It’s no secret that yoga is amazing for your mind, body, and soul in all sorts of ways from reducing stress and anxiety, to improving strength, posture, self-awareness, and boosting your cardiovascular health, especially if you’re working from home.
If you’re working from a desk all day, this simple yoga flow from yoga teacher Kate Lombardo could help to ease tension and pain, improve your flexibility, and help you to feel more relaxed.
WHY ARE THE BENEFITS OF YOGA FOR PEOPLE WORKING FROM HOME?
“The biggest complaints that I hear from anyone who is sitting at a desk all day or working from home are feeling tension in the shoulders and the lower back.
“The tension we feel in the shoulders is often caused by a rounding forward of the spine when we're looking at a computer or doing desk work.
“The pain in the lower back can be a result of tightness in the psoas and the hips caused by sitting all day. So, the main thing we want to do is to focus on poses that bring movement to the spine and space to the hips,” says Kate Lombardo, Yoga Director at Yoga Renew Online Teacher Training.
When working from a desk, it’s key to stay active with various types of movement including yoga to keep our joints and bones healthy and mobile, as well as work on our strength and fitness.
Since our homes have become a place where we work, eat, work out, relax and sleep, doing at-home yoga practice at the start or end of each day can help you to switch off and separate the different parts of your life playing out at home.
WHAT YOGA POSES SHOULD WE DO TO SUPPORT OUR BODY WORKING FROM HOME?
Lombardo shares this yoga flow to ease off muscular pain, tension, and tightness, and support you to switch off to feel more relaxed.
TO RESET…
SUN BREATH
“A simple sun breath is a great way to bring movement to the spine and air to the lungs, which can help to open up the body and reset our energy. To do this, stand in Mountain Pose and reach both arms overhead as you inhale.
“Then, on an exhale, fold forward out over your legs like you're going to touch your toes. You can always put a bend in the knees if there is tightness in the back of the legs or the lower back.
“Next, inhale and bring the hands to the shins while lengthening the spine halfway up, then fold forward again on the exhale. Inhale and reach your arms all the way out and back overhead as you come to stand up. Exhale, bring your hands by your sides.
“I recommend doing this 5-10 times so you can really connect your body and your breath and experience a full reset.”
TO OPEN THE HIPS AFTER SITTING ALL DAY…
“To help open the hips, my two favorite poses are lizard lunge and baddha konasana,” says Lombardo.
LIZARD LUNGE
“Lizard lunge is a lunge where both of your hands stand inside of your front foot and your back leg extends behind you.
“I recommend bringing your back knee to the floor to help release the psoas more deeply. It can feel nice to pad up your knee with a pillow or blanket and to bring your hands onto a set of yoga blocks or books that you have at home.
“Try to keep your spine long as you release your tailbone towards the floor. Most people will feel this in the hip flexor of the extended leg (or back leg) and the hip crease of the bent leg (or front leg).”
BADDHA KONASANA
“Baddha Konasana is a seated pose where the knees begin bent with the feet on the floor. Then, you bring the soles of your feet to touch and open your knees out wide to the side, kind of like a butterfly pose from elementary school.
“Then, you fold forward in any amount that feels comfortable. This helps to open up a different part of the hips and will also bring a gentle stretch to the whole back body and neck.
“For someone who feels discomfort in their low back in this pose, it's helpful to sit up on a blanket or a pillow before folding forward.”
If you want to have a long, healthy lifespan with movement and mobility for as long as possible, incorporating just 10 minutes of yoga into your daily routine is a great way to prevent injury and reconnect mind, body, and spirit.
