Here
are some postures that you can do right at your desk, at
your computer, or in your office.
SEATED
TWIST IN A CHAIR
Begin
by sitting tall in your chair. Press your feet down on the
floor or if they don't reach the floor (mine don't from
this chair) let them rest on a book or a block. Feel your
spine elongate.
Press
your sitz bones down into the chair. Press the crown of
your head up. And remember that your shoulders are down.
You should feel tall in your chair. And you want to be relaxed.
Breathe.
Next,
take your left arm and bring it down across your body and
place your hand on the outside of your right thigh. Bring
your right arm straight up beside your right ear.
Then
twist towards the right. Twist from the belly. You are like
a barber pole twisting. And breathe. And breathe. Untwist
slowly and relax.
Try
it on the other side.
NECK
STRETCH
A good
neck stretch....We hold lots of tension in our neck and
shoulders...
Sit
straight...sitz bones pressing down, crown pressing up,
shoulders down, feet flat and comfortable...the normal good
posture sitting position.
Let
your right ear come down besides your right shoulder. The
left side of your neck is stretching.
To
increase the stretch, raise your right arm up and then bend
it at the elbow. Let the right hand come to rest on the
left ear. Don't pull your head down. Just let the weight
of your hand increase the opening of the left side of your
neck.
Breathe
into the opening. Take 10 comfortable breaths.
Raise
your arm back up and slowly bring your head back to center.
Do
the same on the other side.
Then....Let
the chin come down towards the chest. Feel the stretch in
the back of your neck. Look with your eyes into your own
heart.
Bring
your hands up and let them rest on the crown of your head
so the added weight helps you get more stretch in the back
of your neck.
Take
10 comfortable breaths again.
Bring
your hands back to your lap or keyboard and let your head
come up slowly.
And
one more.....Pretend you are wearing an Elizabethan collar.
Sit tall. Feel your spine elongating.
Raise
your chin up, but don't let your head drop back. Imagine
that you have that collar on and you have to raise your
chin and head up before your head drop backwards. This helps
to keep your cervical spine long and helps you from crunching
those top 7 vertebrae.
Breathe
into your expanded chest points. Take 10 comfortable breaths
again.
Return
your head to normal. Do a few loose head and neck rolls
and some shoulder rolls.
EYE
EXERCISES
Sit
comfortably. Close your eyes tightly and then open them.
Do this again. You can even scrunch your face when you close
the eyes tightly.
Now,
without moving your head, trace the face of a clock with
your eyes. Let your eyes look at 12:00.
Watch
the hands of the clock move to 1:00.
Keeping
your head still, move your eyes to 2:00.
Consciously
move your eyes around the clock to each hour.
When
you get to 12:00, where you began, move your eyes back to
11:00....then 10:00, then 9:00, and so on.....
Now,
close your eyes. Rub your hands together fast. Feel the
heat build up in your hands. The palms of your hands are
very warm. Now, bring those warm hands up and place them
on your closed eyes. Let the healing heat from your hands
soothe your eyes.
PICKING
APPLES....
Sit
in your chair at your desk or computer.
Reach
up with your right arm, overhead and pretend to pick an
apple off a sort of low branch from a tree.
Bring
your right arm back down and reach up with your left arm.
Inhale
as you reach up and exhale as you bring your arm down.
Then
go for a higher branch of the apple tree and pick some more
apples......inhale...right arm up....exhale...right arm
down....inhale left arm up....exhale....left arm down...
CHEST
OPENER
Sit
forward on your chair.
Bring
both hands behind you and bring them together (clasped).
Lift
your chest up and stretch your arms down.
Hold
that posture and breathe into the opening in your chest.
To
get more of an opening, sit on the edge of your chair.
Exhale
and lean forward, bringing your chest to (or towards) your
thighs.
Breathe
Straighten
your elbows while holding your hands.
Breathe
Bring
your hands back down to rest on your back.
Release
your hands. And carefully sit back up.
ANOTHER
STRETCH....
Well,
you can't do this sitting down, but it's quick and easy.
I do this every couple of hours or so when I'm sitting at
the computer for a long period of time:
Stand
up with feet about 2 feet apart.
Clasp
your hands behind your back with stiff arms.
Stretch
and pull your hands up as high and far away from your back
as possible.
Hold
this for a while.
With
your arms/hands still in this position and legs straight,
not bent, bend forward at the waist until your head is as
close to the floor as you can get it.
Hold
this for a while.
Then
slowly release your clasped hands and lower your arms until
your hands touch the floor.
You
can also hang like a "rag doll" for a while. I
find this wonderful for releasing tension.
