As we spend long hours at our desks,
It's common for our neck,
Shoulders,
And upper back to become stiff and uncomfortable.
This can lead to pain and even long-term damage,
As well as decreased productivity and concentration.
Hi,
I'm Dr.
Camilla Moore.
To balance our posture,
We can make use of a simple and effective 10-ish minute stretching routine that can be done right at our desk.
By taking just a few minutes out of our day,
We can release some tension,
Improve circulation,
And increase flexibility,
Giving us a greater sense of well-being and focus.
So let's begin.
Start by being seated with a straight back,
Feet flat on the floor.
Move your chair away from your desk so that you are a little less than arm's length away from the desk.
A little bit of space here.
Take a deep breath in,
Then exhale as you roll your shoulders forward and down.
And do this about 10 times,
Forward and down,
Rolling them forward.
Five,
Six,
Seven,
Eight,
Nine,
Ten.
You want full range of motion.
Reverse and roll your shoulders back and up and down for 10 more.
Four,
Five,
Six,
Seven.
You should feel some warmth getting into the shoulders there.
Ten.
Next,
Let's interlace your fingers,
Place them behind your head,
And bring your elbows together in front of you.
Gently tilt the crown of your head forward to feel the release down the back of your neck and into the upper back.
Add just a little overpressure,
Gentle.
Lift your head back up to neutral,
Bring your gaze forward.
Bring your chin back down towards your neck.
And back up again.
And one more time.
Chin all the way down to your chest.
Good.
Head back to neutral,
Eyes forward.
Keep your interlaced hands behind your head,
And you're going to bring your chin back towards your neck.
Think of retracting like a turtle rather than tipping your chin down.
Gently press the back of your head into your hands and feel the muscles deep in your neck engage.
Hold that for a count of five.
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
Release and pull the head forward down again like we were just doing.
Hold it,
Go a little further.
Hold that there.
Head back up to neutral.
Bring your chin back again.
Press the head into your hands.
Engage the muscles.
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
Release,
Head all the way forward.
Drop the shoulders and still behind your head.
Awesome.
One more time.
Head up,
Eyes forward.
Press the head into the hands,
Nice and gentle.
Chin retracted.
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five.
Good.
And release,
Pull forward.
Nice gentle stretch.
Release the shoulders,
Release the neck.
Feel that all the way down into your upper back.
Great.
Bring your arms up over your head,
Palms together in prayer position.
Take a deep breath in into the lower chest.
And as you exhale,
Bend to the left,
Feeling the release along the right arm,
Right side of your torso,
All the way down into the right side of your low back,
Lengthening the spine.
Keep your sit bones anchored to your chair.
Drop your sacrum.
Stay tall and strong as you bend to the left.
As you hold this posture,
Take a nice deep breath in.
And as you exhale,
Release.
Bend a little bit further.
Hands back overhead.
Head and shoulders back to neutral.
And do this right on the left side.
So nice deep breath in.
And as you exhale,
Bend to the right,
Dropping the shoulder,
Feeling the stretch along your spine,
Dropping your sacrum,
Anchoring your sit bones.
Nice deep breath in here.
And as you release the breath,
Release the tension on your left side,
Moving down to the right.
You should feel the stretch all the way to your fingertips.
Bring yourself back to neutral.
Keep your hands overhead,
Palms together.
Deep breath in all the way into your lower lung and forward fold so your forearms are resting on your desk.
Hands in prayer position so your thumbs are towards the ceiling.
Spread your fingers wide.
Drop your head in between your arms and feel the stretch into your shoulders,
Your arms,
Your upper back,
And your neck.
From here,
We're doing a mini cat and cow through the upper back.
So breathe into the upper back,
In between your shoulder blades,
Allowing your shoulders to round slightly.
Release the breath.
Drop the chest down to the earth,
Lifting the crown of your head up towards the ceiling.
Breathe into the upper back,
Rounding the shoulders,
Lifting the space in between your shoulder blades.
And release,
Dropping the chest to the earth,
Lifting the head up to the sky.
One more time.
Breath into the upper middle lung,
Filling the space in between the shoulder blades.
Roll the shoulders forward and breathe out.
Let the chest fall to the earth,
Lifting the crown of your head towards the ceiling.
Excellent.
Now drop the arms behind you,
Interlacing your fingers.
Drop the shoulders,
Drop the shoulder blades,
Allowing your head to fall back and your chest to open up.
Slowly roll your head around in a circle,
Bending,
Rotating,
Flexing,
In all directions to release the rest of that tension in your neck.
Release the shoulders back.
Release the shoulder blades.
Hands are behind you.
Chest is open and up.
Heart is open and up.
Nice breath in.
One more time.
Drop the shoulders,
Arms behind you.
Open the chest.
Move your head in all directions to release the last bit of that tension.
Excellent.
Let's bring your awareness back to the day.
Close your eyes.
Take a deep breath in.
Let it all the way out.
And just take this moment and sit with it still.
Thank you.
Let me know what you think in the comments below.
And have a wonderful day.
