These Exercises Will Help Reduce the Damage Living At Your Desk Does

A hugely impactful way to loosen up your body during the workday is by stopping for quick yoga breaks, Kraschnefski explained.

“Set yourself an alarm for every 60-90minutes or so and complete a simple 4-minute yoga flow to stretch your muscles. Yoga has the added benefit of mindfulness that can help us manage stress through the day too,” she said.

We’ve shared Kraschnefski’s posture-friendly yoga guide for you below:

She suggests you try:

• 30 seconds of Child’s pose

• 60 seconds Cat-Cow stretch

• 60 seconds of Pigeon pose

• 30 seconds of Child’s poseChild’s pose:

• Start on your hands and knees.

• Move your hands forward with straight arms.

• Lower your hips so they are on your feet or between them on the floor.

• Rest your forehead on the ground.

• Take deep breaths.Cat-Cow:

• On all fours, ensure your wrists are under your shoulders and your knees under hips.

• Start with a neutral spine, then arch into cat position on inhale. Tuck your tailbone under and your chin in. Imagine a C-shape through the spine.

• Now on an exhale, move to cow position by dropping your belly and looking up towards the sky. Draw your shoulders away from your ears and tilt the pelvis forward.

• Move through these positions in time with your breathing.Pigeon Pose:

• Start on your hands and toes, like in a plank position.

• Carefully move your right knee between your hands and rest your leg so your quad is parallel to the mat.

• Ensure your left hip stays close to the mat to open through the hip flexor and that your chest is facing forward.

• You can fold your chest forward towards your right knee if it feels welcome in the body.

• Carefully swap to the other side after breathing through the stretch for 30 seconds.

Don’t skip your lunch break

Yes, it can be tempting to shrug off your lunch and attempt to “power through” your work. But that habit is only adding to the time spent at your desk, worsening your posture.

“Make a promise to yourself to take your designated break, and ideally take a 20-30 minute stroll. In addition to the many health benefits of incidental exercise and getting fresh air, when we walk, our postural muscles are activated. This will help us maintain better posture once we are back at our desk,” Kraschnefski said.

Standing often is great for your posture

Sounds simple, but getting into the habit of standing regularly is a pretty significant one. There’s a reason all our smartwatches nudge us to get butts off seats more often.

“Standing up will again awaken your postural muscles and help get the creative juices flowing,” Kraschnefski explained.

It may feel odd at first, but if you make a note of standing during calls or even getting yourself a standing desk, you’ll adjust in no time, Kraschnefski shared.

Anyone else incredibly aware of how they’re sitting right now? Better attend to my posture with a mini yoga session, I guess.