7 Essential Office Exercises to Combat Sedentary Lifestyle Effects

Introduction

Spending long hours at your desk can lead to various health issues, including back, neck, and shoulder pain. For those with sedentary jobs, keeping muscles toned can be challenging, and hitting the gym a couple of times a week might not be enough. To combat the negative effects of a sedentary lifestyle and maintain energy and productivity, consider seated yoga. All the exercises you’d do on a yoga mat can be adapted for your office chair. While the effects may not be as comprehensive, seated yoga can certainly help relieve tension in tired muscles and rejuvenate you.

Office Exercises

Cobra Pose

If you spend a lot of time at the computer and experience back pain by midday, the Cobra Pose is perfect for you. This exercise engages your cervical vertebrae, restores your spine’s natural position, and increases blood flow.

How to do it: Sit on the edge of your chair and straighten your back. Keep your feet flat on the floor and your thighs apart. Bring your hands, bent at the elbows, behind your head and interlace your fingers. Spread your elbows as wide as possible. On the inhale, open your hands and extend your chest forward; on the exhale, move it back. Additionally, do a slight side-to-side tilt, engaging only the muscles of the thoracic region. Do 4-5 repetitions.

Cat-Cow Stretch

If you hunch a lot, leading to back pain, the Cat-Cow Stretch is ideal for relaxing your back muscles and returning your vertebrae to their original positions. By opening the chest, you allow the muscles to receive oxygen, which helps relieve tension and invigorates you.

How to do it: Sit up straight and place your hands on your knees. On the inhale, extend your chest forward, arching your spine, bringing your shoulder blades together, and spreading your shoulders. The crown of your head should be directed towards the ceiling. On the exhale, round your back, extending your shoulders forward, and reach your crown towards your knees. Repeat 8-10 times.

Seated Twist

Twists can help if you feel discomfort in your stomach or back pain and anxiety. This exercise is beneficial for internal organs and their proper functioning.

How to do it: Sit up straight and inhale. Keep your feet flat on the floor. On the exhale, turn your shoulders in one direction and your torso in the other, holding onto the back of the chair. Your torso should resemble a spiral. Ensure your spine does not hunch. Once in position, stay there for 5 breaths, feeling your spine stretch. Then repeat the exercise on the other side.

Side Bends

If you sit in one place for a long time and start to feel discomfort, try doing side bends. This exercise helps stretch the muscles on one side while contracting the muscles on the other side. The chest and arms are also engaged in this exercise. Side bends can quickly restore muscle tone and breathing.

How to do it: Sit up straight, grab the seat of the chair with one hand, relax your shoulder, and let it drop down. Raise the other hand upwards, then lean towards the side of the lowered hand, strictly to the side, without bending the spine forward or backward. Then do the same with the other hand. Repeat 5-10 times.

Backward Bend

Allowing your body to relax and regain energy can be achieved with a backward bend, which stretches the chest muscles and relaxes the spine. If you’ve spent the whole day at your desk and now feel tension in your shoulders, a backward bend will definitely help.

How to do it: Sit up straight on the edge of your chair, and with your hands extended backward, support yourself on the seat. On the inhale, extend your chest forward and lower your head backward. Maintain the position for 5 breaths, then lower the chest. Repeat the exercise if necessary.

Seated Pigeon Pose

After a long meeting, your legs may feel numb and your knees tired. To alleviate these unpleasant sensations, you can do the Pigeon Pose. It stretches the thigh and back muscles.

How to do it: Sit up straight. Fold one leg at the knee and place the ankle on the thigh of the other leg (near the knee). Reach your torso forward, opening the chest and trying to touch your abdomen to your thigh. Ensure your spine extends upwards and your back is straight. Perform the exercise for 5 breaths. Repeat with the other leg.

Forward Bend

If you feel sleepy in the middle of the day, you can do a forward bend, which will allow blood to flow to the brain and neck, relieve tension in the lower back, and stretch the muscles of the back of the thighs.

How to do it: Sit up straight on the edge of the chair, spread your thighs apart, and keep your legs straight. Lower your torso down, relax, bend your arms at the elbows, and let them hang freely down. Reach the crown of your head towards the floor. Perform for 30 seconds, then return to the starting position.

For more information on the benefits of yoga, you can visit the National Institutes of Health website.