Healthy Movement at Your Desk
This page offers links to blog posts that include photographic and text guidance for several stretches you can do at your desk.
It’s a work in progress! At this point, there are 8 stretches: I plan on building a full library over time… stay tuned!
Spine & Back
Take 5 – Make Time for this Quick Stretch: Camel Ride
Back pain, especially in the lower back, is common for desk workers. This movement strengthens and stretches the muscles along the spine that help with posture and add movement to the discs between vertebrae, which dry out and lose their flexibility as we age,...
Your Body on Yoga: The Lower Back
If you sit a lot, you don’t need to read the news about how hard sitting is on the body: you likely feel it every day. Many of us slouch while sitting, and the lower back muscles get sore and lose tone over time. I have described yoga poses and exercises that you can...
Your Body on Yoga: The Spine
The spine is designed to support the weight of the body. If you slouch when sitting for prolonged periods or lean your head forward to look at a computer screen, mobile device, or while driving, you stress the muscles along the spine and affect its natural curvature....
Take 5 – Make Time for this Quick Stretch: Crescent Moon
In my Spring 2015 newsletter, I introduced an exercise for your spine called Camel Ride, which involves moving the full length of the spine rhythmically forward and backwards. In this issue, I’d like to introduce you a pose called Crescent Moon, which flexes the spine...
Take 5 – Make Time for this Quick Stretch: Standing Back Bend
There’s a tendency to lean forward in the seat while working at a computer. The chin may jut out, the shoulders round forward, and the chest cave in. This stretch can help open up these areas. Stand up with your feet hip distance apart and parallel to one another....
Legs
Your Body on Yoga: The Psoas
The psoas (pronounced so-az) is a large muscle that runs from the front of each upper thigh, through your core, to the lower 4-5 vertebrae on your spine. This hip flexor is the muscle that lifts your leg up high when you march in place (but who ever does that,...
Take 5 – Make Time for this Quick Stretch: Wide-legged Forward Fold
The hamstrings are the long muscles on the backs of your thighs that help to bend your knees. Just like the psoas, the hamstrings are in their contracted position while you sit, which shortens and makes them tight over time. The hamstrings are attached to the lower...
Core
Your Body on Yoga: The Abdominals
Your abdominals are largely inactive while you’re working at your desk, and they can weaken significantly over time. A strong core protects your internal organs and is important to maintaining good posture. The following two exercises are very effective at...