Why Practise Yoga at your Desk?
Many of us suffer from back pain, poor posture, headaches or drowsiness when working at our desk. This is because we simply aren’t designed to be in this position for long periods of time...
Sitting at a desk for hours on end places unnecessary strain on the lumbar spine, overstretches the mid to upper back muscles, shortens the hip and chest muscles and can significantly impair breathing and digestive function; recent studies have shown that it may even be related to a shortened life span*.
Everybody knows that we should take regular breaks, drink plenty of water, get up and walk around, but how many of us actually do this? Rather, with so many of us continuing to work from home, we are probably sitting at our desk and attending meetings onscreen for even longer than pre-Covid times. At least when we went into the office we generally moved our bodies more – travelling to get there, getting up to go and chat to people, taking meetings in person or going out for lunch... If you can’t get away from your desk regularly, one of the best ways to feel better and introduce more movement into your working day is to incorporate a brief session of ‘chair yoga’ into your schedule.
By practising some gentle yoga stretches and mindful breathing for just 10-20 minutes a day you will feel multiple benefits including:
Greater flexibility throughout the body
Improved energy levels and circulation
Significantly improved posture
Clear and calm the mind, allowing for better focus and concentration
Reduced pain (especially back, head, shoulders)
No equipment is necessary to practice yoga at your desk – simply sit comfortably at the edge of your seat with a tall spine and feet flat on the floor (or a block/book) so that the knees are in line with the hips. A well-rounded sequence will include gentle twists, forward bends, hip openers and shoulder and chest stretches that can all be done on a chair; add some breathing exercises and you will feel calmer and more mindful too.
There is a free recording of a desk yoga sequence on my ‘Free Resources’ page (click here). It can be done as a short 10-minute seated practice or extended to a 20-minute practice that includes some standing and breath work. I challenge you to incorporate it into your working day for a week and let me know if you feel the benefit.
NB this chair-based sequence is also a good practice for anybody who finds it difficult to do seated poses on the floor.
*Study by Dr Keith Diaz and others in the American Journal of Epidemiology Vol 188, Issue 3, March 2019 ‘Potential effects on Mortality of Replacing Sedentary Time with Short Sedentary Bouts or Physical Activity: A National Cohort Study’ https://doi.org/10.1093/aje/kwy271
