Have you heard that “sitting is the new smoking”? Research has link a highly sedentary lifestyle with a shorter life span and increased risk of chronic diseases like heart disease and diabetes, among other serious health problems.
As most office workers can relate, sitting over a keyboard for hours can contribute to tightness in the hips and legs, in addition to neck, shoulder and back pain. Crouching at your desk the whole day can also lead to an unhealthy posture – that you take with you when you leave for the day – in which the back and shoulders hunch down and the neck protrudes forward. Other than the 8 hours spend at the desk, many of us spend our time in the train staring at your smartphone, totally misaligning the spine.
Here are some classes that are meant target areas of tension can be effective relief to many desk-job ailments.
Neck, Back & Shoulder
Do you have stiff shoulder, hunch back, strained neck or a sore lower back? These symptoms are common among office workers. After all, hours in front of our computers and phones, and the repetitive movement patterns can cause neck, back and shoulder strain. The ‘Neck, Back & Shoulders’ class guides you into a series of poses that thoroughly stretch the muscles around these tension zones. Gradually move into deeper stretches, warming the body up in preparation for a deeper release of the tighter muscles in your body. After the class, your neck, back and shoulders will feel refreshed and you will be ready to take on your to-do list if the day!
Shoulder Opening
Office workers know well the unmistakable sign that you’ve been sitting hunched at a computer too long: your shoulders have started to climb up toward your ears, knotting into a sticky, sore mass. When our shoulders are constantly hunched, it does not only place tension on the upper body, it can be difficult for you to breathe as well. In a Shoulder Opening class, focus on increasing the shoulder mobility as well as enhancing your shoulder movements. By opening up the shoulders more blood, oxygen and nerve circulation will be freed up to invigorate you mentally and physically. It will help you breathe easier, correct your posture and relieve pains and tensions in your upper body.
Hip Opening
Sitting in your desk chair all day isn’t easy on your hips. Your hips have to balance the physical stress that sitting places on your lower back with the tension held in your legs as they counterbalance your torso. While there can be a ton of causes of lower back pain, a weak core and poor posture from sitting all day (and consequently shortening the hip muscles that then pull on the lower back) are two really common contributing factors to lower back aches and discomfort. Tight hips affect everything, from your ability to get into a Wheel Pose to picking things off the ground.
In a Hip Opening class, you will use props and Yoga Asanas specifically targeted at the lower body to stretch out your hamstrings, hip flexors, thighs and pelvis joint/muscles. By loosening up these tension areas, improve your strength, circulation and range of motion of hips. The benefits of hip openers have benefits that go far deeper than improving flexibility and balance. They promote better circulation, refresh your brain with a flow of fresh oxygen and provide stress release.
Aerial Yoga
Aerial Yoga uses aerial silk hammock to support your weight, ease pressure and pain, create space in your joints to decrease compression in your spine and enhance mobility. Additionally, it helps to release tension from your muscles. When inverting in the hammock, you will be free from putting pressure on your head and spine, which can soothe your back and neck pain and injury. Also, Aerial Yoga helps to ease back pain by rehydrating the discs, reducing nerve pressure, relaxing tense muscles and realigning the spine. By realigning the spine, you can be free from the ache in your shoulders, which are caused by sitting in front of a computer all day or carrying heavy bags on one shoulder.
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