Have you heard that sitting is the new smoking?
Perhaps I’ve been sitting under a rock lately because I just heard about this earlier in the week. I can’t believe that sitting at our desks all day working is compared to being as bad for us, if not worse, as smoking.
I had already heard of articles being written saying things such as “we are dying at our desks” but this put it into even more of a perspective for me.
How many of you sit at a desk all day? And do you actually take time to get up and walk around? Perhaps you have a stand up desk available that you use sometimes?
I’m excited to be doing an event next week with a group where not only will I be able to do a “Reset Break” to help break up their two day meeting and re-energize them so they can retain all they need to, but I will get to teach them tools and techniques to take back to the office to help get them moving and stretching at their desks.
More info on the “reset breaks” can be found here on the top link on this page:
https://findyourtriessence.com/physical/
What is something you could do next week to start bringing more movement into your day? Would it be possible to take a walk when you are on a conference call? Stand at your desk when talking on the phone? Can you walk to lunch? Maybe take a walk around in the halls when you are coming up with creative ideas?
Here are three great stretches you can do at your desk to get the blood flowing that are great for your circulation, along with other great benefits.
1) Stand and stretch your arms up over your head. Interlace your hands and spin your palms towards the sky. Relax your shoulders down your back and take a big inhale. On the exhale, stretch your arms over to the right. Hold a few deep breaths in and out through your nose, come back to center and repeat on the left. This improves circulation and can help refresh your body and mind.
2) Chair twists – Sit in a chair, preferably without arms. Swing your knees together over to the right side with your feet on the floor, (ankles stacked beneath your knees) and twist to the right by grabbing on to the back of the chair (or if the chair has arms, face your knees forward and when you twist, grab the arm of the chair). Take a few deep breaths in and out through your nose and go a little deeper on each exhale. This can help release toxins and relieve fatigue and depression.
3) Stand with your feet hips width distance apart and bend forward with your arms towards the ground in a forward fold. Try to release your head and let it relax and hang heavy. Let your arms hang towards the floor or you can grab opposite elbows with your hands. Forward folds help ease irritability and anxiety.
Here’s hoping you can find ways to incorporate more movement into your work day as I’d hate for any of us to end up dying at our desks 😉
Until next time…just say NO to sitting all day!!!