Asana – yoga poses for feeling well at work

To stay well and keep up your best performance at work, add some yoga routines to your day!

Your breath is always the best measure of how well you are feeling – pay attention to it! If you feel tired throughout the day, make sure you are breathing well, and to do so you must be sitting or standing up straight - avoid slouching. If you can, take a short break in fresh air. 

Whenever possible, do a mental scan to observe physical sensations and emotions in the body.  Especially when you are doing yoga postures (but ideally most of the rest of the time, too!), make sure your head is over your heart, and your heart is over your hips. Whether standing or sitting, your feet should look like this ||, rather than this \/. Root downwards to grow upwards with stability. The body can be relaxed, even when making an effort.

Easy overall stretches

Raise your arms overhead, then take your wrist with the other hand and gently pull your passive arm to one side, pressing your seat into your chair or your feet into the floor. Stay for one or several breaths, and repeat on the other side.

Interlock your fingers behind your back with palms facing each other – try to have your wrists touching.  If standing, step your feet apart with knees slightly bent (otherwise just sit forward on your chair) and fold forward from the hips, stretching your arms up behind you. Stay for a few breaths.

While standing, plant your feet firmly in the ground and swing the upper body and arms side to side, letting go completely until the arms flop around you.

For the face and eyes

Lion pose: This is a marvelous way to reduce facial tension and improve your breathing, with the added bonus of deflating the ego!

For the neck and shoulders

Nod the head up and down (yes, boss!) and side-to-side (no, sir!). Remember, the head moves at the jaw, not from the base of the neck!  The Indian head roll (means yes, no, and maybe!) – make a figure of eight with your nose and relax your neck as you roll the head.

Neck rolls: gently roll the head keeping your focus on the nose and begin spiraling outwards until the head can no longer comfortably roll, then reverse the action until the spiral shrinks back to the centre. Stay still with the eyes closed for at least one deep breath afterwards.

Cow Face Pose: This is a good one for tension between the shoulder blades. Cross one elbow over the other and then wrap your arms together until you catch the fingers of the lower arm in the other palm. Relax the shoulders.

Backstroke – swing arms backwards like a windmill; reverse after a few rounds.

For the arms, wrists and hands

Wrist rotation and flexion: With arms outstretched, roll your wrists loosely ten times in both directions, then flex and extend your wrists several times.

Elbow rotation: gently curl your fingers around your thumbs in a light fist (this is known as adi mudra, and is very soothing on its own!). Extend your arms and pull them in towards the body then back out several times.

Press the hands down onto the desk until you feel your whole arm working. Start with fingers pointing away (thumbs face each other), then towards each other (thumbs face you), then towards you (thumbs face out to the side).

For the back and abdominals

Side stretch: hold your elbows overhead and reach up as you press the heels down. Slide the elbows up and to the right, then up and to the left, without moving the hips and legs.

Whole body twist: stand with feet wide apart, knees bent. Push hands into knees with strong, straight arms. Lengthen body and let tailbone move down keeping the abdomen strong. Push into one knee as you exhale, twist body and look up past the opposite shoulder. Inhale back to centre and repeat on other side. Push into the feet to move the body up and down as you twist, working every joint.

Fierce pose (also called chair pose): stand with feet hip-width apart. Press the feet down while straightening the arms overhead. Keeping the abdomen strong, drop the tailbone and bend at the hips as though you were going to sit down. Stay in a half-squat for a few breaths. Release by standing back up as you inhale and lower the arms as you exhale.

Sitting on the edge of your chair, open the knees wide with feet firmly on the floor; roll the body forward to hang down between the legs. Slowly roll back up, deliberately keeping the abdomen strong to lift you and support your back.

Place your hands on your desk and push your chair back until you stretch into the hips and lower back. Keep the abdomen firm.

For the hips and legs

Standing on one leg, raise your knee high up, and roll your ankles – really point and flex the foot so you also feel the effects in the leg.  Repeat on the other side.

Kick one leg out in front several times, and then out to the side (happy dog!).

Breathe and smile!