Do you have a desk job? I do, and many times sitting all
day can really take a physical toll on the body, making us
more tired, and less apt to working out or getting the
physical activity that our body's naturally crave when you
get home.
It seems counterintuitive, but sitting all day actually
makes you more tired than if you had been up and about all
day because you haven't gotten your blood pumping and the
blood becomes oxygen deprived, which makes us feel
fatigued, even though we haven't physically exerted
ourselves all day.
Like I said, counterintuitive. You'd think you would be
bursting with restless energy after sitting at a desk all
day in front of a computer, but that is not usually the
case.
How many times have you gotten home from your desk job, and
felt exhausted, ready to fall into bed or on to the couch
and call it a night? Well, there are some little exercises
that you can do right at your desk if you don't happen to
have a workout facility at your place of employment, or
somewhere near to go to get some physical activity in for
the day.
One of my favorite moves, with also helps to relieve neck
and back pain, and is sort of like a yoga move, is one that
focuses on both tightening the tummy and making us sit
taller in our chairs, bringing more oxygen to the blood,
and rejuvenating the mind.
First, sit up straight in your chair. Be mindful to keep
your stomach pressed in, but still keep breathing as
smoothly and evenly as possible. Next, imagine your head
is spiraling up toward the ceiling, while your shoulders
are consciously down, far away from your ears.
As you exhale, expand the belly out. Repeat this several
times, breathing smoothly. This should help get your blood
circulating and serve as a refresher. Another one, this
one more for you lower body, is to increase circulation in
the legs, as well as to enhance flexibility in this rarely
used area.
It's a simple ankle roll. One foot at a time, imagine your
toes are reaching out of their shoes. Rotate the entire
foot in one continuous circle, first clockwise ten times,
then counterclockwise ten times. At the end, flex your
foot and extend it out for about five times to loosen up
the arch of the foot as well.
You should notice, even doing this keeps the body warmer by
enhancing your circulation. The next stretch is for your
lower back. Sitting up straight, imagine again your head
is extending in to the sky. Gently twist to one side with
your hand on your sacrum, which is the bony part between
your back and buttocks.
Be sure to do this one very slowly, and don't kink or twist
too hard. Keep the breath fluid, and go slow, and you will
find that your body will relax and you can go further into
this position. Do this to each side, and hold each pose
for about thirty seconds for optimum benefit.
This next one may look a little more obvious, but you
should be able to do it with no problems discreetly when no
one is looking, and it feels really good because it
releases a lot of hip tension, which many of us don't even
realize we have.
Sit as if your were going to cross your legs over one
another, but don't do it all the way, leaving your ankle on
your knee. Next, elevate your bottom leg, which will lift
the top leg resting on the bottom leg as well, toward your
chest. You may need to back away from your desk for this
one.
You should feel an excellent stretch in your outer hip
flexor. These definitely are not the only stretching for
flexibility exercises you can do at your desk.
You can probably even create some of your own to target
your most tense areas, but just be aware not to push to
hard and to use your breath to go further into the pose.
It's like therapeutic, circulation-enhancing and mind
clearing yoga - at your desk!
----------------------------------------------------
Danna Schneider is the cofounder of
http://www.dietingmagazine.com , where you can find
information on weightloss products, fitness equipment and
diet reviews, and dieting tips for losing weight. She also
founded http://www.dailydietblog.com , a site deidcated to
the latest offerings and breakthroughs in weight loss and
fitness, updated constantly.
