Sitting at a desk behind a computer means that some of our muscles get weakened. When under stress, these muscles cause strain on our shoulder joints with pain around the neck and upper back. This tightness also contributes to poor postures such as neck forward flexion and chest muscle tightness. We also tend to hunch forward, rounding our thoracic spine and shoulders.
A series of yoga postures and exercises that you can perform at your desk. The key is to move and get up often.
Shoulders
Exercise 1
- Start by interlacing the fingers behind your back, and roll the shoulders back. This helps the external rotation of the shoulders and draws the shoulder blades toward each other. Then bring your hands away from you, that achieves the abduction action.
- Hold this for 5 breaths and repeat 3 times.
- Another variation is to keep your feet hip width apart and fold forward and fold forward between the knees, with your hands reaching away from your back.
EXERCISE 2
- This exercise also aim to externally rotate and abduct the shoulders. Bring your elbows up to shoulder height, bent at 90 degrees, and arch your back, and release on your exhale. Do this for 5 breaths. This can be done over the back of chair for more traction. Use a strap for support.
Source: Dr. Ingrid Yang
Violette Yoga 