Have you ever caught yourself fantasizing at your desk and envisioning that the next email you send about spreadsheet revisions is actually an edge-of-your-seat mystery novel? If so, you could benefit from some office yoga. Picture it: You, in the midst of a slump, doing a sun salutation or modified downward dog right next to your trusty workstation. Is this feasible? Yes. Is this a thing? Yes. And it might just be a way of newly infusing your workday with the kind of enthusiasm and flexibility (mind, body, and otherwise) that could help keep you out of the office slump zone and out of the Wild Heart of Workday Slump Territory.
Think again if you think yoga belongs only in calm studios with incense wafting about. The contemporary workplace has adopted yoga as a not-so-secret remedy for the daily grind. Picture this: invigorating stretches becoming part of your workday to-do list, stealthily merging with your life like a ninja in stretchy pants. With a series of simple yet effective poses, you can go from stress to bliss all while adorned with the only yoga accessory your office provides: a swivel chair.
Chair Cat Cow Stretch: A Desk-Friendly Revival
Picture being pounded by meetings longer than the edit of a box set of terrible meetings. Your cat is way more productive than you. Enter the Chair Cat Cow Stretch: a simple, effective way to become more bendy, more zen, and less slouchy. This magic trick for your posture activates those aforementioned slouching muscles and tosses some deep breathing into the mix.
When you take a breath and curve your spine forward, then let the breath go in an arching back bend, you are creating a small stationary moment of calm in the middle of all the craziness. This pose is like a tiny jolt of espresso for your back. It recharges tired muscles and kinda wakes them up, getting you prepped to tackle your email again.
Chair Raised Hands: Reaching New Heights
This isn’t a SOS, though I would be forgiven for sending one if my presentation were going wrong. The Chair Raised Hands is a pose with a somewhat ironic name. Described as a kind of warm-up for the upper body, the Hands carry a slight sense of reverence, and that, in turn, might remind us to approach with reverence the tasks we are about to undertake in our really real lives.
Take a deep breath, and feel the air circulating through your body. When you exhale, let your arms float down and sway a little. You’ve just taken a mini break from Office Land. It was a move that was good for your mind and body.
Dancing is one of the oldest forms of expression in human culture. Even if you were working at the top of a minaret in Timbuktu, your hands would ache from the long hours spent weaving a carpet, a dance. Wiggle fingers in the air for the toddler in front of you, who might giggle with delight as if you were just shredding on a guitar up in her face, which is another expression of rhythm and another kind of dance. If you really think about it.
Chair Eagle Pose: Tangle and Untangle
Think you are an eagle? This everyday pose might make you feel more like an extraordinary creature, in the wild but still ergonomic. The Chair Eagle Pose delivers a spectacular shoulder release, making it a good choice if your shoulders have been slumping in front of that Excel sheet for too long.
In leaving the tight embrace of crossing arms and legs, you enter a world of grounding in both the fiscal and physical senses. Muscles have a way of remembering when they’ve been chastised with a report full of red ink. It’s time to loosen up and breathe life into those stagnant cells trying to reach for the bright, warm sun.
Chair Spinal Twist: Twisted Yet Mighty
Consider the Chair Spinal Twist your opportunity to escape the office its opportunity cost is virtually nil, since you’re seated already. Use this reboot-with-torque pose to detangle the spaghetti knots born of bad (or just long) sitting. Twisting your torso in this manner is not only a way to let go of stale spinal tensions (i.e., the tensions that don’t serve any purpose), but it’s also a way to make room for fresh blood and fresh ideas.
Grasp the armrest and pivot in your seat toward the rear of the plane. Then embrace the freedom of movement. This is the twist in 8D. It is not quite a full-body twist like on a dance floor. More like a side-saddle twist. Also, most of the time, you will not need it. 8D is best appreciated as a type of rarefied air.
Seated Double Hamstring: A Desk Odyssey
Is it a stretch or a secret portal to another realm where email notifications don’t exist? The Seated Double Hamstring stretch might not transport you physically, but mentally, you’re in an oasis of tranquility. You extend your legs and reach out, much like an astronaut stretching into the cosmos.
Relieving tightness in the lower back and hamstrings, this stretch helps combat the stiffness that comes from sitting and staring at a screen for too long. You’re straightening not just your physical form but also your attention span.
Final Thoughts: Striking a Proverbial Pose
Your express ticket to enhanced productivity and well-being is implementing yoga during work. Who knew your office chair was a gateway to nirvana? Much like sipping herbal tea for a health benefit, these office yoga hacks serve to craft an environment where creativity and health coexist.
If you find yourself in a midday dip or are looking for ways to refine your concentration, consider the possibility that a few minutes of stretching in your workspace could be more effective than another jolt of caffeine. By all means, reach for the coffee cup if that’s what it takes, but also reach for your inner zen. It’s the workplace, after all. Maybe today, you’re even working from home. Either way, success is yours to grasp unless you let it slip through your fingers.
