If you sit at a desk all day, you’re not alone. Yoga teachers often work with people who spend several hours a day seated at a desk. They understand that practising yoga after sitting all day brings many benefits that couldn’t be achieved by simply walking and stretching. Yoga teachers often hear complaints from students who suffer from tight hips and back pain as a result of sitting for long periods. This is one of the many reasons yoga for office workers is such a popular trend in the workplace.
People who sit for long periods are in a constant state of flexion at the hips and knees. Add to this the fact that when they spend a great deal of time hunched over a screen, they are also in prolonged protraction of the shoulder blades and flexion of the spine, and it’s easy to see how they might be destined for problems with poor posture and back, neck, and shoulder pain. Yoga offers solutions to return the body to balance even among those with the most sedentary of lifestyles. Perhaps one day, Yoga for office workers will become an imperative rather than simply a wise recommendation.
Why Practice Yoga After Sitting All Day?
Yoga can help alleviate fatigue and muscle strain that can arise from sitting for long periods. For instance, in Urdhva Dhanurasana (Upward Bow Pose), the back body opens and releases as the chest is thrust forward and the spine is arched. In Supta Vajrasana (Sleeping Thunderbolt Pose), the hips, knees, and ankles are levelled, creating a gentle stretch.
Inspired by the postures and actions of cats and other animals, the gentle poses in this sequence will help increase blood flow, improve circulation, and calm the mind. And because they’re performed while seated, they can be performed in an office, a cubicle, or even in the privacy of your own home.
Put simply, yoga after sitting is exactly what its name implies. After sitting for a prolonged period, you can practise yoga to get your hip, sacrum, and spine moving again.
If you suffer from stiffness and pain as a result of remaining seated for long periods, here are some yoga poses you can try!
1. Vasisthasana Variation
- Start in plank position with your wrists directly under your shoulders and your body forming a straight line from head to heels.
- Rotate your body to the right, reaching your right upward and stacking your feet on top of each other. Keep your body in a straight line, balancing on the outer edge of the foot and the palm of your hand.
- While in side plank, raise your top leg upward, keeping it straight. This variation adds an extra challenge to your balance and engages your core and outer hip muscles.
Why it helps: The side plank pose, with its core activation, spinal mobility, hip flexor stretch, posture improvement, and focus on balance and stability, is beneficial for individuals who have been sitting all day, as it addresses muscle weaknesses, promotes flexibility, and enhances overall physical well-being.
2. Adho Mukha Svanasana
This simple and easy pose is a great way to stretch the entire body! It increases the flexibility of the spine, hips, and ankles while also increasing blood flow to the hips.
- Begin in a downward-facing dog pose.
- Walk your feet towards your hands until your hips align with your shoulders. Bend your knees if you need to, but do not round your back.
- Step out with your right foot, placing it outside your left hand.
- Step out with your left foot, placing it outside your right hand.
- Lift your hips up and back in the pose and press your heels toward the floor.
- Hold the pose for one to three breaths.
- Repeat on the other side.
Why It Helps: This pose releases the hips and stretches the back of the body. It also increases blood flow to the lower body.
3. High Lunge with Cactus Arms
- Stand in tadasana (mountain pose).
- Step your right foot way out in front of your body – the leg should be completely straight.
- Lift your arms to the sides and reach toward the ceiling.
- Make sure the arms are shoulder-width apart, the palms facing the ceiling, and the arms parallel to the floor.
- Hold the pose for one to three breaths.
- Repeat on the other side.
Why It Helps: This pose is a gentle opener of the hips and helps increase circulation through the legs.
These hip openers will help stretch the legs, hips, buttocks, and back. They’re a great way to move your body after a long sitting period.
Try The Power Yoga Company!
Would you like to start a regular habit of practising yoga after sitting all day? If so, a beginner’s yoga course at The Power Yoga Company could be perfect for you. Our dedicated team of expert teachers will help you to stretch, re-energise and unravel the knots after a long day at work.
Book a class with us today and find out why we’re London’s leading yoga studio!