3-minute yoga stretches to do when working from home (and need a break)
“You cannot always control what goes on outside. But you can always control what goes on inside”
In these uncertain times in which many of us are working from home, we need to be more mindful, be aware of our posture and accumulated tension in the body (which oftentimes is also a reflection of our mindstate), especially around the neck and upper back.
If you’re sitting in a chair (even your office chair) for prolonged periods of time, this short series of stretches can be very beneficial for you. If you prefer to watch my first Youtube video for inspiration click here (it’s not professionally produced, but I hope it helps you understand a bit more the flow of each stretch – please, use it as a reference only, and adapt it as you wish) – If you prefer to join a LIVE class with me on Mondays 8-9pm visit my Facebook event page and send me a private message letting me know.
So let’s start in 1 – 2 – 3
Start by sitting nice and tall, you can either extend your arms fully interlacing the finger above the head, or you can bend your arms pointing the elbows towards the outer sides. Take a deep breath from the center and let your body bend towards the side exhaling drawing the navel in. Hold it for about 3-5 deep breaths and come back to center inhaling and leaning back gently arching your lower back, pushing your pelvis forward and gazing towards the ceiling. Then proceed to do the other side placing your attention on each cycle of the breath and the extension of the side of the body.
Continue taking deep breaths through the nose, bring the palms together and inhale while opening your arms back in a W shape, hold it for 2-4 seconds and exhale bring the palms together. Repeat the exercise from 5 to 10 times or more if need it. Remember when you inhale you lift your heart expanding the chest and the belly, and when you excel navel draws in expelling all the air through your nose.
Great work! Now let’s stand up and do other simple but therapeutic stretches for your back. Make sure your legs are hip-distance apart (preferably no socks on for better grip and grounding sensation). You can either interlace the fingers behind you or hug the elbows, bend the knees if you need to soften the next forward fold. Take a deep breath in and in the exhalation you slowly draw the arms towards your upper back, folding towards your legs, lifting your body halfway and engaging your core at the same time. Take 3-5 deep breaths here activating your quads and making sure you’re pressing the 4 corners of the feet to keep yourself stable through the pose.
Finally, you can include other chest openers like gomukhasana arms. If you have tight shoulders at the moment, make sure to use a belt or gently place the palms on your back. Take deep breath wit the arms extended, one pointing towards the ceiling the other pointing towards the ground. Exhale bend the elbows and try to reach your hands or place them as close as you can while opening your chest and drawing the upper elbow towards the back. Hold it for about 3-5 deep breaths and gently release. Make slow gentle movements when releasing the pose, first strecthing the arms towards opposite directions and then changing side. Again, you will see how I do it in my Youtube video.
If you want to see more content like this, please leave me a comment below or via Facebook or Instagram @ladyyogaflow or email ladyjerez@gmail.com – then I will start investing in some professional equipment to produce more high-quality videos and photos. Thanks for taking the time to read the full length of this post. I appreciate it and I look forward to hearing from you 🙂
Namaste