Do you have desk job? Are you crouched in-front of your computer for hours at a stretch? Do you feel tightness in your neck, shoulders and back?
Having a sedentary desk job can affect your health, posture and overall well-being.
On International Yoga Day, here are a few simple yoga poses you can do while sitting at your desk, which can help you cope with mental and physical stress and focus on your job.
The Art of Living lists six yoga exercises to de-stress yourself at your workplace.
Neck roll- This pose involves closing your eyes, dropping your chin towards the chest and then moving your neck in a circular motion while keeping the shoulders relaxed. This can be done 3-5 times on either directions.
Cow Stretch- Keeping your feet on the floor, touch your knees with your hands. "While inhaling, stretch your back backwards and look towards the ceiling. While exhaling, stretch your back forward and drop your head forward," says AOL. This too can be done for 3-5 breaths.
Seated Forward Bend- This exercise too can be done sitting on your chair. Move away from your desk. Keep your feet on the floor. Then, as AOL explains, "Take your arms behind the lower back, keep your back straight and interlace your fingers behind your back.Bending forward from the waist, bring your interlaced hands over your back.Rest your chest on your thighs and relax your neck."
Temple Rub- Keeping your elbows on the desk, place your hands on your temples and rub gently in circular motions, first clockwise and then anti-clockwise.
To follow these and other yoga poses for the desk, read Yoga in Office.
What happens when you are sitting at your desk for long hours with minimal or no physical activity and how exactly does yoga help?
“There are a lot of very negative physical reactions created when the body’s not in movement. Between sitting eight hours a day and then being in the elevator looking at your smartphone, you’re totally misaligning the spine," Vyda Bielkus, certified yoga instructor and founder of Health Yoga Life studio in Boston, told The Huffington Post.
He further explained that “Yoga allows us to tap into the space between our thoughts, into our quiet mind and our awareness. That’s what helps us gain perspective that stress is a choice — I can react with ease or I can react with stress and anxiety. Yoga helps us create some distance from our reactions.”
There's are also numerous other poses which though will require you to leave your chair, but are helpful for desk workers.
Badhakonasana or Butterfly Pose is a good stretching exercise which increases flexibility in the groin and hip region. Read in detail about how to do Badhakonasana here.
You could try Adho Mukha Svanasana or the downward facing dog pose. This is beneficial is strengthening chest muscles along with other body parts including arms, shoulders and feet.
Or there is Tadasana. Especially helpful for those who experience back pain or tightness in muscles due to sitting for long hours, "Tadasana works to align your skeleton and brings it back to its neutral stance. It takes muscular effort to get into this pose which strengthens the core and weak backs," states a NDTV report.
Eka Pada Raja Kapotasana or One-legged Pigeon pose- According to AOL, this pose "stretches the entire lower part of the body, stimulates the abdominal organs and helps relieve the body of Sciatica. It helps open up the hips and adds more flexibility to the hip region. It is also known to relieve the body of stress and anxiety".