Picture taken from Yoga Journal Sept 2011 Edition
Sitting at your desk for too long causes :
1) Your metabolism rate to slow down
2) Strain on your neck, upper back and shoulder
3) Hunch back and poor body posture
3) Many other health risk and threats
To ensure that you give your body a proper stretching, try the above pose every 1 hour. It truly helps as it opens up your chest after slouching for hours and it gives your neck and upper shoulder muscle a breather.
Try it and hear the tiny little bones clicking away in relief when you stretch upwards and backwards. Do not forget to breathe DEEP and SLOW up to about 10 counts. After two breath, try and push your body a little further back.
The idea is to ensure that you slowly push both your arms backwards, behind your ears.
Here are 29 little exercises tips which you can do at (or near) your desk, that you can incorporate into your daily work habits.
At the end of the day, it would do your body wonders if you could go into a downward dog pose for about 5 minutes. Start with 2 minutes if 5 is too hard.
Picture taken from here
After sitting the whole day and compressing on those muscles, your body would appreciate the reverse effect, where you allow your upper body's muscle (the shoulder, neck and spine) to relax, give your hands and arms some much needed mild workout (it helps to tone it as well), while the pose increases blood flow to the brain and eyes.
The downward dog pose is both a resting pose and a strengthening pose. It helps you to neutralize your back bone as well.
For more variety of poses that are extremely good for neck, upper back and shoulder, click here, and scroll to the middle.
--moon
Blog name - carrot head and applemint
