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Three gentle yoga poses you can do at your desk to relieve stiffness
If you spend long hours sitting at a desk, you’ve probably experienced some tightness and stiffness in your shoulders, back or hips.
While common, this discomfort can be eased with a few simple stretches that will lengthen muscles and keep your joints mobile.
I asked yoga instructor and creator of the Yoga for Pain app, Sophia Drozd, what her three favorite poses are for desk workers, and why they are helpful.
“Working at a desk can lead to a person becoming very sedentary, which can result in an increased risk of injury when getting up from the chair,” Drozd says. “So, desk yoga can help to reduce the risk of injury.”
The three moves below are a step towards undoing the effects of sitting, like rounded shoulders, a bent neck and compressed hip. The moves should ease some of the tension that builds up in these areas.
You can perform all three poses from your chair, using your desk to deepen and support your stretches.
Three desk yoga poses
1. Seated twist
This pose creates length and space in the spine and up the sides of the body, releasing tension in the back.
Hold: 5 breaths
- Sit with your feet flat on the floor and inhale to lengthen your spine.
- Exhale, gently twist to one side, keeping your feet grounded and hips level. Feel the connection between your buttocks and the chair.
- If comfortable, turn your head to look over your shoulder.
- Hold the twist for five breaths, breathing long and steadily through the nose.
- Repeat on the other side.
2. Seated fold
This is a great hold to release tech neck and rounded shoulders after hours of staring at a screen.
Hold: 5-10 breaths
- Move your chair back slightly from the desk and position your feet hip-width apart.
- Hinge forward from your hips, bringing your elbows onto your desk to rest and hands together if you wish.
- Continue leaning forward for a deeper stretch in your back, under your upper arms and chest.
- Breathe deeply as you stretch, hanging your head between your arms if comfortable.
3. Seated pigeon
Hips carry our weight, even while sitting. Seated pigeon is a great stretch to relieve tightness that builds up in your hips and buttocks from prolonged sitting. Perform this pose while sitting and before getting up.
Hold: 5-10 breaths
- Start with your feet flat on the floor and your knees bent at a 90° angle.
- Lift one leg and place that foot on the opposite thigh (rest it on your shin if this is difficult).
- If this feels tight in your hips and groin, take your time and stay connected to your breath.
- To deepen the stretch, gently press the lifted knee away from you, creating more space in the hips and groin.
- Alternatively, hinge forward over your raised leg to intensify the stretch.
- Hold, then repeat on the other side.
