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Try chair yoga: a gentle working from home workout
Across the country, millions of people are adjusting to working from home regularly due to the coronavirus. Many of us are also discovering that being at home doesn't have to mean being inactive, with home workout routines proving hugely popular.
Another fantastic way to fit exercise into your day – and one that you can even do while sat at your computer – is chair yoga. Why not take five minutes to give it a go? You can follow along to the video below or the written steps.
Yoga poses in this video
Part one – sat at your chair
To start, sit in your chair with your feet hip-width apart and your knees in line with your hips. Place your hands on your knees and practise some deep-breathing. This will help to activate your abdominal (tummy) muscles.
Place your hands on either side of your head and then twist your upper body to face the side, but only go as far as feels comfortable. Hold for a few moments and then twist to face the other side.
Contract inwards from your tummy letting your chin drop down towards your chest. Hold and then sit up tall – eye line lifted and back slightly arched.
Move your feet apart, opening your legs as wide as possible.
Slowly fold down through your spine until your head is suspended between your legs. As you do this, bring your arms into position. Then swing gently from one side to the other feeling the stretch in your lower back. Again, only go as far as is comfortable.
When you're done, come back to the centre, roll up and relax your arms.
Slide your hand down the inside of your calf, lean to one side and bring your other arm up and over your head. Gently ease into the stretch and then come back to the centre and repeat on the other side.
Now circle your arms lifting them forward, up and round. You may want to start with smaller circles.
Bring your feet back together, lift one foot up, and place it over the other thigh, rest it there and feel the stretch in your glutes (bottom muscles). If you want to, lean forward to deepen the stretch. Repeat on the other side.
Part two – standing next to your chair
For this next part, you'll need to stand by the side of your chair. Move any obstacles out of the way and adjust the position of your chair if you need to.
Draw your foot up along the inside of your calf and then open and close your leg.
Make sure that you're rotating your leg from your hip joint and not twisting your whole body. Use the chair for support if you need to. Repeat on the other side.
Stand so that your fingertips are just in reach of your chair. Squat planting the pressure through your heels and pushing back up through your glutes.
Using the back of your chair for support, lean forward and stretch out your back.
As you stretch, gently transfer the weight through your left arm and then through your right to get a deeper stretch. Drop down to the floor and then slowly roll up through your spine.
Want to learn more about yoga? Try these other yoga blogs
- Morning yoga – this video routine takes just 15 minutes and can help get your day off to a flying start.
- Which type of yoga is best for you? – if you’re not sure which type of yoga to do, reading this is your perfect starting point.
- Five reasons to start yoga – more information about why yoga is good for you and how it originated.
Finally, if you’re looking for more ways to do mini-exercise sessions at your desk, why not give these fantastic desk stretches a go?
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