Relaxation Techniques at OfficeThe best part about yoga is that the yoga practitioner can perform it anywhere be it at home, in the garden, in a yoga studio, when holidaying and even at work. Yoga in the workplace is fast-becoming the “in thing” among many people and in many offices. Office yoga can be practiced by all and is an effective way to combat work stress. Moreover, it prevents pain and stiffness in the body. More so, it can give your body a quick mini-workout.
A sedentary job and especially one that involves working in front of the computer for long hours can cause a lot of strain to the body. The upper body – the neck, shoulders and upper back get stiff and in the lower body, for instance in the legs, blood circulation is lowered. Eyes are fatigued. Workplace yoga can therefore be helpful for the entire body. Apart from relieving the body of mental and physical stress, office yoga poses also energize the practitioner. His concentration power increases and this in turn can boost the quality of work.
There are a myriad yoga poses that can be performed at work. Shoulder circling, shoulder blade squeezing and the arm rotation are common yoga stretches for the shoulders. Tricep stretches, chest expansion exercise are useful for the upper back. Office yoga neck poses include the head turning, the neck rotation, the side stretch and the diagonal stretch. These are the basic office yoga simple stretches for busy people.
Yoga in office must necessarily include eye exercises as well to reduce the strain caused to the eye by excessive staring at the computer screen or by reading several documents at a stretch. These exercises involve moving the eyes in all directions by keeping the head still. Not only do these exercises alleviate eye strain, but also strengthen eye muscles and in some cases have even improved eye sight.
If the person has more time on hand, the office yoga routine can include many other office yoga positions that are not just quick yoga relaxation exercises, but also help in strengthening muscles.
Uttasana or the Standing Forward Bend gives a total stretch to the upper back, the lower back, hamstrings and calf muscles. More so, doing Uttasana helps increasing blood flow to the brain.
The Standing Side Stretch Pose gives a nice stretch to your waist. At the same time makes the spine, arms and rib cage more flexible. It increases oxygen flow to the lungs. The kidney, liver and spleen are also fine-tuned by performing the side stretch pose. The Chair Pose or the Utkatasana helps fortifying the lower back. The legs are also strengthened by regular practice of this pose. The Pada Hastana or the Hands to Feet pose is similar to the Uttasana or the Standing Forward Bend Pose. It helps in flattening the tummy. The spine and back are rendered more flexible and the entire backside of the body gets a beautiful stretch by doing this asana or yoga pose. In addition, if you work in an informal set-up, even a few Surya Namaskar or Sun Salutation reps can be done as soon as you enter your workplace and just before you leave work.
These standing yoga asanas are easy office yoga moves that do not require much space. However, if one is lucky to have a cabin to oneself, then even supine yoga poses or seated yoga postures can be performed in the privacy of the cabin.
For those restless minds aiming to fight the belly bulge even at work, there are a few easy yoga poses that can be done in the course of a day’s work. Yoga for flat tummy can also include the Kapalbhati Pranayam. This is a specialized yoga relaxation breathing technique apart from having several other plus points also helps fight obesity. Office yoga on your chair should necessarily include it since it is easy to perform. The spine has to be erect and shoulder pushed backwards. You need to exhale forcefully, yet very slowly. When done correctly, with each exhalation, the belly will be sucked in. Around 40 to 50 such exhalations must be performed before resting for a while and restarting this office yoga exercise.
Similarly, those wanting to get rid of many health complications can practice simple yoga asanas even at work. For instance, yoga for hyperthyroidism includes nadi shodha also known as alternate nostril breathing. This pranayam technique helps regulate pituitary and hypothalamus glands – key glands in the functioning of this thyroid.
Apart from performing these asanas, yoga relaxation techniques include pranayam and meditation. Pranayam is a specialized breathing technique in yoga. Breathing techniques can be easily followed, but they require concentration and have to be done in a controlled, regular and relaxed manner. This along with meditation can be done for a few minutes several times during a working day to help you soothe your mind. If possible soft yoga relaxation music can also complement a yoga relaxation sequence at work. The most common yoga relaxation pose is the Shavasan or the Dead Corpse Pose. However since this asana requires the person to lie, the Sukhasan or the Easy Pose can be done simply by sitting on your office chair.
Many workplaces are realizing the importance of including exercise routines for their employees. A fit and relaxed employee will only be more productive and better productivity is the aim of all companies. Therefore offices yoga classes are becoming more and more popular. Some companies are even going to the extent of replacing regular chairs with yoga balls. Although the yoga ball is known to improve posture, it often does not go with the corporate image of the company. Moreover, they may not be ergonomically viable because they end up being much lower than the table making the person strain his or her neck while looking at the computer screen. The latest innovation however is the office yoga ball chair that is not only a yoga ball, but also a chair at the same time. The idea is to integrate a yoga ball onto a chair.
Nowadays life is full of stress and strain and nobody is spared. For people living in big cities life is still more difficult, as they have to cope up with long hours of traveling and traffic jams. These people are totally exhausted by the time they reach home and don’t find time to relax and rejuvenate.
Our body requires constant movement and exercise by which all the systems of our body are regulated. But a lot of us are into jobs, which involves constant sitting. There is a solution to this entire problem. You just need to pay attention to minute things, which may be really beneficial to you. Follow our simple relaxation techniques that will help you keep yourself relaxed all the time.
Comfortable and good sitting chairs cost a lot and may not be available to everybody. Whatever happens don’t ever compromise over a chair not in good condition or which doesn’t have the right height for you as both your health and work are going to suffer. If you have a height adjustable chair see that the height of your chair, your body and height of the table are right. Sometimes even a small adjustment of height will make you feel comfortable. A lot of chairs are available in the market. Kneeling chairs have both pro’s and con’s. When you sit on these your hips are higher then your knees and spine is upright. Slump a little and come to the correct position. With this you can breathe better. But if you sit on it for a long time its uncomfortable.
Chairs without arms are better as you cannot rest your arms or elbows which would have created unnecessary tension for the muscles of your neck, shoulders and upper back. When your hands are not busy keep your shoulders back and down and rest your hands in your lap.
If you are tall and long legged you need to place your feet away from each other, as there will be wide angle between your calves and thighs. If you are tall and have a large upper body see that height of your chair is balanced with your work. If your are short, sit fairly high so that your feet don’t touch the ground. Fill the gap with old newspapers, stools etc.
These are some of the relaxation techniques that you can follow while you are at work or in your office. You can practice these techniques at the convenience of your office place without disturbing your work.
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