Is typing while hunched over a tiny desk how you spend each day If the answer is yes, then you need to get proactive about your mental and physical state of being. To help you achieve just that, here are eight yoga asanas for the office that will help you combat mental and physical stress by increasing your concentration levels and relaxing any muscle tensions. Read and practise right away!
1 Wrist Stretches- Perform these simple stretches as a warm up exercise before starting your work and you'll never complain of wrist pain. (1) Extend and stretch both wrist and fingers acutely as if they are in a hand stand position and hold them up for a count of 5. (2) Make a tight fist with both hands and then bend wrist down while keeping the fist and hold it for a count of 5.
2 Neck Asana- Breathe in as you bend your head in the right direction. Try and aim at a point where your shoulder touches the ear. Exhale as you bring your back to the normal position. Make sure you keep your neck and spine long. Now do the asana on the left side. Perform five breathing cycles on each side.
3 Reversed Shoulder Rotation and Thoracic Wave- Inhale as you move your shoulders in an upward and backward direction. Exhale as you move them in a downward and frontward direction. Pay key attention to the breathing cycle and keep your neck and spine comfortably straight. Perform eight to ten rotations on each side.
4 Cow Face Pose for your upper back- Take both your hands and clasp your hands behind your back. If you are unable to clasp, don't try too hard, comfortably stretch your fingers towards one another. Release with an exhalation. Now shake your arms for about 30 seconds and repeat.
5 Cat Asana for the lower back- While exhaling, bend your back in a backward direction creating a sharp curve in your spine. Now bend in a forward direction with the point between the shoulder blades and inhale. Do it for 5 breathing cycles to relieve your body of long hours at the desk.
6 Konasana for toned arms- Stand straight with legs wide apart. Now bend forward from your waist. Try and touch the ground with the tips of your fingers, if possible place both your hands on the ground while standing. Your upper body should be in a straight line. Look ahead by about 3 inches. Perform konasana for 10 to 30 seconds and breathe normally throughout the asana.
7 Bhastrika for your abdomen- Sit in a comfortable position with your back straight. Close your eyes and start exhaling and inhaling via nose by focusing on the abdominal muscles. As soon as you release your abdominal muscles you'll realize that your diaphragm contracts before you start to inhale. Hear the sound of your breath and perform this asana 5 times at a stretch. Give it a pause. Breathe normally. And start again. Complete one to two rounds on a daily basis and increase the number of your breaths by 5, each week.
8 Leg Extension Asana- Sit in a comfortable position with one leg bent and placed on a chair or desk in front of you. Place both your hands on your feet. Keeping your spine straight, inhale and extend your leg outward while holding it with your hands. Stay in this position for 3 to 5 breaths. Exhale as you come back to the normal position, while moving your hands and placing them on your waist. Stay in this position for 3 to 5 breaths. Relax. Perform 5 to 10 rounds like this. Read more Personal.
Source: Times of India
BDST: 1659 HRS, SEP- 01, 2015
Edited by: Sharmina Islam, Lifestyle Editor
