Back to School: 5 Easy and Effective Desk Movements
Are you ready for back to school season? For most of us, back to school means the accumulation of more responsibilities along with additional stress and mind exhaustion. In the summer, we might have been good at maintaining a healthy lifestyle with a little more time on our side and longer days but how do we manage when the days are shorter and school pressures roll back around? A few easy and effective desk movements can be a simple daily solution to ease stress, anxiety and tension that are bound to happen when school is back in full force.
Stretching Benefits
Stretching creates several positive impacts on physical and mental health that are beneficial for supporting a focused, energized mind.
INCREASE BRAIN POWER
If you tend to experience being mentally overwhelmed or a sluggish mind after sitting for a few hours at your desk, it’s important to get your body moving so you that you can get the blood flowing back to your brain. Sitting in the same position, for prolonged periods of time has been known to cause reduced blood flow to the brain. “Short-term drops in brain blood flow can temporarily muddle thinking and limit memory.”
Moving your body will help to clear your mind to support the task at hand.
FATIGUE BE GONE
Incorporating daily stretching has shown improvement to blood circulation as well as decrease high blood pressure, which in turn can help to reduce fatigue.
REDUCE TENSION
Sitting for a long time can create lots of neck and back pain resulting in tension headaches. Reducing muscle tension through stretching can help to soothe your headache.
LOWER ANXIETY
Stretching is a fantastic relaxation technique not only for the body but also the mind. An important component of stretching is focusing on your breathing. According to the Harvard article “Relaxation Techniques: Breath Control Helps to Quell Errant Stress Response”
“Breath focus helps you concentrate on slow, deep breathing and aids in disengaging from distracting thoughts and sensations.”
Utilizing complete oxygen exchanges, through full and expansive breaths while you stretch, will induce a more relaxed state of being.
Here are six easy and effective desk movements to release tension and allow you to focus (based on the Maripossa Wellness Wellness breaks).
1. NECK STRETCHES
Align your neck and shoulders
allow your head to be balanced between your shoulders
allow your chin to be parallel to the floor
Take a big full inhale and exhale as you move you chin to your right shoulder, take another full inhale and move your chin to your left shoulder as you exhale.
Repeat slowly for about 30 secs
2. Alternative Neck Stretch
align your neck and shoulders
allow your head to be balanced between your shoulders
allow your chin to be parallel to the floor
Take a big full inhale and as you exhale take your right ear to your right shoulder, then take a big inhale an as you exhale take your left ear to your left shoulder.
Repeat slowly for about 30 secs
3. SHOULDER Roll STRETCH
Align your neck and shoulders
allow your head to be balanced between your shoulders
allow your chin to be parallel to the floor
Roll your shoulders up and back ten times with your breath
inhale as you roll up and exhale as your roll back
Roll your shoulders up and forward ten times with your breath
Inhale as you roll up and exhale as your roll forward
4. TORSO STRETCH/ Seated twist
Sit at the edge of your chair so that you have room to twist
Align your neck and shoulders
allow your head to be balanced between your shoulders
allow your chin to be parallel to the floor
allow your spine to feel long and tall
allow your knees and feet to be hips width distance apart (make sure feet are parallel and
even
Place your left hand on your right knee and take you right hand behind you by your right hip.
Take a big full expansive inhale and as you exhale twist to the right and hold.
Repeat on the other side and hold for 5 big full breaths on each side.
5. SIDE STRETCH
Sit at the edge of your chair so that you have move to twist
Align your neck and shoulders
allow your head to be balanced between your shoulders
allow your chin to be parallel to the floor
allow your spine to feel long and tall
allow your knees and feet to be hips width distance apart (make sure feet are parallel and
even
Take your left hand and place it on your left hip then take your right arm/hand and reach up and over to the left side and hold the stretch for 5 full and expansive breaths .
Take your right hand and place it on your right hip then take your left arm/hand and reach up and over to the right side and hold the stretch for 5 full and expansive breaths.
6. LOWER BACK RELEASE
Sit at the edge of your chair so that you have move to twist
Align your neck and shoulders
allow your head to be balanced between your shoulders
allow your chin to be parallel to the floor
allow your spine to feel long and tall
allow your knees and feet to be hips width distance apart (make sure feet are parallel and
even
Then rest your forearms and elbows on your knees and fold forward allowing your head to drop between your shoulders and release.
If you are feeling more flexible you can release your arms forward towards your feet.
As you are folded over your legs focus on your breath.
Allow your breath to be full and expansive
Slow big breaths
Hold this position for 10 breaths
Come up super slowly, please make sure the head always comes up last and once you are fully up right and you head is balanced between your shoulders, take another inhale and exhale.
Always remember to breathe as full and as expansive as you can while performing each stretch to allow the tension to properly release and your mind to calm.
If you choose to incorporate these stretches into your daily work routine, it best to do on a daily basis to reap the full benefits. Daily focused stretching can be a very powerful practice for your mind and body.