Introduction
Most white-collar jobs today require lots of sitting behind a desk for long hours. The bad news is that sitting for extended periods of time can make you vulnerable to various health problems. The good news is that you can improve your health and happiness by practising particular yoga poses in addition to reducing the negative effects of sitting for long periods of time.
There are many great reasons to add yoga to your exercise routine if you are sitting at a desk for more than eight hours a day. Yogic practice is not just about a few poses that strengthen your body. Yoga keeps you feeling fresh even in the middle of your hectic workday. It ensures that you are able to deal with stressful deadlines at work.
Benefits of Yoga Asanas
You will be astonished at how many health issues can be solved with yoga. This ancient practice is a continuous journey towards physical, mental and emotional well-being. Its benefits include:
- Increased flexibility
- Improved respiration
- Improved energy and vitality
- Balanced metabolism
- Improved athletic health
- Increased muscle tone
- Improved cardio healthy
- Improved muscle flexibility
- Reduced stress, anxiety, depression
- Enhanced overall well-being and quality of life.
Ready to give it a try? Here are eight yoga poses — called ‘asanas’ — that you should add to your daily routine if you have a 9 to 5 desk job. Not only will these yoga techniques release the strains of sitting and slouching at your desk, but it can also release neck, shoulder, and lower back pain.
5 Yoga Asanas To Your Routine
1. Sethu Bandha Sarvangasana
· Lie on your back facing the ceiling with your knees bent and hands on your sides.
· Inhale slowly and raise your hips off the ground.
· At this point, your upper torso, head, arms, and feet should be touching the floor.
· Hold this position for 10 seconds.
· Exhale and lower your body to the floor allowing your back to rest in a neutral state.
2. Bhujangasana
· Lie down on your stomach with your face facing the ground and your toes flat on the floor.
· Take a deep breath in and place your palms on your sides and slowly lift your torso.
· At this point, the only body parts touching the ground should be your palms and lower body.
· Make sure that there is equal pressure on both palms.
· Hold this position for a few seconds while breathing evenly.
· Breathe out, and release your abdomen, chest, and head back to the floor.
3. Balasana
· Sit straight with your legs folded.
· At this point, your feet should be facing upwards.
· Take a deep breath, exhale, and slowly bend your forehead to touch the floor, exhaling as you do so.
· At this point, your arms should be extending forward, as far as possible.
· Your face as well as your palms should be facing the floor.
· Make sure that your calves, forehead, and palms are all touching the ground in this position.
· Hold this position for a few seconds.
4. Adho Mukha Svanasana
· Stand on your four limbs to form a mountain-like structure with your body.
· Your face needs to be facing the floor.
· Make sure that your palms are farther apart and reaching outwards in comparison to your shoulders.
· On the other hand, your feet should be placed next to each other.
· Your body must form a triangle, with your hands, hips, and feet being the corners.
· Hold this position for a few seconds.
5. Marjaryasana-Bitilasana
· Get on your knees and hands to imitate a four-legged animal.
· With an inhalation, lift your back upwards, forming a mountain-like structure.
· While you do that push your face inwards, looking at your own torso.
· Now, push your back inwards, forming a ‘U’ position with your back.
· While you do that, exhale and look towards the sky.
· Repeat mountain motion with face inwards and then ‘U’ structure with face upwards.
Final thoughts
If you are like most white-collar Indian professionals who lead a sedentary lifestyle, add these poses to your daily workout routine to relax and unwind. These safe poses can improve your posture and help reduce back pain and spinal pressure. These postures can enhance your overall health. Additionally, these postures can be helpful in staying focused, calm, strong and flexible so that you can maximise your output at the workplace.
