The importance of desk yoga

For the last week I’ve been suffering with a very stiff neck and back ache. It’s down to to poor posture from hunching over my laptop. It’s something I’m all too familiar with and I doubt I’m alone. So, when this handy infographic landed in my inbox earlier in the week it seemed like the perfect timing to make a change. Furniture At Work™ have put this together with the aim to get desk workers moving.

I think it’s so important to look after our body and mind as we’re growing older. How many of you have the perfect desk space? I’m not talking cute pens, washi tape and motivational mug. It’s important to have your laptop and chair at the right hight, an external mouse and much more. It’s not at all easy and I know I really need to improve my set-up. I wasn’t surprised to read that 10% of the working population suffer with RSI. I think that’s only set to increase as the years go on.

If like me, you spend a lot of time typing away on your laptop then you’ll know how easy it is to fall in and out of having poor posture. It’s also all too easy to spend hours sitting at your desk, or worse, on the sofa and end up with awful neck pain which can then lead to tension headaches.

Yoga is a good way to take a break from our fast-paced lives and it’s also one of the best ways to stretch out our bodies and focus on breathing. I used to go to a weekly yoga class but since I had to change gyms I haven’t had the chance to go. Desk yoga seems the perfect alternative. I’m quite picky about the infographics that I share with you but I thought this one had been done really well, it’s pretty and most importantly, it also contains 5 useful yoga stretches.

Over the last few days I’ve started to incorporate desk yoga into my day. There’s really no excuse to take a little break to do this, we should all be doing it as part of our daily work routine. It’s something I think businesses should be encouraging. The steps are so easy to follow but if you want to watch people giving desk yoga a try there’s also a video.

The Chair Cat Cow Stretch is one of my favourites so far. It stretches and strengthens the spine and neck and helps to improve posture and balance. I’ve found that this has really helped in easing my current aches and pains so I have good faith that it will continue to do well if I get into the habit of doing it daily.

Another favourite of mine is the Chair Spinal Twist. It helps to ease back pain and stiffness and also opens your chest to increase oxygen to your lungs. I find this one is particularly satisfying and I try to do it when I’m feeling stressed out as it helps me to focus on my breathing.

Let me know if you give desk yoga a try and which your favourite pose is.

Thanks to Furniture at Work for collaborating on this post. I hope you’ve enjoyed it and I think anyone who spends a lot of time at their laptop needs to give desk yoga try.