Ever thought about office yoga?
Offices are often stressful places. Long meetings, pressure to meet deadlines, phone calls and emails demand a lot of attention and you sit in front of the computer for hours. After work, people prefer to take the lift instead of the stairs and the car is ready for errands – it’s just quicker that way.
Yet many people complain of headaches, back pain, neck pain and shoulder pain even at a young age. Their eyes burn and their head hurts. To stay healthy, people with sedentary jobs should therefore seek physical compensation.
However, you already have the opportunity to do something good for your mind and body during your daily office routine. Perhaps you are able to get out into the fresh air for a few minutes during your break, and if not, you can also practise the exercises we have put together for you in the office:
Breathe away the stress!
For Brahmari, the bee breathing, sit comfortably and upright. Bring your fingertips together and spread your fingers, then place your hands in your lap. Close your eyes and breathe deeply through your nose. Now slowly exhale through your nose, making a humming sound. Repeat this exercise for a few minutes, as long as it feels comfortable. Advanced practitioners may also like to close the ears with the hands, then you will perceive the vibration more strongly.
Brahmari stimulates the autonomic nervous system and calms the nerves. The hormones in the body are balanced and the mind comes to rest.
Relax your eyes and neck!
Close your eyes and breathe deeply once. Now turn your concentration inwards. Imagine a lying 8 floating in front of you at eye level. Now slowly trace this 8 with your closed eyes. Repeat this several times and then begin to integrate your head into the movement – as if you were now tracing this horizontal number with the tip of your nose.
Not only can this exercise relax the eyes and neck, but it is also said to help the two hemispheres of the brain synchronise better, which can increase concentration.
Stretch your shoulders!
For the eagle arms, sit upright and stretch your arms forward, palms facing up. Bring your left arm under your right arm so that your upper arms cross and your elbows are one inside the other. Now gently bend your arms while bringing your palms together. Now slowly raise your arms upwards until your elbows are approximately level with your shoulders. Keep your shoulders relaxed and breathe deeply. Hold the Asana for a few moments before changing sides.
This exercise releases tension between the shoulder blades, lengthens the shoulder girdle and brings back flexibility.
Yoga for the whole body!
The relaxed forward bend. For this exercise, stand hip-width apart, knees slightly bent, inhale deeply and close your eyes. Now exhale, lower your head and roll your upper body down vertebra by vertebra (if you cannot bend forward that far, bend your knees more and rest your belly on your thighs). Let the upper body, arms, shoulders and head hang completely relaxed while you breathe out and in deeply. If you wish, now move the upper body very gently back and forth after a few breaths. To finish the exercise, slowly roll up vertebra by vertebra with the inhalation, the head straightening up last. Keep the eyes closed for a moment and breathe deeply in and out until the circulation has stabilised.
The relaxed forward bend takes the pressure off the neck, the spine can stretch and the legs are gently stretched.
We hope that you can make your everyday office life a little more pleasant with these simple but effective exercises. Perhaps you would like to tell us in a comment whether you have been able to implement one or the other exercise at your workplace.
