There are some good exercises that you can do in the office to get your spine moving, get your body moving, and stay out of that fight or flight so that, by the end of the day, your blood pressure isn’t through the roof and you’re not dealing with knots in the back of your shoulders.
Chest Openers at Your Desk
Let’s start with what you can do while you’re sitting at your desk. We’re going to do some chest openers.
So, Serene, I want you to look up and back. Now, you’re going to point your thumbs out and away from you and rotate those shoulders out. Very good. And relax. Just go ahead and flex your neck back down.
Now, let’s open it all back up again. Up and out. Very good. And back down. Good.
We don’t really need to hold for 30 seconds or anything like that. Just a two- to five-second hold there at the top. Get everything moving. Contract those muscles and relax them again. Excellent.
Planks Next to Your Desk
Now, we’re going to do some work next to your desk. We’re going to get down and do a plank. Even just a 15-second hold.
Serene has her ankles spread out here. You can do ankles together as well. Why don’t you go ahead and drop here for a second? Just take a quick breather, and you’ll go back into it.
Even if you do just five of these reps, it’s going to get you a lot further.
Glute Bridges
From here, let’s go into a glute bridge. Very good. She’s going to bring her hips up. Knees are going to be even with the hips.
Try not to arch the hips too much. Straight line: knees to hips to shoulders. And relax down and back up.
The Benefits of Good Posture
Good posture is going to reduce headaches and migraines, alleviate chronic pain, increase productivity, reduce the risk of injury, make breathing easier, enhance oxygenation of your blood, boost confidence, improve your mood, give you more energy, and promote weight loss.
Movement is medicine.
Mix Proper Movement Into Your Workday
As you do these things throughout your day at the office, it’s not something that your coworkers are doing. That’s the point.
That’s why your coworkers are going to get to the point where someday they’re going to reach for their purse or reach over the sink to grab the soap, and they’re going to feel it in their back. You don’t want that to be you.
Let’s get proper movement in throughout your day, mix it into your work schedule, and have a better life. We’ll see you next time.
