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MICHELLE KEENAN empowers people and organisations to achieve optimal wellbeing by providing customised wellness coaching, Pilates, and yoga at her Waiuku studio.
If you spend your day at a desk, it’s easy to get slouchy and uncomfortable. Sitting for long
periods can cause back and neck pain, and it’s not great for your energy and concentration
either!
It’s a great idea to get up for at least a few minutes every hour to stand up and walk around, and doing some quick stretches is helpful too. Here are a few of my favourites:
1.Shoulder rolls – exactly what they sound like! Let your arms drop beside
you, then slowly roll your shoulders forward a few times, then backwards. Focus on
sitting or standing tall and breathing deeply in through your nose and out through your
mouth.
2.Follow that with a chest opener – clasp your hands behind your back, roll
your shoulders back and down, and then gently try to lift your arms behind you,
thinking of opening your collarbones wide and not allowing your shoulders to roll up
or inwards. Remember to breathe!
3.Hand/wrist/forearm stretch – hold one arm straight out in front of you,
with the hand in a “stop” signal, then rotate till your fingers point down. Use the other
hand to gently pull the first hand back towards you. Be gentle as this one can feel
quite intense! Repeat on both sides.
4.Seated twist – sit tall on your chair, then twist your whole body to the right.
Bring your front hand to the outside of your opposite leg and let your back hand rest
on the chair seat behind you. Stay for a few breaths, then repeat on the other side.
5.Overhead stretch and side bend – clasp your hands together, take a deep
breath in as you take them overhead, then exhale into a side bend. Inhale back to the
centre, and exhale to the other side. Do two or three each way.
6.Chair squats – a useful movement to get the blood flowing and minimise
the negative effects of sitting. Stand and sit a few times, except instead of actually sitting all the way down, stop just before your bum hits the chair. If that feels too easy, step away from your chair and take your squats a bit lower.
www.michellekeenan.com
