5 Simple Stretches You Can Do At Your Desk

Do you work long hours in the office, and sometimes feel a bit stiff in certain areas of your body? It can be difficult to sit in one position for countless hours without getting uncomfortable after a while. But what choice do you have, the work has to be done, right? To decrease the negative effects of sitting at your desk for many hours what you can do is some simple stretches. Here are 5 that can get you going:

1. Seated Pigeon Pose

Those who develop tight hips can benefit from the seated pigeon pose, which as the picture above shows requires you to sit at the edge of your seat. Cross one leg over the other so that one ankle is placed on the other leg’s knee. Then lean forward until you feel you are stretching your body.

The great thing about the seated pigeon pose is that it can be done at your desk, and it’s very easy to do. You will never hurt yourself whilst performing this stretch simply because it’s of a mild nature.

2. Seated Hamstring Stretch

You can stretch your hamstring whilst sitting at your desk, and this is especially ideal if your office design is rather cramped. This stretch is very easy to do, and you can stretch both hamstrings at once – quite handy when you don’t have a lot of time for stretches.

Firstly, make sure you turn the chair away from your desk so that you have a bit of leg room. Then both legs must be straight and stretched by placing the heels on the floor. Now place your hands on top of your thighs and lean forward. The more you lean, the more you will stretch – so be careful not to lean too far forward as this could put too much strain on your hamstrings.

3. Shoulder Shrugs

One of those office tips that everyone should follow is to do shoulder shrugs throughout the day. It’s an exercise that takes a few moments to do, and can relieve a lot of tension in the shoulder area. Those that work in an office all day long will find that as they perform writing task on the computer their shoulder will stiffen up as tension builds up.

To perform the shoulder shrug you need to lift the shoulders upwards in the direction of your ears. Then squeeze them tightly, but not too tight because you don’t want to strain them. After a few moments move the shoulders back down to resting position and repeat up to 8 or 10 times.

4. Upper Back Stretch

When you have a bad back being productive in an office lease can be almost impossible, because all you really want to do is lie down in order to remove the pain. To keep your back healthy you could do upper back stretches throughout the day. To do this stretch put your arms out in front of you, and arch your back whilst tightening your abs as shown in the picture above.

5. Spinal Twist

The spinal twist can relive tension build up that has occurred in your lower back. To perform this stretching exercise begin by being in a normal seated position with feet flat on the ground. Then twist your torso to either side, and also move both hands in that direction in order to deepen the stretch.