Yoga at Work: 6 Stretches that You Can Do at Your Desk

Feeling a little shorter and stiffer at the end of a workday because of all that slouching over spreadsheets and emails? Because many of us sit for 8 or more hours a day with less than ideal posture, our workday can take its toll on our bodies, leaving us with stiff necks and shoulders, achy low backs, and not to mention a frazzled mind. Yoga can offer relief from the side effects of life at your desk. Try these simple stretches right in your office or cubicle.  You may want to print these stretches and post where you can see them in your office to remind you to take just a few minutes for you. Co-workers may look at you perplexed, but your body will thank you.  

1. Breathing

Begin by sitting at the edge of your chair with your feet flat on the floor. Allow your spine to be long and neutral (not arching or rounding your back).  Roll your shoulders a few times and allow them rest down  from your ears. Let your hands rest on the top of your thighs.  Close your eyes and become more aware of your breath.   As you inhale, notice how your belly, ribs and chest expand with your breath. As you exhale, let the breath release as your chest, ribs and belly return back to neutral. Repeat 5 times.  

2. Side Stretch

On your next inhale, raise both arms overhead (leaving the shoulders relaxed). As you exhale, let the right arm come down to your side or rest your hand on the seat of your chair. Lengthen and stretch up through the left hand.  As you inhale, bring the right arm back up and lower the left arm as you exhale. Continue until you’ve completed at least 5 stretches on each side.  

3. Chest Expansion

Rest your hands behind you on the outside edges of your chair.  Draw your shoulders down away from your ears. As you inhale, lift your chest and gaze eye level or higher (without letting your head fall back).  Continue to breathe in this pose for 3-5 breaths.  

4. Cat & Cow Stretch

Coming back to a neutral position, as you inhale, lift your chest arching your back slightly (Cow Pose). As you exhale, reverse this movement, rounding your back and drawing your chin toward your chest (Cat Pose). Continue moving with your breath going each way 5 times.  

5. Forward Fold

From Cat & Cow Stretch, allow your upper body to fall forward over your thighs.  Rest your hands either to the floor or near your ankles or shins. Allow your head and arms to dangle.  Stay here for 3-5 breaths, slowly walking your hands up your legs to come back to your seated position.  

6. Seated Twist

Sit tall on the edge of your chair.  Place your right hand on the outside of your left thigh. Place your left hand on the left outside edge of your seat.  As you inhale, lengthen your spine and sit tall. As you exhale, twist to the left, letting your twist start with your belly and work its way up to your ribcage, chest, neck and head.  Gently hold for 3-5 breaths. Come back to center and repeat on the right side.   

10 Reasons to Try Yoga

10.  Yoga helps you reduce stress.

9.  Yoga increases flexibility and muscle tone.

8. Yoga can relieve insomnia.

7. Yoga can complement any activity – there are great yoga poses for runners, cyclists, golfers, gardeners & more.

6. Yoga can strengthen your core muscles and relieve back pain.

5. Yoga eases the aches & pains of “CubeLand” – where we might find ourselves slouched over a keyboard for hours. 

4. A great yoga class can feel just as good as (if not better than) a professional massage.

3. Yoga improves concentration and mental focus.

2. Yoga gives you more energy.

1. Yoga makes you a calmer, rejuvenated version of YOU.  (I can personally attest to this)

Healthy Habit #1: Thai-Go Juice

Thai-Go Facts

I will admit that I’ve become a bit of a “wellness junkie” – researching, inquiring about the latest antioxidant power berry or best new holistic alternative, if this sounds like you – I don’t need to explain any further. When I find something I love, I do want to share it with everyone. 

Thai-Go juice, produced by Nature’s Sunshine (www.naturessunshine.com) is a product that my family has been enjoying for about 6 months now.  Like everyone else, I’ve heard all of the information, been to the presentations regarding these powerful fruit juices: acai, mangosteen, pomegranate, cranberry, noni, goji, etc.  While I know all of these fruits are probably awesome, I knew with my budget, I needed to be selective about which juice to incorporate into our lifestyle.   We wanted to find a product that contained all the good stuff (ingredients rich in bioflavonoids and antioxidants) but not the bad, or more questionable items such as chemicals and preservatives. Thai-Go was the right choice for us. It’s a blend of mangosteen, wolfberry, raspberries, blueberries and more….We’ve both noticed more energy, clearer minds, less joint pain or stiffness and just all around feeling great…

I’ve included info about it if you’re a wellness junkie too (see above).

Listening to your body…

In class, I say ”Listen to your body” a lot…sometimes it probably seems like mindless chatter to my students or something to say between poses or real instructions. Actually, more than anything else, listening to your body is the best habit you can form on (and off) a yoga mat.

This week, I had a student in class who wasn’t quite settling into the pose we were working on…I made my way over to her to gently guide her into the pose, and she firmly objected, letting me know that her knee wasn’t going to cooperate with this one. Later, she was apologetic, but I let her know that she shouldn’t be — we all know ourselves, our limits much better than someone else does – even a yoga teacher….And that’s what “listening to your body” is all about.

I try to remind students that they hold the “veto power” over any pose.  It might be just a slight twinge in our back or a subtle pain in our knee; those are the types of physical clues that our body tells us during our practice. It could also be more general. Maybe today you’re more energetic, and want to push yourself a little bit more. Or it’s been that kind of week where you need some rest, some nurturing in class.

Always remember you’re the one who will feel the effects of your practice the next day.  During class,  you want to find that healthy challenge or edge where you may feel like you’ve worked muscles, but it’s nothing that you’ll regret.   If you’re no longer able to maintain a steady, comfortable breath during your pose, you may want to ease back. And when in doubt, ask your teacher questions such as “where should I be feeling this stretch?” or “am I in a safe position?”.

Remember – it’s your body, your hour, your class. Make sure your yoga practice is meeting you right where you are TODAY.

Learning to Breathe…

A common question that I hear from new yoga students is about the breath. When/how should we be breathing, etc…So, here a few tips to improve our breathing whether you’re in a yoga class or just going about your day.

We typically breathe moving the upper part of our chests.  In gym or music class when the teacher said to take a deep breath, everyone’s chest lifted at least 3 inches…That’s not actually the most healthy way to breathe.  Chest breathing is a very shallow breath, only using about 1/3 of our lung capacity, and it can cause increased tension or anxiety. Instead, we want to breathe a fuller breath – using our belly, diaphragm, and chest.  A fuller breath or 3-part breath as I’ll describe here not only uses more lung capacity, but is an excellent tool that we all can use to relax and calm the mind & body.

 Try these steps to deepen your breath:

• Lie on your back and rest one hand on your stomach. Begin by breathing normally in and out through your nose.  Notice that your stomach rises as you inhale or breathe in, and how it falls back towards you as you exhale.  Continue just to observe your breath a few more times.
• To build on your breath, inhale through the nose and feel the stomach rise, and let the breath continue into the lower ribcage. You can move your other hand to one side of your lower ribs. Feel the lower ribs expand outward, and then exhale and let the breath release. Your diaphragm is the key player as the breath expands to the lower ribs.
• We’ll build on the breath one more time, letting it begin in the stomach, move to the lower ribs, and finally the chest. Feel your breath filling the chest and then as you exhale, let the breath release.  This is called a 3-Part Breath (Stomach – Diaphragm – Chest)
• Repeat 6-8 times or as long as you have the luxury to, and enjoy your calm, stress-free self.

Hello world!

Hello! I’ve put my toe in the sea of blogging….hmmm….I’ll get to my point….my intention for this blog is that it would become a forum, resource, place to go when you need practical tips, inspiration, motivation, etc…Topics are certainly not limited to yoga — but as a yoga teacher, that’s what I know….I believe there are so many benefits we can gain from yoga – that I’ll be sharing tips, pointers, practical things everyone can incorporate into their day to feel better, relieve stress, build core strength….and more.  The executive at work, the mom at home with three kids, the baby boomer who’s a bit more stiff this year than last — all of these folks can benefit from yoga.

I teach a different type of yoga that I call demystified yoga. This means that we focus on the physical and health benefits of yoga and set aside the more mystical and spiritual elements. For me, I’ve always enjoyed and been drawn to the movements, breathing techniques, and certainly the stress relief I’ve gained from yoga….but felt that the more traditional aspects of yoga (chanting, mystical images & theology) made me uncomfortable (there goes that stress relief!). It didn’t align with my Christian faith – and I thought surely there are others like me, and YogaXoga was born….More on that in another post.