Alleviate tension in your back and shoulder muscles through this yoga instructor's desk mobility workout routine
Spending long hours seated at a desk can lead to tension in the shoulders, neck, and spine. However, incorporating a few simple micro-mobility exercises into your workday can help alleviate this discomfort. Here are some effective moves to consider:
Neck Rolls
Slowly roll your neck in circles, first to one side then the other. This simple movement can help ease neck stiffness and improve mobility.
Shoulder Rolls
Sit up straight and roll your shoulders backward and forward. This exercise can help release shoulder tension and improve circulation.
Seated Oblique Twists
While sitting tall in your chair, hold the desk edge lightly for support, lift your feet slightly off the floor, engage your core, and slowly twist your torso side to side. This stretch not only wakes up muscles around the torso and spine but also helps prevent stiffness from prolonged sitting.
Spinal Twists with Breath
Inhale sitting tall, exhale twisting to one side, return to center, repeat on the other side. This exercise improves spinal mobility and reduces tension.
Micro-Yoga Movements
These gentle seated yoga poses increase joint flexibility and blood circulation, improving awareness and coordination without leaving your chair.
Performing these small movements multiple times an hour can keep your body from becoming stiff and sore during a long workday, facilitating smoother posture and less tension in the targeted areas.
Other Exercises in the Routine
The micro-mobility routine also includes the chin lift neck stretch, spinal twist, and chest opener exercises.
For the chin lift neck stretch, lift your chin like an imaginary vertical line with the nose, pausing when a slight stretch is felt in the front of the neck, lower the chin to feel a stretch in the back of the neck, and repeat for 3-5 reps.
The spinal twist exercise involves rotating to one side while keeping the spine upright, repeating on the other side, and doing 3 reps on each side.
The chest opener exercise involves placing fingertips on shoulders with elbows in front of the chest, exhaling to open the chest and move elbows out to the sides, inhaling to return to the starting position, and repeating for 3-5 reps on each side.
It's important to note that no equipment is required for this micro-mobility routine, and it should be performed at least once a day, with more repetitions if needed. Each exercise in the routine is performed for a specific number of sets and reps as indicated.
All these exercises are performed with feet flat on the floor and back straight while sitting on a chair. The fingertips are placed on the shoulders, and the elbows are out to the sides during the shoulder rotation exercise. The chin lift neck stretch, spinal twist, and chest opener exercises are all part of the micro-mobility routine.
- Incorporating micro-yoga movements, such as spinal twists with breath and neck rolls, can enhance flexibility and promote health-and-wellness during a long workday, reducing tension in the spine, neck, and shoulders.
- The fitness-and-exercise routine, which includes shoulder rolls and seated oblique twists, aims to improve fitness, increase blood circulation, and prevent stiffness caused by prolonged sitting.
- By combining these exercises with science-backed wellness practices, one can maintain a balanced and energetic work environment, promoting overall health and wellness.
