Midday Movement Break

In less than 10 minutes, this satisfying sequence of yoga poses will offer you an invigorating movement break. With a blend of standing and chair-based poses, you'll be amazed at how great you feel after this simple practice. Make a little time to care for your body and mind - you won't regret it.

Transcript

Hi, I'm Carrie. Let's get to it. You ready to give yourself a little break from your day? We're going to use your chair and you don't need any special props or clothing. Let's go for it. So you can often think about how many ways in your day there are actually opportunities for movement that are maybe invisible. But even in the middle of sitting in your chair, Let's start with a little seated cat and cow pose. So come to the front edge of your seat, And as you inhale, Roll your shoulders back, Open the chest, Gazing up. And then as you exhale, Round your back, Shrugging your shoulders. Let the chin drop a little bit more towards the chest. Inhale, Rock forward. Find this openness. Ah, What a relief. Exhale, Go the opposite way. Just do this a couple more times at your own pace. Okay, Then the next time when you come upright, Stay there. Take a moment and observe. Notice how you're feeling. Slow breath in. Long breath out. Inhale, Reach both arms out and up. And as you exhale, Lower your left hand down. You can place it at your side on your thigh or at the side of the chair. Reach up through the right arm and take a little bend. Lengthening through the right side. And then inhale, Rise up. And exhale the other way. Do that one more time. Then both arms come up. This time, Let your hands come down behind you. I'll turn so you can see from the side. Taking a little back bend, Lean back into the chair seat. Open the chest, Pressing the chest forward and up. Your head can look straight ahead or you can tip it back, Whichever is better on your neck. But now direct the breath into the chest and observe. How do you feel? Ah. We haven't even gotten out of the chair. And do you feel a difference? What a difference from this. A position that you tend to be in in the workday, Right? Okay, Then slowly rise up, Release your shoulders, Roll them out. And then now time to get out of the chair, Slowly lifting up. So the best thing you can do for your back health is to not sit all day and to insert little bits of movement. But even if you do need to be in your chair for longer, Those simple movements you just tried can be a wonderful tool. So start by taking now your hands onto the chair seat, Keep the right foot in front, And then just sit the left foot back, Turning the left toes out a little bit. You can take your left arm out at shoulder height and then bend your right leg. And just feel here the pressing on the chair to help you stand up really straight. Let's continue that by lifting the hand up off the chair and taking the little reverse warrior pose. Reaching out and elongating. And then exhale as you reach longer, Plant your forearm down on your chair seat. And then open your chest. You can take your arms straight up. Or your arm can go over your ear. Just hold this for a couple breaths. Feel the strength of your legs by pushing your feet down into the ground. And then use the leverage of the arm on the chair to move your rib cage away from your pelvis. Get longer. One more breath. Push down through both feet. Pull the navel in, Rising up. Straighten the leg. And then just turn towards your chair, Stepping up, And you go to side two. Stepping your opposite foot back, Turn the toes out and find the starting position and then bend your leg, Rotating your thigh out. Find that nice strong position between the two legs. Reaching the opposite arm back. If you'd like then try that lateral bend. Reversing this warrior stance, Virabhadrasana 2 in yoga. Warrior two and then reach all the way out plant your forearm down on your thigh open your chest and elongate. Reaching your arm over the ear or up, Or you can place it back on your hips. But here you're giving your hips a real chance to do something different. So you're getting external rotation for the front leg and then elongation through your hip flexors for the back leg. This is such a quick way to just give a little refresh for the hips. All right, Slowly come back up, Straightening the leg, And then just turn the toes in and wiggle your feet back together. Shake out your legs. Place your hands on your hips, Bending the knees, And then circle your hips all the way. And then go the other way. Sweet freedom. All right. Place your hands down. Take a mini mindfulness moment just to feel. What was the impact of that? Taking a slow breath in. And a long breath out. One more time at your own pace, Slow breath in. Long breath out. Okay, Back to your chair, Wrapping up this brief little practice. So sit down on the chair, But again, Come to the front edge. You're going to take a little twist. So reach both arms out and out. And twist towards your left, Putting your right hand behind you. And you can take your left hand outside of your left thigh if you like. Each time when you inhale grow a little bit taller each time when you exhale give a gentle press revolve and you can keep your chin neutral over the chest It could look towards the back shoulder or the front shoulder. All are great. Elongate from your tailbone out through your crown and feel how this is like ringing out tension in the spine, The way you would ring out a rag and feel, See all the water just dripping down. Imagine the tension dripping down. Inhale slowly up to center reaching your arms And exhale, Twist the other way. Hand on the back of the chair. Inhale to elongate. Exhale to press and revolve. Find the head position that feels good to you and let your hips shift a little. You don't need to lock them in place. Let them just move as they will naturally. Imagine again the tension ringing out from the spine. Inhale, Reaching both arms up. Last thing, Exhale as you fold down. You can place your hands on your thighs as you slowly fold down. You could take your forearms and brace yourself here to find a little forward folding action. Or if you like, You can even fold down, Letting your chin come towards your chest. Releasing the neck. Take just two breaths into this back surface of the body, Getting a nice stretch. And then start to elongate through the top of the head so you're lengthening your spine. Put your hands on the thighs and slowly hinge all the way back up. Taking a moment to sit. This last little moment before you head back into your day. If you have time to lie down on the floor, Go for it. But just notice what is it like to insert a little bit of movement in your day. Take a few slower breaths. Thank you so much for practicing, For making this space and time for you. I'm really glad you did. And I encourage you to try it again soon. I'll see you next time.