Treat your desk bound body to these yoga moves to alleviate niggles and tension from the hips, back, shoulders and chest.
Yoga for a
desk-bound body
Learn from Kate Kendall, Co-Founder & Director of Flow Athletic Yoga, as she teaches the art of every-day movement at work.
Standing Forward Fold
Great for: Decompressing spine, stretching lower back and hamstrings.
How to: from standing, take feet hips distance apart. Inhale to lengthen spine and lift into crown of head. Exhale and drop chin to throat to slowly round forward, bending the knees enough to take care of lower back. Drape torso over thighs (or towards them) and let everything from waist down to head drop. Either grab a hold of opposite elbows or let arms dangle to ground. 5-10 easy breaths. After some time here you could start to lengthen backs of legs as pictured but be mindful of lower back.
Yogi Squat
Great for: opening inner thighs, groin and hips, lower back & improving digestion.
How to: from your forward fold turn toes out and heels in then bend knees so that tail bone drops towards floor. (Tip: you can also prop your sit bones on a stack of books or yoga block to support this posture) Bring palms together in prayer pose and use your elbows to press knees out and away from each other whilst, at the same time, pressing knees into arms. Try lengthening spine and sides of neck. Breath into those parts of the body you ‘feel’ the most and soften consciously on exhalation. 5-10 slow and low breaths. Modification: another option is to place right hand or finger tips to ground at outer right foot and sweep left arm out to left and up to open into left shoulder and chest. Have a few breaths then switch.
Cow Face
Great for: opening outer sides of hips and glutes.
How to: from Yogi Squat, sit down (this doesn’t have to look pretty!) Fold up left leg with knee pointed forwards and left outer foot on ground next to right hip. Stack right knee on top of left by folding leg over, right outer foot landing to earth next to left hip as pictured. Spend a few moments breathing low and slow and lengthening the spine. Stay there or stretch arms out shoulder height. Turn palms to face down. Sweep right arm down and bend right elbow to then wriggle up back. Next raise left arm above head then bend elbow to drop left hand to meet right hand or fingertips. If they don’t connect, just grab a hold of t-shirt or use strap or old sock/tie. Be kind and gentle to shoulders and if there are any ‘risky’ sensations, release and relax arms. 5-10breaths. Switch to place left leg on top and swap arms.
Cow Face Side Stretch
Great for: all of the above benefits as well as opening side waist which can contribute to improved breath capacity and digestion.
How to: From cow face, release arms if bound. With left leg on top, place left hand on ground and reach right arm up above head to lengthen both side waists then lift up and over to the left so that right side waist cracks open. 5 breaths. Switch legs and repeat on other side.
Seated Twist
Great for: Health of spine, releasing neck and back muscles (both upper and lower) as well as being great for digestion.
How to: With right leg on top from Cow Face as above, the only difference with legs is that we’re placing the right foot flat to the ground at outer edge of left leg. With your right hand behind right sit bone, inhale and lift left arm up above head, exhale and rotate to the right, snuggling left elbow over right knee. Each inhalation serves to lengthen spine (keeping lower back in and collar bones broad) and each exhalation serves to gentle rinse and rotate.
Reclined Butterfly
Great for: opening groin & hips as well as chest & shoulders and for calming the nervous system.
How to: from seated twist, lie down and bring soles of feet together, knees wide. Either stretch arms out by side or above head to grab a hold of opposite elbows. Breath low and slow into the belly and then move into some box breathing. Inhale count to 4-5, hold breath gently for 4-5, exhale the same, hold breath out the same as If breathing equally the four sides of a box. Enjoy for 2-5mins.
For more wellness tips + yoga poses, you can find Kate at:
Instagram: @activeyogi
Website: www.flowathletic.com.au