An Introduction to Office Yoga

Picture this all too common scenario: You are stuck in another marathon meeting. Your back and neck are hurting. You are exhausted. Your brain is a muddled mess. You return home feeling stressed out and spent, wanting nothing more than a pizza and a movie before going off to sleep. And then the cycle starts all over again the next day. How do you get relief?

Yoga in the Office

Lets face it. If exercising and staying fit were simple and easy, everyone would be doing it! And if yoga or exercise cannot be easily integrated into our daily routine, chances are we will never be able to stick to it. Our corporate yoga trainers who teach yoga for office workers design yoga for office employees so that they can be done anywhere, anytime – whether you are at office, stuck in meetings, on the phone or in bed. These stretches are gentle and relaxing and help in soothing aching muscles, easing tension and can be easily slipped into a spare fifteen minute lunch break or between a couple of phone calls.

Morning Eye Openers

When you wake up first thing in the morningchair , practise the below 2-mins relaxing meditation:

• Sit up in bed and breathe gently through your abdomen
• Feel your body soften and relax
• Focus on what you want to accomplish in the day
• Breathe deeply

Office Yoga

If you are an ambitious and hard working corporate executive rushing to work in the morning and working 10 – 12 hour shifts, chances are you suffer from back pain. In a recent survey conducted by us amongst office goers in Mumbai, we found a shocking 80 % people suffered from some form of back pain! Would you like to ease your back pain and improve and energize yourself and your mood? Well good posture is a good starting point. It is a good idea to realign your body properly before you begin your working day and also to keep reminding yourself throughout the day to keep your posture straight and erect.

Tips to improve your posture:

When you sit, keep your back straight and rise forward on your chair.

When your rise forward, your body sits on top of your bones. Your back straightens, your chest expands and your neck, shoulders and head rise and align themselves.

Let your shoulders relax. Relax and soften your jawline and your chin and take a few deep and calm breaths every once in a while.

Over a period of time, sitting correctly on your chair will improve not only your overall well being but also your confidence.

Keyboard Stretches

To prevent wrist pain and stiffness, do stretches with your hand and wrists whenever you can. Above are some stretches. Be creative and come up with your own stretches too.

With hands in a prayer position, move your hands in all directions and stretch.

Squeeze your fists tight.

Stretch your fingers wide.

Interlock your fingers and rotate your hands.

Come up with your own stretches that feel good.

Make it a habit to always stretch your hands and wrists especially if you have a job where you are constantly typing on your keyboard.

Neck Rolls

• Drop your head to one side.
• Stretch gently with the help of your hand as shown above.
• Try to find the tight spots. Stretch a little more at the tight spots.
• Hold and breathe in. As you breathe out, release the tightness.
• Repeat with the other side.
• Roll your head around in a wide circle in both directions. 

Arm Pulls

• Place your left arm behind your back.
• Clasp your wrist with your right hand.
• Drop your hand to the right side.
• Roll your head around to see if there is any tightness
• Stretch and breathe a few times.
• Repeat with the other arm.

Reaching Hands

Stretch One

In the first position, stretch your arms sideways. Stretch and relax.

Stretch Two

Next keep your arms outstretched, relax your shoulders and keep your palms down.

Tilt your hands upwards and stretch your forearms.

Hold this position as long as it’s comfortable.

Stretch your hands down, breathe and hold.

Stretch Three

Keep your arms outstretched.

Slowly tilt sideways.

Stretch the mid sides of your body.

Return to starting position.

Practise these for a few days. We will be adding more articles on Office Yoga from time to time. So be sure to keep checking our blog! And if you’d like some supervision, talk to your company’s HR department and call us on 9820607875. We will send down a trained office yoga instructor who will not only help you but also your colleagues to banish physical ailments and become more productive and happy!

Author

Atin Dasgupta is the founder of Wellintra Fitness and is an artist-entrepreneur who makes music and builds businesses in his spare time!