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January/February 2012 Alternative Health
Yoga in the Office

by Jinjer Stanton

You’ve been sitting in one position for way too long. It’s time to reclaim your right to erect posture. But you have to go a little beyond mere standing up to get back in balance. Here are some office yoga poses that can help.

Reach for the Sky

Stand with your feet about shoulder width apart. As you inhale, raise your arms out to your sides and continue that motion until your fingertips are pointed at the ceiling. Imagine angels have grabbed your hands and are trying to lift you up to heaven, but you’re just not ready. Or, imagine you’re on the roof of a house in the midst of a raging flood and really good-looking rescuers are trying to lift you into the helicopter. The idea is that you feel the stretch all along the length of your body.

Stretch upward for three or four deep breaths, then clasp your hands together and, rotating around your waist, imagine you are drawing circles on the ceiling. Make three or four circles in one direction, then three or four in the other direction.

Release your hands and let them float lightly down to your sides. Feeling better?

This pose can be done from a seated position if standing would cause too much disruption.

Legs in Chair Pose

Being upside down for a few minutes (even one) will clear your head whether you’re just not thinking clearly or you have a head cold. It also reverses the effects of gravity on the body and stimulates the immune system.

Lie on the floor with your behind up against the front of a chair and rest your feet and calves in the chair. It may not be quite as effective as some inversions for clearing your head, but it is relaxing and restorative. Do this for a few moments before going to that board meeting, after the meeting to restore your equilibrium, or after work before meeting your true love for dinner.

Twisting, Turning

This pose is great for a back that’s been in the same position for too long. It also massages your internal organs and stimulates digestion (especially important given what you probably ate for lunch).

Seated on the edge of your chair, with your back straight, place your right hand on the outside of your left knee. Twist your body to the left as you reach behind with your left hand as far as you can reach and grab the back of the chair. Use your hands for leverage to help you twist even farther in that direction and turn your head as far around in the same direction as possible. Hold the position for two or three deep, full breaths and relax back to the front. Do the same thing in the opposite direction. 

Dog in a Chair

For this classic, place the back of your office chair against the desk, wall or something else that won’t go anywhere, with the seat facing you. Bend over so you can grasp the sides of the seat with your hands. Step backward a few steps until you begin to feel a stretch in your Achilles tendon. Take another step back as you lower your shoulders and head until your head is between your arms.

Imagine as you take a deep breath that the breath goes directly to wherever you feel the stretch. As you exhale that breath, imagine your body relaxing into the pose. Take several deep, slow breaths before stepping back up to the chair and standing up.

Fingers, Hands and Wrists

This series is particularly important to people who spend a lot of time in front of computer screens because they are often spending way too much time tapping computer keys. This activity jams fingers and brings on repetitive motion problems like carpal tunnel.

1. Hold your hands in front of you and spread your fingers as far apart as they will go. Hold that stretch for two or three breaths. Now, make a tight fist keeping your thumb on the outside wrapped around the fingers. Hold for two or three breaths. Repeat the stretch and fist at least three times.

2. Hold your arms stretched out straight in front of you, palms out, fingers pointing up. Keep your hands parallel to one another (as best you can) as you rotate them around your wrists. Do three or four complete circles in one direction before reversing directions and doing three or four revolutions in the other direction. Relax your hands and shake them.

3. Sitting up straight with the left forearm parallel to the floor, bend your wrist so that your hand is pointing skyward. With your right hand, push gently back on the palm to stretch your wrist. Keep the forearm parallel to the floor. Hold the position and breathe into the stretch. Release.

Next, with the same arm parallel to the floor, bend your wrist so the hand is pointing toward the earth. Again use the right hand to push it gently back toward your forearm. Keep the forearm parallel to the floor. Hold the position and breathe into the stretch. Release. Repeat both operations on the right hand.

Jinjer Stanton, author of Yoga for Every Room in Your House, teaches yoga and writes in Minneapolis. Visit www.jinjerstanton.com.