mizzparkerStress Relief Right at Your Desk!
Working at a desk all day can be an arduous task and can wreak havoc on your physical and mental health. Studies show that sitting too long can lead to chronic pain, back and spine injury, a slower metabolism, and a slew of other messed up stuff. How can desk workers counteract the negative effect of sitting all day? The answer: try these simple desk yoga stretches that change the game! Read on.
Action is movement with intelligence. The world is filled with movement. What the world needs is more conscious movement, more action.
-B.K.S. Iyengar
Move Around
Personally, I’ve been working in an office setting for years. I have friends that say they could never sit all day in a chair for work and I understand why. Even though it isn’t physical labor, continued sitting can definitely take a toll on your well-being due to being inactive for long periods of time. And I am all about self-care so over the years I’ve learned to take time to get up from my desk, walk around, do some simple desk yoga stretches, or whatever it takes to make sure I don’t stay stagnant for too long.
Use Reminders
A good idea to remind yourself to take a little movement break is to have an alarm set every two hours that tells you to move. In addition, if you want to get a little fancier, there are apps, trackers and smartwatches that can assist with reminding you to move your ass.
It can get tough sometimes to actually make yourself get up. I think that is part of the problem. Those of us who work at a desk know what it’s like to be in the “zone” whilst working on the computer. just as a professional basketball player frequently gets in the “zone” to do amazing feats on the court, desk-workers get in the “zone” and perform amazing feats on spreadsheets and the like. And sometimes we don’t even want to get up to go to the bathroom. Personally, I’ve held the best record for holding it while in the midst of some zone work.
Moving the body is important because it gets the blood circulating. The body needs to move. The mind needs the body to move. The emotions need the body to move. As much as we sometimes don’t even want to take a break, we must, if only to get your body in motion.
Take Breaks
This isn’t a scare tactic to convince you to get up from your desk more often so I won’t go into all the horrible things that can happen when you sit too much for too long. Just know, it’s horrible and you can Google it later. No, this is about arming you with a little tool to help. It’s simple and will cost you nothing.
Not only do you need to get up from your desk frequently, but another great idea is also stretching at your desk every single day. And let’s just say you can’t get up at the moment. You wish you could take a real 15-minute break and move around a bit but time is of the essence. Well, you definitely can make time for a quick 3-minute stretch right at your desk.
Watch the Video
I know you can make it happen. Honestly, it’s a matter of life and death so just do it. Watch the video now and follow along with these simple desk yoga stretches! And don’t forget to breathe. Namaste.
