Office yoga

I have not been practicing what I preach as of late, sitting a lot at my desk. As I wrote in a prior post, sitting is the new smoking in terms of harm to overall health. It’s associated with increased risk for heart disease and diabetes as well as weak core muscles and tight hip flexors and hamstrings. This week, I’ve been making a diligent effort to stand up while on the phone, take frequent walks around the office and ensure that I head out to a nearby trail on my lunch break. I also did a little office yoga session and am inspired to keep this going.

Yoga is a centuries old tradition, combining movement with breath. It is a great form of exercise that reduces muscle tension, increases flexibility, muscle strength and tone, provides cardio and circulatory health, and can even boost immunity.

I printed out the picture in this post that I found online and posted it to my wall. If you Google “office yoga” there are tons of great resources and PowerPoint presentations to give you even more ideas for simple stretches and strengthening exercises you can do from your desk and chair. Spread the word to your coworkers and let’s be the healthy role models we know we can be! Now…if I can only get a standing desk. That’ll be my next move.

Also, check out this dope infographic by the Huffington Post: Your body on yoga

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