Postures for Working from Home

The world has embraced the work-from-home experience, but that can also mean hours sitting hunched over a laptop. The desk and chair might not be ergonomically friendly for a good sitting posture. Thankfully, we have yoga to help combat the hunching in the back, the jetting forward of the neck, and the low back pain from hours spent working over a computer.

Taking a break from your work desk in this less traditional work environment is essential to keep you sane and refresh between online meetings. Practyce has plenty of yoga classes for shoulders or upper body tension release. If you opt not to do any virtual yoga class, make a point to step away from the screen and get on your mat for these simple and effective poses to unwind and improve mobility.

Neck and Forearm Stretch

If you find you’re holding tension in your neck or your hands/forearms for many hours over a keyboard, this neck and forearm stretch will help relieve that tension gently by loosening the neck and stretching out the forearm, palm, and fingers.

How to get into the posture:

Find a comfortable seat and stretch your right arm out to the side like you’re telling someone next to you to stop. Press through the heel of your hand and flex your fingertips back towards your face as you drop your left ear down towards your left shoulder. Your left fingertips can be tented beside you, or to assist your neck stretch, bring your left hand to your right ear and gently deepen the stretch with ear align over the shoulder. Take it on the other side.

Cobra pose

Often people don’t have their desks at an optimal height to support good posture for the entire workday. If you find yourself hunching, these cobra variations are excellent to counter that experience by opening the chest, shoulders and inviting length back into the spine. It also strengthens your abdominals and back muscles to help support good posture.

How to get into the posture:

Lay down on your belly, and place your palms under your shoulders. As you inhale, lift your chest from the mat and hug the elbows in towards your sides and your shoulders down and away from your ears. As you feel your front body open, engage your core and lengthen your neck and spine. Try to tuck your chin slightly to keep a long line from your spine through the crown of your head as you press down through the pelvic bone and feet. Take a few rolling cobras using your breath by inhaling to lift and exhaling to bring your chest back down towards the ground, or add a shoulder stretch by placing your fingers on the outside edges of your mat with your fingertips pressing into the floor, with your palms lifting off the floor. Start with your elbows pointing up and your fingertips broad off the mat with the forehead on the floor, and as you inhale, press into the tops of the feet, pelvic bone, and fingertips to peel the chest up off the mat. As you exhale, dip the left shoulder towards the floor and look over your right shoulder. The inhale will bring you back through the center and then exhale to swap sides. Move naturally and allow yourself to feel the opening of the chest.

Forearm Plank

If you find yourself having low back pain, you might try some core work! A forearm plank strengthens your core, supporting your spine upright (less slouching, we hope!) without any irritation on the wrists.

How to get into the posture:

Begin in a kneeling position and bring your elbows under your shoulders and extend the forearms in front of you in a number 11. With the palms wide (or you can make fists), lift the back of the legs as you press into the balls of your feet and get your body into a plank. Slowly, find your plank by having your ears in line with your shoulder, shoulder in line with the hips, hips in line with the ankles. You should feel a long line of energy from the crown of your head through your heels, focus on lifting the back of your legs and hug the front ribs to back ribs to engage the core. Make sure you breathe here; when you are ready to release, lower your knees, un-tuck the toes and lift the chest stretching the front body in a sphinx pose.

Low Lunge With Shoulder Shrugs

Sitting too much shortens the front hip muscle and can create tightness in your hips, thighs, and shoulders. While you stretch out your hip flexors and quadriceps, you can also add a beautiful chest and shoulder opener as you shoulder shrug with your breath. This posture helps with hunching over a desk and sitting for an extended period to release tension and open the body back up.

How to get into the posture:

Start in a runner’s lunge with your right knee bent over your right ankle and the left leg long behind you. Lower the left knee and reach the arms up to the sky for a low lunge. If your left knee is uncomfortable, place a blanket underneath or roll your mat over itself. As you inhale, lengthen the side body and reach the fingertips up to the sky. With the exhale, shoulder shrug and bend at the elbows to find a goal post shape with the arms. If you choose, add a little backbend here. You can repeat, lifting the arms straight and bending the elbows with the exhales, or at the bottom of the exhale, clasp hands behind your low back to focus more on shoulder opening.

Half Straddle With Side Bend

A more stretchy complement to the core work recommended above for low back pain is taking a half straddle with a side bend. Here you’re able to lengthen the hamstrings while you stretch the QL (quadratus lumborum – a muscle in the back part of the abdominal wall), which plays a significant role in stabilizing the low back. Stretching the QL might feel like stretching the side body, focusing on the lower side body to relieve lower backache and tightness. If you don’t have a strong core, the QL may be working overtime to overcompensate to stabilize your spine and pelvis from prolonged sitting, so be sure to give it a little extra attention.

How to get into the posture:

Extend your left leg out to the side and bring your right foot to your inner left thigh to half straddle. Lay your left arm down on the inside of the extended left leg and reach up and over towards your left toes with the right arm as you lengthen the side body and sink your right hip towards the floor. Press your left arm into your inner left leg to keep rotating the chest open, rolling the right shoulder open on top of the left.

Next time, give these yoga poses a try when you are between online meetings! They are great to practice when you need a quick break from your desk, your home office space. Give yourself about five breaths for each posture before continuing with your workday.

By Rachel Mardoian

February 22, 2021

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