Easy ‘Desk Yoga' for working from home

Desk yoga, or exercises that you can do from your office space, always seem like a great idea in theory, but the reality can be that you always just feel a bit self-conscious doing it!  Which is why the recent COVID-19 pandemic and associated impetus to work from home may bring with it the opportunity to integrate this positive habit into your working day, without the prying eyes of co-workers.

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We all know what it is like to be busy at a desk all day.  Sometimes you look up from your screen and realise that you haven’t moved for 3 hours.  Your shoulders are tight, your back is aching, and your Fitbit has gone into meltdown having been furiously buzzing at you to get up every 20 minutes.

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It doesn’t come as a surprise to learn that spending 8+ hours a day sitting and straining our necks can lead to things like pressure on the lumbar spine or shortening of the chest and hips. On the other hand, we know that Yoga promotes a whole host of health benefits including flexibility, balance and posture, building muscle strength, increasing blood flow, improving focus and sleep and maintaining mental health.

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So. we challenge to try these top 7 poses to realign your flow, from the safety of your home office:  

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1. The Seated Crescent Moon

• Lift your palms over your head in prayer position, stretch fingers wide
• Gently lean to one side for 2-3 deep breaths and repeat on the other side
• This gives a deep stretch to your sides, lengthening the spine and improving concentration
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2. Chair Pigeon

• While seated, place one leg over the other at a 90 degree angle, flex the foot so as not to place pressure on the knee
• Hold until you feel a gentle moderate stretch in the upper outer thigh, work through 5-10 breaths and repeat with the other leg
• This can help us regain balance and posture, opening up the hips
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3. Sit and stand chair pose

• Begin in a seated position with feet on the floor. Pressing down with the heels and using your glutes only, make your way to standing
• Sit down again slowly, only using the leg muscles, and without moving the hips from side to side
• This awakens ham strings and glutes that are weakened by prolonged sitting
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4. Standing Seal Pose

• Start in standing position, stepping your legs 3-4 feet apart
• Inhale and move your arms behind you, interlacing the fingers together
• Squeeze the shoulder blades together and lift the gaze upwards before folding forwards at the hips and bringing arms in front of you. Keep the legs and arms straight and hold for 4-8 breaths
• This stretches the spine and legs, opening the shoulders
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5. Wrist and finger stretches

• Extend your arms over your head and draw 5-10 circles inwards and outwards with the wrists
• place your arms in front of you with palms facing upwards, gently apply downward pressure on each side and hold each stretch for 5-10 breaths
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6. Desk Chaturanga

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• Begin standing and place hands shoulder-width apart on the desk edge
• Walk the feet backwards until your chest is a diagonal line to the floor
• Inhale as you lower into Chaturanga
• Hug the elbows into the ribs as they reach the 90 degree angle
• Inhale as you press back up into the starting position, repeat 8-12 times to awaken the arm muscles whilst helping neck muscles relax
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7. Desk upward dog

• Begin in the same position as the desk Chaturanga above, keep the arms straight and lean the hips towards the desk
• Hold for 5-10 breaths. To release, keep the core engaged and exhale as you fold the hips
• This helps to open the chest and lengthen the spine, improving posture

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