When you're working from home [1], it's fairly easy to sit in the same spot all day long — give or take a few trips to the bathroom and the kitchen for lunch. But it's that lack of 9-to-5 motion that might be contributing to your joint stiffness [2] come the end of the day.
One solution? Scheduling in a midday stretching break. For that, we turned to Steven Leonard, a yoga and meditation teacher and functional movement specialist at the Kripalu Centre For Yoga and Health [3].
Check out his simple 10-minute sequence ahead.
Deep Breathing
"When you take slow, deep breaths, it signals the nervous system to relax," Leonard said. "When the nervous system is in a relaxed state, muscles, connective tissue, and joints tend to move in a more smooth and integrated way."
- Practice deep breathing for one minute.
Joint Circles
"Circling the major joints of the body creates lubrication within the joint and also moves the surrounding muscles in a dynamic way," Leonard noted.
Hip Circles
- Stand with feet a little wider than the hips.
- Keep your hands relaxed down by your sides, or bring your hands onto your hips.
- As you inhale, press your hips to the right and forward.
- As you exhale press your hips to the left and back.
- Continue to circle and adjust the size of the movement as it feels good for your body.
- Circle for one minute in each direction.
Shoulder Circles
- Stand with feet hip-width apart.
- As you inhale, lift your shoulders up to your ears.
- As you exhale, roll them forward and down.
- As you inhale again, draw the shoulders back and up toward your ears.
- Similar to the hip circles, allow the size of the shoulder circle to increase or decrease according to your body's needs.
- Circle for one minute in each direction.
Knee/Ankle Circles
- Stand with your feet together.
- Bend your knees deeply and bring your hands onto your thighs.
- Begin to circle your knees slowly.
- Inhale the knees to the right and forward.
- Exhale the knees to the left and back.
- You can either keep your feet flat on the ground or allow the inner and outer edges of your feet to lift and lower.
- Circle for one minute in each direction.
Dynamic Movements
"Dynamic movements can be done slowly, quickly, in a small range of motion, or large range of motion," Leonard said. "The benefit of these exercises is to move in a holistic and integrated way — the way we evolved to move."
Squat Flow
- Stand with your feet hip-width apart.
- As you inhale, reach your arms overhead and spread your fingers wide.
- If it feels OK for your spine, allow a gentle backbend.
- As you exhale, bend your knees and send your hips back into a squat.
- At the same time, reach your arms forward, down, and then back behind you.
- Continue this movement for one minute.
Side Stretch
- Stand with your feet a little wider than the hips.
- As you inhale, reach both arms overhead.
- As you exhale, slide your right hand down your right leg and continue to reach up through your left fingers.
- As you inhale, lift your back up to centre.
- As you exhale, repeat on the other side.
- Continue this movement for one minute.
Swinging Twist
- Stand with your feet a little wider than the hips.
- Take a deep breath in.
- As you exhale, touch your right hand to the front of your left shoulder, and your left hand to your low back.
- Look over your left shoulder.
- As you inhale, return to the beginning position.
- As you exhale, touch your left hand to the front of the right shoulder, and your right hand to your low back.
- Look over your right shoulder.
- This movement can be done slowly or you can speed it up by swinging the arms side to side.
- Feel free to let the feet move in any way that helps to shoulders and spine move.
- Continue the movement for one minute.
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