We sit sometimes for 8 hours straight without taking even a few minutes to take a walk or stretch the arms and legs. We know that this is unhealthy and even though we are really aware of it when we are on an airplane, we totally ignore this unhealthy lack of movement while in the office. Ok, your office is not at 20,000 ft but still, you need to get your blood moving and you need to somehow counter any tension that is due to stress and/or just plain bad posture. By bad posture I mean while sitting in front of your computer your upper back is rounded, shoulders hunched, neck extended and chin jutting out (your body looks like a 'c'). I know this posture from experience and it will leave some aches and pains.
So get up. Take off your high heels or loafers and place your feet parallel and hip distance apart. Make sure you have a wall close behind you so as to shield yourself from any unflattering or unprofessional displays of your backside. Then bend your knees slightly and fold over your legs so that your arms and head are hanging loosely. It is important to make sure that your head and arms are heavy (shake your head 'yes' and 'no' to make sure your neck is loose) so that you can relax the place between your shoulder blades and feel a wonderful release of tension. You can hang here for about 30 seconds or as long as it feels comfortable and then slowly roll your body up into a standing position. You can repeat this calming stretch throughout the day.
The standing forward bend as described above (known as Uttanasana in Yoga) is great for releasing tension in the back especially in the upper back, shoulders and neck. Keep the knees bent if your fingers do not reach the floor or straighten the legs if your fingers do reach the floor and the lower back is able to release. If straightening the legs is not comfortable for the lower back, keep the knees bent.
This is just one of many stretches that will help to improve your work day. More to come.... and always remember to breath!
For more information on Uttanasana click here. FYI this is a yoga website and those in the picture are usually abnormally flexible.
So get up. Take off your high heels or loafers and place your feet parallel and hip distance apart. Make sure you have a wall close behind you so as to shield yourself from any unflattering or unprofessional displays of your backside. Then bend your knees slightly and fold over your legs so that your arms and head are hanging loosely. It is important to make sure that your head and arms are heavy (shake your head 'yes' and 'no' to make sure your neck is loose) so that you can relax the place between your shoulder blades and feel a wonderful release of tension. You can hang here for about 30 seconds or as long as it feels comfortable and then slowly roll your body up into a standing position. You can repeat this calming stretch throughout the day.
The standing forward bend as described above (known as Uttanasana in Yoga) is great for releasing tension in the back especially in the upper back, shoulders and neck. Keep the knees bent if your fingers do not reach the floor or straighten the legs if your fingers do reach the floor and the lower back is able to release. If straightening the legs is not comfortable for the lower back, keep the knees bent.
This is just one of many stretches that will help to improve your work day. More to come.... and always remember to breath!
For more information on Uttanasana click here. FYI this is a yoga website and those in the picture are usually abnormally flexible.
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