Most Effective Yoga Poses that You Can Do at Your Desk or Office

In today’s time, most people have jobs that involve sitting for long hours. However, did you know that spending hours glued to your work desk may be detrimental to your health?

A 2015 study found in the Annals of Internal Medicine stated that an average person spends more than half of his or her waking hours sitting, which can be due to watching television, working on a computer, and commuting,among other things.

However, prolonged sedentary time owing to sitting is independently connected to adverse health outcomes, regardless of physical activity.^[1]

Inactive Lifestyle and Health Issues

Too much sitting can contribute to discomfort and health issues, including neck and shoulder pain, obesity, musculoskeletal disorders, lower back pain, and even carpal tunnel. It also increases the risk of serious ailments such as diabetes, heart disease, and even cancer.

A sedentary lifestyle also results in increased anxiety and stress levels.^[2]

If you do not take steps to become more physically active and spend lesser time sitting down, you may end up with health issues that can last for a lifetime.

Yoga can help you protect yourself from the health hazards that accompany an inactive lifestyle.

Practiced by millions of people all over the world, yoga aids in relieving stress and healing your body and mind.^[3]

There are a number of simple yoga poses you can perform while seated at your work desk. For best results, perform these poses 2 or 3 times a day.

Yoga Poses that You Can Perform in Working Hours

Here a few effective yoga poses that you can do while at work.

1. Wrist and Finger Stretch

This exercise relieves tension in the forearms that may occur due to typing or writing at your desk for long hours. When done on a regular basis, it may help prevent carpal tunnel.^[4]

1. Sit up straight in your chair.
2. Extend your arms to the front, and move your wrists in circular motions in both an inward and outward direction.
3. Spread your fingers and close your fists, repeating 5 to 10 times.
4. Now, place your hands on your desk, palms facing up and fingers toward you.
5. Put gentle pressure to counter stretch the wrists and the forearms.
6. Finally, put both arms by your sides and give your wrists a good rapid shake.

2. Chair Cat and Cow Pose

This is an excellent pose to stretch and strengthen the spine, relieve stress, and calm the mind. It also helps by massaging the glands and organs in the abdomen.

1. Sit straight at the front edge of your chair and place both the feet firmly on the floor (hip-width apart). Your knees should be right above your ankles, and your toes should be pointing front.
2. Place your palms on your knees or thighs.
3. Inhale and form the cow pose by opening your chest and shoulders. Now bring your shoulder blades towards each other and push them down towards your hips. This will create an arch in the lower back. Continue to inhale and lift your head up (towards the ceiling) and back.
4. To come to the cat pose, exhale and start moving from the lower back, taking your abdomen and chest in, rounding the shoulders, and finally bringing your chin towards your chest.
5. Repeat the Cat and Cow Poses 8 to 10 times.
6. Come to a neutral spine with an inhalation and relax.

3. Chair Raised Hands Pose

This yoga pose improves your posture as well as stretches your side body. It also gives a nice stretch to the tense muscles in your back and shoulders.

1. Sit in your chair, keeping your back straight.
2. Inhale and bring your arms out to the sides and up toward the ceiling.
3. Bring your palms together overhead and start looking up toward your thumbs.
4. Allow your shoulder blades to slide down your back.
5. Take your chest and abdomen in, so there is no pressure in the lower back.
6. Breathe deeply and hold this position for 5 to 10 breaths.
7. If there is tightness in the neck, look in front of you with the chin parallel to the floor.
8. Release the pose with an exhalation.

4. Seated Crescent Moon Pose

Sitting for long hours in front of your computer can add to neck and shoulder discomfort. The Seated Crescent Moon Pose is very effective in reducing this uneasiness.

This pose will give a nice stretch to your neck, shoulders, back, and obliques. Doing this yoga pose for a few minutes can help you resume your work with a clear head and better concentration.

1. Sit in your chair comfortably, keeping your back straight.
2. As you inhale, lift your arms overhead and stretch your fingers out wide.
3. Exhale and bend to the right.
4. Inhale and come back to the center.
5. Exhale and bend to the left to stretch the right side of the body.
6. Inhale and come back to the center.
7. Repeat the whole process (while alternating sides) about 10 times.

5. Sit and Stand Chair Pose

This pose helps awaken the underused glutes and hamstrings due to sitting for long hours. It is also good for building stamina as well as toning the abdominal muscles and the back.

1. Sit in your chair with your knees bent 90 degrees and your feet flat on the floor.
2. Inhale and press down from your heels to reach a standing position without using your hands.
3. From the standing position, exhale and slowly sit down without leaning forward.
4. Repeat this 5 to 10 times.

6. Seated Forward Bend

This exercise is excellent for relieving discomfort in the hip area. It stretches the lower back and inner thighs and helps release tension in the back, neck, and head. It also relaxes stiff shoulders and improves the flexibility of your upper body.

You need a little room to perform the Seated Forward Bend, so push your chair out from your desk.

1. Sit near the front edge of the chair.
2. Separate your feet wide enough so that you have enough space to bend forward.
3. Position your knees directly over your ankles.
4. You can place your palms either on your knees or hold the chair.
5. Inhale and lengthen your spine.
6. Exhale and fold your body forward from the hips, bringing your head towards the floor. Bring your palms down on to the floor between the feet.
7. You can press your palms into the floor while keeping your elbows straight. Alternatively, you can press your elbows into your inner thighs to stretch the inner leg muscles.
8. Maintain this position for a minute or two.
9. Inhale and come out of the pose.

7. Chair Pigeon Pose

Crossing your legs while being seated creates an imbalance in the hip area and the lower spine. The Chair Pigeon Pose helps restore that balance.

This pose is highly effective for those who complain of stiffness in the hip area due to sitting for long hours in the same position. It stretches the hamstrings and also the piriformis muscle,^[5] which gets inflamed and presses against the sciatic nerve causing pain.

1. Sit at the front end of the chair with a straight spine.
2. Keep your feet hip-width apart, and position your ankles right under the knees with your toes pointing forward.
3. Bring your right ankle over the left thigh just above the knee. Keep the foot flexed.
4. If you have knee problems and can’t bring your ankle all the way over to your thigh, you may stretch your left leg.
5. Hold this position for 5 to 10 breaths.
6. Repeat the process with the other leg.

Once you are comfortable with this pose, you may intensify the stretch by bending forward from the hips, leading with your chest.

8. Hamstring Stretch

This simple exercise improves flexibility and releases tension in the legs.

1. Arrange two chairs facing each other.
2. Sit up straight on the end of one chair.
3. Put your right heel on the other chair.
4. Inhale as you lift both the arms up towards the ceiling and exhale. Bending from the hips, fold forward. Imagine going forward rather than down. Grab your toes, ankle, or where ever you can reach without pulling your shoulders.
5. Keep your right knee bent if there is pulling on the back of the knee.
6. Hold this position for 5 to 10 breaths.
7. Repeat the process with the other side.

9. Cow Face Arms Pose

This yoga pose improves your posture^[6] and releases tension in the shoulders.

It also improves core strength and stretches the muscles of the upper back, upper arms, chest, and hips.

1. Sit up straight in your chair with knees and feet hip-width apart and toes pointing front.
2. Inhale and stretch your right arm up. Exhale and bring the right palm between the shoulder blades. Your right elbow should point up towards the ceiling.
3. Inhale and stretch your left palm out at the shoulder level with palm facing back. Exhale and take your arm around your back while keeping your palm facing up.
4. Clasp your fingers together if possible. You may use a belt or a scarf if you can’t reach the fingers.
5. Hold this position for 5 to 10 breaths.
6. Switch arms and repeat.

10. Seated Twist Pose

This simple yoga pose can make your spine and back more flexible. It also stretches your upper body and shoulders to help reduce shoulder pain. This pose massages the glands and organs in the abdomen, improves digestion, detoxifies the body, and improves circulation in the abdominal region.

The Seated Twist pose also helps relieve stress, mild depression, back pain, and menstrual symptoms as well as brings mental clarity.

Plus, it also helps increase the oxygen supply to the lungs.

1. Sit in your chair with your side body facing the back of the chair.
2. Press your sit bones down into the chair and bring your body to an upright position. Place your feet firmly on the ground with knees and feet as wide as your hips. Make sure your toes are pointing forward.
3. Inhale and keep your spine straight. Exhale and twist to your right side from the bottom of your spine. Bring your hands to the back of the chair.
4. Relax your shoulders. Move the bottom of the right shoulder blade towards the spine and bottom of the left shoulder blade away from the spine so that both the shoulders are in line.
5. When you have rotated as far as you think you possibly can, turn your head to look over your left shoulder.
6. Take a few deep breaths, and then return to the original position.
7. Repeat the process on the other side.

If possible, sit on the floor in a cross-legged position when doing this simple exercise.

Before going back to your work, give yourself a few minutes to relax. Remember, for every action, there is a reaction, and yoga is not an exception.

Sparing a few minutes to focus on your breathing can help reduce stress and prevent fatigue. Also, it will make you feel more energetic.

1. Sit comfortably and cross your arms.
2. Place your crossed arms on the surface in front of you.
3. Rest your head on your crossed arms.
4. Keep your eyes closed and concentrate on your breathing.
5. Remain in this position for 10 minutes before going back to your work.

Resources:

1. Sedentary Time and Its Association With Risk for Disease Incidence, Mortality, and Hospitalization in Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Annals of Internal Medicine. http://annals.org/aim/article-abstract/2091327/sedentary-time-its-association-risk-disease-incidence-mortality-hospitalization-adults?doi=10.7326%2fM14-1651. Published January 20, 2015.
2. Hamilton MT. Too little exercise and too much sitting. National Institutes of Health. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3419586.
3. Gard T, Noggle JJ, Park CL, Vago DR, Wilson A. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4179745/. Published 2014.
4. Andersen JH. Computer Use and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. JAMA. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/196717. Published June 11, 2003.
5. Hopayian K, Song F, Riera R, Sambandan S. European Spine Journal. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2997212/. Published December 2010.
6. Zemp R, Taylor WR, Lorenzetti S. BioMed Research International. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3794512/. Published 2013.