It’s a undeniable part of modern life – we all spend gigantic amounts of time sitting in front of computer screens, tap-tapping away. Honestly, as a book worm and introvert, I’m not complaining, I get lots of great stuff accomplished in front of my macbook. Regardless of how much I love what I am working on, at the end of a long day I feel a like I have been carrying bags of sand on my shoulders. Sound familiar?
Better posture, proper work set up and regular breaks are all necessary preventative steps to reduce neck and shoulder pain. However, no matter how much prevention you put in, we humans are still not designed to be fixated in front of a glowing box for hours on end. The following is what I call my 5-minute-fix for sitting in front of the computer all day.
You can practice these three yoga poses right at your desk when you need a break – or at the stand up and the end of your day and have a good stretch.
1. Neck Rotation
- Sit or stand up straight – hold each position for 3 breaths before moving on
- Lower your chin to your chest
- Lift your chin up to the ceiling
- Lower your right ear to your right shoulder – to deepen the stretch reach your left hand out to the left
- Lower your left ear to your left shoulder – to deepen the stretch reach your right hand out to the right
- Very mindfully, and slowly put all these movements together to form a circle.
- Circle your head in each direction 3 times
- Bring your head back to neutral
2. Shoulder Rotation
- Sit up straight, and keep your head neutral
- Push both shoulders forward as far as you can towards the front of the room
- Lift both shoulders up towards your ears as far as you can
- Keep your shoulders high, and push them towards the back of the room
- Slide both shoulders down your back towards your hips
- Link these movements together to form a fluid circle
- Circle your shoulders in each direction 3 times
- Bring your shoulders back to neutral
3. Chest & Shoulder Stretch
- Reach your hand behind your back and interlace your fingers
- As you inhale straighten your ams, and reach your knuckles back behind you
- Fold forward over your legs on your next exhale, and reach your knuckles up towards the ceiling
- Hold for 5 breaths
- Come back to neutral on your next inhale, and release your hands
There you have it lovelies – if you ever see me out and about doing these stretches you will know its the end of a workday, or long meeting. They feel amazing after an epic day of sitting, and they will help to bring your neck and shoulders back into alignment.
Till next time,
Cora
xx
