There’s more things you should be getting up from your desk to do than refill your coffee…
Life can feel super stationary sitting behind your computer screen all day. With many of us still not going to in-person classes or work face to face, life can feel really mundane. Humans weren’t meant to operate like this. Get up and move your body… you need some stretching in your life! Use time between classes and meetings to stretch after sitting all day. Try these stretches to help release tension you may be storing in your body.
Start this exercise by releasing all tension in your neck and pull your shoulders to the floor.
Roll your neck.
Twist side to side.
Move 1:
Place your hands on your tailbone and lean back… almost trying to do a backbend. Push your hips forward and hold, repeating this motion.
Move 2:
Stand with both feet grounded. Take your right hand to your right foot and pull your foot to teach your butt. Repeat on your other leg. If possible, try to bend your back a bit to get a deeper stretch. After sitting all day, this really helps your knees and hips.
Move 3:
Start with one leg out in front and your other knee stacked under your hip. Lunge forward to get the most possible out of your stretch. Left your arm in the air to open the front side of your body. Take a nice deep breath here.
Move 4:
This move will really release lower back tension and open up the hips. After sitting all day, our lower back tends to be rounded and posture is pretty poor. Our hips also need some love after sitting. Lay flat on your stomach with your hands beside your chest, exhale, and push up off the ground. Take deep breaths and repeat this motion of pushing up off against the floor. If you’re familiar with yoga, this is called the cobra.
Move 5:
Stand with your right foot in front of your left, crossed, and do a full body stretch to your right, with your arm above your head. Repeat with your left leg in front of the right, and stretch to the left. Hold this and get a nice, deep stretch to the side. This helps your frontal motion get some stretching and loosening up. This is also beneficial for injury prevention and spine health.
Give your body some love and loosen up. Doing these five moves will also release a great deal of tension throughout stressful days. This is a good time to set intentions for the rest of your days and even a moment for a five minute meditation. Doing these tiny stretches for yourself throughout the day will not only help your physical health, but mental health, by taking a moment for yourself away from the screen.