Desk yoga in five minutes

Neck, shoulders, back and wrists, without leaving your chair.

Hours at a desk or a phone draw the head forward and the shoulders up. These stretches undo a little of that, in a chair, in work clothes, in five minutes.

Breathe slowly through every stretch, and never push into pain: a stretch should feel like a gentle pull, not a strain.

Move gently and only as far as feels comfortable. Skip anything that hurts, and if you have an injury or a health condition, check with a professional first.

The steps

• Sit tall (Sitting tall): Sit near the front of your chair, feet flat, hands on your thighs. Grow tall through the top of your head.
• Neck release, right (Neck release): Let your right ear fall towards your right shoulder. Breathe into the left side of your neck.
• Neck release, left (Neck release): Bring your head up slowly, then let your left ear fall towards your left shoulder.
• Shoulder rolls (Shoulder roll): Lift your shoulders to your ears, roll them back and down. Five slow circles, then five the other way.
• Seated cat-cow (Seated cat-cow): Hands on your knees. Breathing in, lift your chest and look up; breathing out, round your back and look down. Keep going, slowly.
• Twist, right (Seated twist in a chair): Sit tall, then turn your chest to the right, a hand on the back of the chair. Breathe in to grow tall, breathe out to turn a little further.
• Twist, left (Seated twist in a chair): Come back to the middle, then turn to the left.
• Wrists and fingers (Wrist and finger stretch): Arm out in front, palm up; with the other hand gently draw the fingers back. Then palm down. Swap arms halfway.
• Forward fold (Seated forward fold): Feet wide, let your body fold over your knees, head and arms heavy. Come up slowly, head last.
• Sit and breathe (Sitting tall): Back to sitting tall. Three slow breaths, and notice how your back feels now.

Tips

• Set a reminder to do it once in the morning and once in the afternoon.
• Raise your screen so the top of it is level with your eyes; it saves your neck all day.
• Get up and walk for a minute every half hour, even just to fill a glass of water.

Related

• The 20-20-20 screen break
• Before you focus: a guided meditation
• Morning yoga flow
• Balance: tree and warrior
• Bedtime yoga
• All the calm lessons

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