Office Yoga: Simple stretches to try without interrupting your workday

Be honest: How many hours per day do you spend sitting at your desk? Hunched over in your car? How about stretched out on the couch?

When you add up the minutes spent in a seated position each day, it turns out that your body is put under a lot of strain during your day-to-day activities. Hours spent seated put undue pressure on our joints and internal organs, and are linked to chronic issues such as lower back pain, high blood pressure, and increased risk of certain diseases.

With our modern schedules, it’s not realistic to try and cut out sitting altogether. Instead, your goal should be to minimize the time you spend seated — and if you work from a desk or your dining room table, to take frequent breaks to stretch.

Below, you’ll find some of our team’s favorite stretches for breaking up the workday.

You can do one or two of these every fifteen minutes, or take a longer stretch break (15-20 minutes) every couple of hours. When you finish up your workday, it’s also a good idea to have a nice, winding-down stretch routine to help your body relax after a stressful day.

Without further ado, here are the F3 Wellness Connections team’s favorite stretches for the office!

Standing Poses

Chair Pose

Chair Pose is an excellent way to stretch out your shoulders and chest while giving your spine, ankles, and thighs an opportunity to strengthen up. For more of a “burn,” hold the pose for 30-60 seconds. For more of a flow, move slowly in and out of the pose until you feel like your muscles and joints have warmed up.

See How To Do It: Yoga Journal

Yogi Squat

This pose opens up the hips and pelvis while giving your back a break. For an extra stretch, place your elbows inside your knees and gently push outward. This challenges your balance, so make sure you have open space around you if you fall backwards!

See How To Do It: Yoga 15

High Lunge

A high lunge is the perfect stretch for stiff hips. Plus, regular practice helps improve your balance, while strengthening the calves, ankles, hamstrings, and hips. When you try this stretch, make sure to practice on both sides — an uneven stretch can lead to balance and pain issues!

See How To Do It: Yoga Journal

Forward Fold (a.k.a. Big Toe Pose)

This pose is a great way to relieve anxiety and improve blood flow to your head and extremities. When you fold forward, you give your internal organs a bit of a squeeze. This helps with improving digestion and speeding up your metabolism, as well!

See How To Do It: Yoga Journal

Standing Thigh Stretch

Also known as a Runner’s Stretch, the Standing Thigh Stretch relies on your balance to give yourself a good hamstring stretch. The trick to this one is not to force it: If you can’t quite reach your ankle to grasp it, just pull it up as far as your leg will go. Make it a goal to work toward grabbing your foot, and respect that tight hamstrings are a common part of office life.

See How To Do It: Yoga Outlet

Seated Poses

Seated Twist

This basic seated yoga posture (also known as “Easy Pose”) is usually done seated on the floor with the legs crossed. However, you can do this pose from your office chair by focusing on the twist itself — just be sure not to force it by stretching too far!

See How To Do It: Yoga Outlet

Seated “Figure Four”

Placing your ankle over your knee is a gentle stretch you can do without leaving your desk. This pose improves blood flow and offers a nice stretch for your calves and hips. For added intensity, gently press your knee down as you stretch. This opens up your hips more and offers a nice stretch for your knee.

See How To Do It: HealthCog

Hand & Wrist Stretches

Are you a computer user? Typing, writing, and scrolling all take a toll on our wrists and hands, especially if we do these things for hours at a time. Simple hand stretches, added into your workday every fifteen minutes or so, go a long way toward preventing carpal tunnel syndrome, arthritis, and other common wrist and hand issues.

See How To Do It: Ergonomic Trends

Cactus Arms

You can hold this pose as a stationary stretch or turn it into a flow by slowly lifting and lowering your arms in and out of the pose. Cactus Arms help improve blood flow to your fingers and the muscles in your arms. This pose also creates an excellent stretch for your shoulders and biceps.

See How To Do It: Office Yoga

Seated Crescent Moon (a.k.a. Side Bend Stretch)

This pose is traditionally done standing, but it’s easy enough to adapt for your work chair. The trick of this one is to sit up as tall as possible, keeping your spine straight, and then bend at the hip/waist rather than at the ribs. This gives your spine a nice stretch without forcing it into an unnatural position. If stretching both arms over your head is too tough on your ribs, you can drop your lower arm to rest on your hip or stretch down your thigh.

See How To Do It: Yoga Basics

“After Work” Stretches

Legs Up The Wall

People with stressful workdays, this one is for you! Legs Up The Wall is yoga’s catch-all answer to anxiety, insomnia, high blood pressure, and just about every issue that comes up when you work all day in an office chair. If you’re having trouble sleeping, 10-15 minutes in Legs Up The Wall pose is a great way to “reboot” your body’s circulation and improve blood flow to your brain, easing anxiety and helping you drift off.

See How To Do It: Yoga Journal

Thread The Needle

If you have space in your office to do this one, it’s an excellent stretch for your shoulders. We recommend waiting until you get home, though, so you don’t have to press your chin into grimy office carpet! When you’re in this pose, your top arm can be extended long or at a ninety-degree angle at the elbow. The point is to change up the pressure you put on your shoulders, and get a great stretch for your neck and arms.

See How To Do It: Yoga Outlet

Pec Stretch

This is a popular recommendation from chiropractors and personal trainers because it offers a great stretch for the shoulders, neck, and back. For a more advanced version of this pose, extend your legs into a high lunge. That will add a hamstring and thigh stretch into the mix!

See How To Do It: ShareCare

Melting Heart (a.k.a. Half Downward Dog)

This pose is called “Melting Heart” because when you get into the pose correctly, your heart is facing straight down at the ground. This is a great way to stretch out your shoulders and hips — just be sure you keep your back as flat as possible, and don’t accidentally go into a back bend!

See How To Do It: Do You Yoga

Screaming Toe Pose (a.k.a. Broken Toe Pose)

Work shoes pinching your feet? We’ve got you covered. Once you get home, take off those pumps or sneakers and try this toe stretch. It’s called “Screaming Toe” pose because it builds heat in your toes — and if it hurts at first, ease your weight off your thighs and calves until it feels more comfortable. This pose is great for stretching out your toes, of course, but it also stretches out the arches and balls of your feet as well.

See How To Do It: Yoga 15

Now that you’ve got a repertoire of yoga moves to try at work, see how much your workday improves with just a few simple stretch breaks! If you’re still dealing with frequent lower back pain, feeling bloated after lunch, or struggling with focus and motivation at work, give us a call.

The F3 Wellness Connections team is here to help you find a fitness and nutrition routine that works for YOUR mind, body, and soul. Especially as we continue to face changes in our day-to-day work routines, sticking to a full-body wellness practice will give you a leg up on mental and physical well-being.