In presentimes, when most of us are confined to our desks, whether in the office or while working from home, we barely find any time for exercise. In fact, we might even feel overwhelmed to do any exercise at all. However, in the long run, this may hamper our health. Often, due to lack of movement, we may be increasing the chances of certain lifestyle diseases. Some of these health issues may include tightening of muscles and joints, curved posture, stiff neck and shoulders, reduced flexibility, cramping, muscle pulls, digestive issues, and weight gain. These have the potential to further manifest into lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, blood pressure, arthritis, etc., due to imbalance and misalignment of the body.
Hansaji J. Yogendra, in her many decades of teaching yoga to numerous sections of people, has developed a series of Sahaj Bhavasanas. Sahaj means simplicity, spontaneity, and ease. Practicing these asanas regu larly creates awareness of the body, the breath, and keeps our mind focused. Regular practice results in a leaner and stronger body, builds immunity against several infectious ailments, and keeps us fit and youthful. All of these are office stretches that can easily be incorporated into the workday. Each of these desk stretch exercises can be done during breaks throughout the day.
1. Head and Neck Stretches:
● As you inhale, gently allow your head to drop towards your right shoulder without lifting your shoulder. Exhaling, bring it back to the center. Drop it to the left shoulder in the same way and return to the center.
- Whilee inhaling, tilt your head backward as far as you can without moving your shoulders or body and gaze upwards and backwards at the ceiling. Exhaling, bring your head back down towards your throat, tuck your chin into the throat cavity. Inhaling, return to the center.
● Inhaling, turn your head to look far right and behind. Exhaling, return to the center. Repeat on the other side.
2. Shoulder Stretches:
● Keeping your hands close at the sides, while inhaling, lift your shoulders as high as you can towards your ears. Exhaling, relax your shoulders. Repeat the motion twice.
● Place your fingers on your shoulders meeting in the front. As you inhale, begin a movement of raising your elbows in the front, separating and rising up, going backwards and down, coming to the front in the starting position. Then, do the same in the opposite direction.
3. Hands and Wrists Stretches:
● Inhaling, entwine your fingers at the chest and stretch out your hands. While exhaling, relax the stretch.
● Inhaling, stretch your hand and entwine fingers while pointing palms outwards. Exhaling, relax the stretch.
● Stretch your hands out at shoulder level and gently clench your fists, keeping the hands straight, perform wrist rotation both clockwise and anticlockwise. Repeat twice.
4. Trunk Stretches:
● Stand straight, with 20-24 inches distance between the feet and hands on the waist. Gazing ahead, try to bend the trunk to the right, while inhaling. The hips and legs should be fixed, try to curve the spine. Now exhaling returns towards the center. Repeat the same on the other side.
● Gazing ahead, inhaling, try to bend backward, while arching the spine. Keep the hips and legs stationary, only curve the spine. Exhaling, come back to the center and bend forward. Finish the round by inhaling and return to the center.
5. Legs and Feet Stretches:
● Keep your legs straight and simultaneously point your toes of one foot and flex the other set of toes. Keep up this alternate movement for around ten times.
● Keeping both your legs and feet together and knees straight, rotate feet clockwise and anticlockwise of both the legs together. Make sure to make complete movements of pointing and flexing the toes.
While these 5 office stretches will help you release all of the tension and stress from your body. Here are a few more tips to ensure that you continue to relax and rejuvenate your body.
➔ Take breaks every hour, even if for a few minutes. Taking your eyes off the screen for even a short amount of time can help the eyes recover from the constant stress caused by the laptop/ phone. If you can stand, even for 5 minutes, on the hour every hour and do the desk stretch exercises or walk around while socializing with coworkers, will help relieve the stress from the rest of the body.
➔ Observe your posture and expression every few hours. Often you will find yourself working with stressed eyebrows, hunched posture, and fixed shoulders. Correct your posture whenever you catch yourself sitting this way. It may actually help you to relax and release the tension just by changing the posture.
➔ Drink more water. The offices being air-conditioned, one might not feel thirsty and when the stress of the workload is added to this, it’s a recipe for dehydration. Over a period of time, this will lead to diseases like kidney stones, feet swelling, UTI, etc. It’s, therefore, important to keep oneself hydrated.
➔ Relax yourself Yoga believes relaxation is just as important as diet and exercise. Find some time to relax. Some of the ways in which this can be done are Om chanting or practicing Nispand Bhava even if for a few minutes. Nispand bhava is a technique introduced by the founder of The Yoga Institute, Shri Yogendraji, to help us let go of our stresses. To practice this, sit on your chair with a back support. Hands resting on the thighs, palms and fingers loose, and facing upwards. Close both eyes and passively observe the passing sounds as they come and fade away. Do not allow yourself to dwell on any sound but let it go as it fades away. Pick up on the next sound in the surrounding atmosphere. Do not judge the sound in any way. Practice this for about 5-15 minutes. This technique has no limitations and contraindications and can be practiced by all. This technique elevates us from the mundane to the extraordinary and is recommended for every sickness of body and mind. It helps us learn the attitude of letting go (vairagya bhava), and creates a feeling of ‘body forgetfulness’ which helps the body heal faster.
The 5 office desk stretches and these tips will help in reducing the daily stress and tension experienced by the body and the mind at the workplace and will help us improve the quality of our life as well, as small actions lead to bigger gains in the long run.