Five yoga poses you can do in between work

Tech neck, increased headaches, eye strain, and repetitive stress injuries are just a few health issues that working for long hours at your desk can trigger. Although taking a quick break from work is known to help the physical strain, pepping it up with easy-to-do yoga exercises can take your physical well-being up a notch. 

“Packed with spine and muscle strengthening benefits, learning a few such yoga poses from a practitioner and introducing them into one’s daily routine would not just help boost one’s physical wellbeing but also keep a check on posture-related physical ailments,” says Bengaluru-based yoga teacher Prarthana Makhija.  

Happiest Health speaks to yoga practitioners who list out easy-to-do poses to help up your physical wellbeing.  

Supine Spinal Twist (Supta Matsyendrasana)  

This lying-down twist is one of the best ways to unwind the spine, claim yoga experts. “This type of twist releases stiffness from the lower back and hips. Besides, it also removes tension from the back muscles which turn sore with long hours of inactivity,” says yoga practitioner Iti Jain.  

Cow Face Pose (Gomukhasana) 

Makhija calls it a ‘heart opener’ as it “opens the back muscles and expands the chest and improves breathing. It is great for one’s reproductive and urinary system,” she says. This full-body asana helps fix rounded shoulders as well. “We spend a lot of time in flexion (the action of bending) that is, typing, texting, cooking, and driving. And this asana improves the shoulder mobility, and posture and gives space to our lungs to take deep breaths which are extremely important in today’s context,” adds Jain.  

Rabbit pose (Shashank asana) 

This pose works on the spine, back, arms, and shoulders. Get the blood to circulate better in the heart and head with asana. This relaxes the nervous system, helps in taking deep breaths, and a good posture to unwind.  

Cat cow (Marjariasana) 

“It releases tension from the spinal region and improves one’s breathing pattern and stiffness around the neck area. If practiced regularly, it can help with spinal flexibility,” says Makhija. Ideally, everyone should practice this pose to keep back pain away or to relieve stiffness in the back due to sitting for long hours. This pose improves the blood circulation in the spinal cord and helps maintain spinal health. 

Thread a needle (Parsva Balasana)  

Shoulder pain, stiff upper back; try this posture. This twist helps in releasing stiffness in the entire torso and the trapezius. Regular practice can help in relaxing the nervous system as well.