Chair Yoga for Office Workers: Relieve Back Pain, Improve Posture & Focus

Today’s life has not only generated the space for chair yoga but also created a necessity for this style of yoga. Today, long hours of sitting digital exposure, very low physical movement and poor lifestyle routines have created physical and mental problems. Some of these issues include problems related to the posture, incorrect alignment and reduced attention span.

Office workers as well as students or people who have to spend long hours sitting in a fixed position on their desk often complain about feeling stiffness in their shoulders, neck, lower back as well as hips.

It is also important to understand that these issues are not only a problem of low mobility but also an indication that our bodies are storing stress through these kind of ailments. Therefore Chair yoga becomes a must do in today’s routine to bring down fatigue and boost movement and flexibility.             

What Is Desk Yoga / Office Yoga?

The Desk Yoga / Office Yoga refers toYoga being done on a chair.This style of yoga basically includes simple postures, gentle stretches and conscious breath work which can be easily done while sitting on their desk and chairs.

No kind of special equipment is required. Neither is any style of fancy chair needed. You can easily perform these postures while sitting on your everyday chair. And you also need not dedicate any specific workout space for the same. Just taking out a few minutes from your routine will instantly help you stretch take a break and improve focus.

Why Chair Yoga Is Important for Office Workers?       

Office workers undergo a lot of stress. They don’t not only have to deal with large piles of work but also the pressure of finishing them within tight deadlines. So long hours of sitting along with stress gets accumulated in various body parts and results in various kinds of ailments. So chair yoga becomes important in -

l Decompressing the spine

l Strengthening the core muscles

l Tightening Hip flexors

l Boosting blood flow

l Reducing strain on the neck and the shoulders

Important Benefits of Practicing Chair Yoga Specific for Office People

Back Pain Relief through yoga

Back pain is perhaps one of the most common problems that office goers complain about. Performing even a few simple stretches will instantly help offering relief from back pain, lengthening the spine and relaxing stiff shoulder and neck muscles.

Releases tension from the muscles

Our body stores tension in the muscles, hips, lower back and shoulders are the areas where stress loves to accumulate. So moving every few hours even for 5 minutes and stretching your Specific body parts will allow you to boost blood flow and take a mindful break.

Corrects wrong body posture

You can improve Posture by yoga. Yes, Even long years of practising a bad body posture can be corrected through yoga. The results would not come overnight.

But practising it consistently and mindfully will help you naturally improve your posture and make you conscious about keeping a correct body posture at all times.

Boosts productivity

 Chair Yoga may not be as dynamic as other styles of yoga like Ashtanga Or aerial. Chair yoga is simply a modification of yoga that aims at convenience rather than style per se.

So one of the major objectives of chair yoga is to boost productivity. Often when we are sitting in a slouched position for long hours, we tend to feel tired both physically and mentally. Performing even mild stretches boosts blood flow and changes our mind for good.

Brings down cortisol

Office workers usually suffer from work related stress. Most of the times this stress also accompanies them home and interferes with their personal life. When you practice chair yoga throughout the day, you not only release those bundles of stress but also Keep the stress hormones regulated and in check.

EffectiveChair Yoga for Office Workers

The seated cat cow pose

This is perhaps one of the best chair yoga poses for back pain. You can simply sit straight on your Chair and arch your back while inhaling and exhaling consciously.

Spinal twists

Spinal twists are a great way to decompress your spine and instantly enhance flexibility. To perform this you can just sit with a tall spine and place your hand on the opposite knee while twisting your upper body.

Neck stretches

Long hours of screen exposure often make our neck and our shoulders stiff. So Neck stretches even from left to right and up to down will help release pain.

Shoulder rolls

Shoulder rolls are perhaps the easiest and fun chair yoga postures. You simply need to lift your shoulders on each side and touch it to your ears. Practicing these will instantly remove stiffness from your shoulder and neck area and boost blood flow to the brain.

Leg extensions

Long hours of sitting can often Make our legs stiff And interfere with the blood flow So extending your legs forward and then switching on the sides will help you Promote blood flow to the legs.

The , Yoga courses in Goa, offered by certified yoga schools include all of the above postures as a part of their basic foundational training. The reason being that these postures not only reflect the foundation for all other postures. But also prove the therapeutic benefits these asanas hold specifically for the office workers.

How to Create an Effective Workplace Routine?

Creating an effective workplace routine for chair yoga will help you bring it into your natural habit and also decompress your spine and offer stress relief from time to time.

This routine should not be hectic and neither does it require any special equipment or special kind of chair or dedicated space. Simply sitting on your chair and involving in three to five asanas, a few stretches, two minutes of deep breathing and one minute of mindfulness will help you recollect yourself both physically as well as mentally and better boost your productivity.