ?Keep your left foot down on the ground and bend your right knee and rest your right ankle on top of your left thigh. ?Flex your ankle strongly to protect your knee and stretch into your hip. ?Breathe for 3-8 breaths and switch sides.
These office yoga poses will stretch your spine and shoulders, help to correct posture and increase blood supply to the legs and arms.
Sitting upright with your spine aligned also calms the mind and reduces stress.
Contact us at info@121personaltraining.com?for details of our 121 and small group yoga lessons in SW London.