Only have a few minutes for exercise? Then the 5 Minute Desk Yoga Flow is suitable for you.

If spending countless hours at a desk, you’ll want to perform this routine on a frequent basis.

It has numerous benefits for your physical and mental health. Our yoga instructor Laurel has designed this quick and easy flow. It will keep you feeling energised without ever having to leave your work station!

This program aims to improve posture, range of motion, and loosen up tight muscles! By promoting more movement at our desk, we become more flexible, sharp, and increase concentration/mental clarity for getting through the day.

All you need is a chair

Designed for the office worker, the support of a chair makes these exercises accessible for anyone. The highlight of this sequence is that it’s easy to repeat everyday! You can perform the postures together or separately. It all depends on how you’re feeling and how much time you have in the day.

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO PRACTICE 5 MINUTES OF DESK YOGA?

Prolonged hours of sitting can be detrimental for your health, especially when not practicing any postural exercises.

It can cause several muscular imbalances that lead to serious health problems. These issues can be physical and mental. Too much inactivity can decrease blood circulation levels around the body. The lack of blood flow can cause joint inflammation and eventually lead to arthritis in different areas.

When hunching forward on a chair, you’ll notice that you’re not taking deeper breaths. Without using the full capacity of your lungs, your vital organs are not receiving the level of oxygen needed to perform properly. Low levels of oxygen travelling to the brain and different body parts can cause anaemia, dizziness, tiredness, spasms, and muscle aches.

If showing poor posture when sitting, your spine will be rounded forward for the majority of the day. Over time, this spinal position will be maintained when standing, taking part in recreational activities, and even going to bed.

We can slowly prevent these issues from happening and make a full u-turn when practicing 5 minutes of desk yoga per day.

WATCH THE 5 MINUTE DESK YOGA ROUTINE

HOW DOES DESK YOGA HELP YOUR UPPER BODY?

When sitting all day, you’ll notice that your chin starts to move forward. The shoulders start to round as you reach for your keyboard. The neck and upper back muscles start to strain and weaken as they lengthen and pull your shoulders forward. As the shoulders remain in this position, the muscles of the chest get used to being shortened and tighten. Again, this pulls the shoulders more forward. If not remedied, this cycle of weakening and tightening muscles will perpetuate, leading to a host of imbalances that will undoubtedly travel to other areas of the body. This results in loss of mobility, strength and eventually causes chronic pain. An easy task like raising your arms above your head becomes harder.

Performing desk yoga exercises for the “upper body” can prevent these issues from happening.

Some of the following exercises performed in the video above include:

• Shoulder Rolls

• Neck Stretch

• Seated Twists

• Angel Wings

• Forward Fold

HOW DOES DESK YOGA HELP YOUR LOWER BODY?

When seated, the front of the body gets tight and our glutes become weak and lazy. The core weakens from inactivity and puts more pressure on the spine. The hip flexors are shortened, affecting range of motion and flexibility in the lower body. It’s the same logic as our upper body when rounding the shoulders.

These issues lead to shortened quad muscles which can pull on the knee joint and cause pain. Weak glutes also contribute to spinal compression. With all these muscles not doing their job, simple movements like picking objects off the ground, or walking up a flight of stairs can be a huge task.

By performing a couple of simple stretches, and walking around your chair to get the blood flow moving, you’ll notice your hips loosen and become more open. You’ll find it easier to sit up straight and release tension in the lower back. By stretching out the front of your legs, it will take extra pressure off your knees. This creates space within the joint and relieves it of any tightness. 

The desk yoga exercises for the “lower body” (as seen in the video) will bring through this routine and prevent the mentioned issues from happening.

Some of the following exercises performed in the video above include:

• Knee Hug / Butt Kick

• Quad Stretch

• Figure 4 Stretch

GUIDING YOU THROUGH EACH DESK YOGA EXERCISE

Taking you through the Desk Yoga Routine as explained in the video above.

BREATHING

“Sitting with a tall straight spine, come to the edge of your chair. Sit with your feet flat on the ground in front of you. Close your eyes and take a moment to become aware of your breathing. What is it doing? Are you taking short constricted breaths from your chest? Or are you taking deep breaths all the way from your diaphragm?”

“Begin by bringing your shoulders up to your ears. Take a deep breath in and “sigh it out” by exhaling through the mouth. Repeat this one more time. Then placing one hand on your stomach and the other on your chest, start to take deep full breaths. You should feel the hand on your stomach rise as you fill your diaphragm. Your chest will expand while drawing the air up to the top of your lungs. Feel your collar bones and shoulders rise up towards your ears.”

“Exhale to perform the same exercise in reverse. Let your shoulders fall towards your spine. Feel your collarbones soften as your chest falls. Draw your belly button inwards to your spine. Continuing this way, take a few deep breaths, inhaling fully, and exhaling completely. Notice how you feel”.

Benefits

You can better manage your cardiovascular and mental health by practicing simple breathing techniques. It helps avoid heart-related diseases by lowering your heart rate and blood pressure. It’s also boosts your body’s natural defences against stress and burnout.

SHOULDER ROLLS

“Inhale as you reach your shoulders up to your ears. Exhale as you squeeze your shoulders back and draw them down your spine. Repeat a couple times before performing the movement in a reverse direction” (roll the shoulders forward and bring them down your spine).”

Benefits

Shoulder rolls help increase blood flow to the shoulders, chest, upper back and neck. It helps loosen these muscle groups so they’re ready for stretching. It also lubricates the shoulder joints, which improves mobility and reduces muscular tension and tightness.

NECK STRETCH

“Inhale, sit up nice and tall, and relax your shoulders down your spine. Exhale and look over your right shoulder. Keep drawing your left shoulder away from your ear. Inhale while coming back to centre. Exhale and turn your chin to the left. Bring your head back to centre. Inhale lift your chin, feeling a stretch along the front of your neck - making sure not to collapse your head back. Let your left ear move towards your left shoulder as you begin making circles with your head. As you move your chin to your chest exhale, inhale, right ear to right shoulder. Switch directions.”

Benefits

Weak neck and trapezius muscles can pull your head forward and put pressure on the top of the spine. The neck stretch can help lift the head and chin back into place, aligning them over the shoulders. 

SEATED TWISTS

“Inhale and reach your arms over head. Exhale, twist to the right, bringing your right hand back behind the chair and left hand to your right knee. Keep your eyes focused on your right shoulder but be careful not to strain your neck. As you inhale, lengthen your spine, sit up taller, and exhale to twist deeper. Inhale back to centre, reaching arms up overhead, exhale twist to the other side.”

Benefits

Spinal twists help alleviate back pain and stiffness by increasing spinal flexibility, mobility and strength. It’s also a great stretch for the shoulders and chest. Twisting massages the abdominal organs, stimulates blood circulation, and boosts digestion. Performing spinal twists in a chair adds support, ensuring your back is in a neutral position (straight) before twisting.

ANGEL WINGS

“Inhale, reach the arms up overhead, exhale and draw shoulders down the spine. Draw your elbows to the ribs and lift the chest. Keep your core engaged by pulling your belly button in towards your spine. Imagine you are pulling yourself up on a pull up bar. Repeat.”

Benefits

The “Angel Wings” exercise opens up the chest and shoulder muscles, strengthens the lower, mid and upper back, and increases scapular stability.

KNEE HUG / BUTT KICK

“Standing in front or beside your chair, inhale and draw your left knee into your chest, interlocking your fingers around your knee and giving it a squeeze. Exhale, release, and step forward. Inhale and switch sides. Bring your hands behind your bottom and kick your left heel towards them as you exhale. Then take a small step back. Repeat a couple times on each side, depending on how much room you have”.

Benefits

The knee hug/butt kick exercises increase circulation in the lower half of the body. They send more blood to the joints, while warming up the glutes, hamstrings, hips and quad muscles for stretching. 

QUAD STRETCH

Pictured Right (Above)

“Standing up, you can hold on to your chair, desk or a wall for balance. Inhale and bend your right knee. Reach your right arm back to grab your foot. Keeping your knees together, exhale and squeeze your left glute while pushing your hips forward. Feel a deep stretch along the front of the right hip and leg. Hold for a couple breaths while sinking deeper into the stretch. Repeat on other side.”

Benefits

Opens hip flexors, stretches quads, and strengthens glutes. This stretch also takes pressure off the lower back.

FIGURE 4 STRETCH

Pictured Left (Above)

“Coming back to your seat, sit on the edge of the chair with your feet flat on the ground. Your ankles should be positioned under the knees. Bend your right knee and bring the outside edge of your right foot to the top of your left thigh, making a figure 4 shape. If this is too much you can straighten your left leg. Inhale to lengthen your spine and sit tall. Exhale and gently push the right knee out to open up the hip. Repeat on other side.”

Benefits

Opens outer hips, stretches the inner thighs, and relieves pressure on the lower back. The exercise also strengthens the gluteal muscles.

FORWARD FOLD

“Staying seated at the edge of your chair, inhale and interlock your fingers behind your back. Roll your shoulders back and down your spine away from your ears. Exhale, lean forward, and fold your torso over your knees. Extend your fists away from your back and imagine trying to reach your knuckles towards the floor behind your head. Let your breath go here and relax your neck and face. Let everything go and feel the blood being circulated around your body and to your brain. Take a few moments here. When you’re ready, inhale and slowly rise up. Notice how you feel. Different from when you started?”

Benefits

The “forward fold” helps to open up the lower back, shoulders, hips, and neck muscles when performed in a chair. It releases tension and tightness in the upper body.