11 yoga exercises to warm up at your desk

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

You can reduce harm from a sedentary lifestyle by periodically doing small warm-ups and stretches right at your desk. These simple exercises can help you stretch tight muscles and prevent poor posture.

1. Pose of a cat-cow on a chair

What is useful

This exercise stretches the muscles of the back and neck, massage the internal organs, and synchronizes breathing and body position.

How to do

Press your feet to the floor, place your palms on your knees. As you inhale, lower your shoulders and arch your back in an arc, bring your shoulder blades together, lengthen your neck. The chest is open, the gaze is directed up. As you exhale, bring your shoulders forward and round your back, draw in your stomach, lower your head down, bringing your chin closer to your chest. Do the exercise five times.

2. Stretching with arms raised

What is useful

Stretches the whole body, straightens the spine, creates space between the vertebrae, which has a positive effect on the nutrition of the intervertebral discs. This pose improves posture and prepares the back for further stretching and twisting of the spine.

How to do

Stand straight with your arms hanging loose at your sides, your feet firmly pressed to the floor. With a deep breath, raise your arms above your head and bring your palms together. Concentrate on stretching your elbows and shoulders.

If shoulder stretch permits, gently bend back in your chest. Tighten your buttocks to protect your lower back from arching. Hold this position for two to three breathing cycles and return to the starting position.

3. Pose of a dove on a table

What is useful

This pose is useful for opening the hips. It improves blood circulation in the pelvic area and stretches the gluteal muscles.

How to do

Stand in front of a table with the table top below your hips. Lift one leg and place your lower leg on the table top. The knee is pointing to the side, the lower leg is parallel to the edge of the table. Rest your hands on the table, placing them on either side of your leg. Lean forward gently, stretching your leg. Breathe deeply and evenly. Take five to eight breaths and repeat on the other leg.

4. Bend with a straight back

What is useful

Straightens the spine, stretches the hamstrings and glutes.

How to do

Move away from the table so as not to hit the table top with your head. Inhale, raise your arms, join your palms (stretching pose with raised arms). As you exhale, lower yourself down, keeping your back straight. Place your hands on your shins and take your shoulders back. Maintain this pose for five to eight breaths, trying to lower the body lower without bending your back.

5. Bending over with hands on the floor

What is useful

This exercise is a more difficult version of the previous pose, which allows you to stretch your hamstrings a little better.

How to do

Stand straight with feet shoulder-width apart, arms hanging freely at your sides. Bend over and touch the floor with your hands. If you can, place your palms on the floor without bending your knees. Breathe deeply, relax your neck and let your head hang freely.

If your palms are resting freely on the floor, you can make the exercise more difficult. Try alternating between a flat and round back as you breathe. While inhaling, try to straighten your back, while exhaling, round it again.

Do the exercise five times. If your hands are not yet reaching the floor, simply hold the pose for five to eight breaths.

6. Tilt to the side

What is useful

This pose strengthens the core muscles, which help maintain correct posture. Part of the load is transferred to the knees and ankles.

How to do

Stand straight with your feet together and your arms over your head. With an inhalation, stretch your entire body up to your fingertips. With an exhalation, tilt the body to the left, and then with an inhalation return to the starting position.

Repeat the movement in the other direction. Perform three bends to each side.

This movement is especially useful if you are working at a standing desk. After a few hours of work, the back muscles can get tired, and bending to the side will help relieve tension and continue working.

7. Twisting the eagle

What is useful

Stretches the wrists and shoulders.

How to do

Sit up straight. Place your right foot on the floor, place your left foot on your right knee, and put your left foot behind your right shin. Extend both arms in front of you, keeping them at shoulder level. Place the elbow of your left hand on the fold of your right hand, twist your forearms and bring your palms together.

Try to lower your shoulders and raise the elbows of your intertwined arms. Hold the position for five breaths, then switch legs and arms and repeat.

8. Twisting while sitting

What is useful

Relieves tension from the abdominal muscles, promotes good digestion, improves nutrition of the intervertebral discs.

How to do

Sit up straight with your feet flat on the floor and your toes pointing forward. You sit on your sit bones, your pelvis is in a neutral position, your spine is pulled up. Slowly and carefully turn the body to the right, with your left hand on your knee, and your right hand on the armrest or on the back of the chair.

Breathe calmly, hold in this position for five to eight breathing cycles. Return to starting position and repeat on the other side.

9. Stretching the shoulders while standing

What is useful

Stretches the muscles of the shoulders, which get tired and stiff from long work at the computer.

How to do

Walk two steps away from the table, lean forward with your back straight, and place your hands on the table. Try to bend as low as possible to stretch your shoulders well. Perform eight breaths in this pose. You can stand static or wiggle slightly to deepen the stretch.

10. Chair pose

What is useful

This pose strengthens the muscles in the thighs, which lose their tone from constant sitting.

How to do

Stand straight with your feet together and your arms hanging loosely at your sides. Inhale, raise your straight arms up, palms facing each other. With an exhalation, transfer your weight to your heels and sit down, as if you want to sit on a chair. Sink to the parallel of your hips with the floor or slightly higher. The knee angle is 45–90 degrees.

Keep your back straight, lower your shoulders. Maintain the pose for eight breaths.

11. Stretching the hips while standing

What is useful

This pose stretches the quads - muscles that become stiff from constant sitting. This stretch can also relieve tension in your lower back.

How to do

Stand in front of the desktop, press your feet to the floor. Bend the knee of your right leg, lift your shin and grasp the toe or ankle with your right hand. If you are afraid of falling, stick with your left hand to a table or wall.

Twist your pelvis, pull in your stomach. The stretch should be felt in the front of the thigh. Hold the pose for five to eight breaths and repeat on the other leg.

This complex will take you no more than 10 minutes. Do it once or twice a day to protect yourself from bad posture, back pain, and muscle imbalance.