After a long day at a desk, you may feel stiff, uncomfortable and a little grumpy. When you sit for extended periods in the same position, no matter how upright your posture, soreness tends to build up, and your muscles may feel tight and unhappy when you start moving again.
The antidote to this problem is simple. Stretching periodically throughout the day and especially once you’re done at your desk can help keep aches and pains at bay.
Certified Pilates Teacher Juanita Franke (NCPT), who teaches at Club Pilates, has put together these three quick stretches that take just 10 minutes to do.
You don’t even need a mat, you can just push your chair in and do them by your desk (as long you’re not in an open-plan office). Give them a try, and see how much they help.
1. Cat-cow
Reps: 3-6
- Begin on all fours with your knees under your hips and your hands under your shoulders. If this position causes pain in your wrists, lower onto your forearms with your elbows under your shoulders.
- Tuck your tailbone under and slowly round your back, trying to move one vertebra at a time. Accentuate the movement by bringing your pelvis closer to your ribcage.
- Reverse the movement to arch your back, slowly raising your head first, then your shoulders and finally your back. Accentuate the arched shape by bringing the bottom of your shoulder blades a little closer together.
2. Mermaid
Reps: 3-6 each side
- Sit cross-legged with your hands on the floor by your sides. If your knees or hips are uncomfortable, you can also sit with your legs extended in front of you, or place a pillow or folded up blanket underneath your sit bones.
- Bend to the left at the waist, bringing your right arm up and over your head to the left-hand side.
- Try to keep your weight evenly distributed in both of your hips and open up the right side of your ribcage.
- Reverse the movements with control back to the start, then repeat on the other side, alternating sides with each rep.
- Keep your neck and jaw relaxed as you move.
3. Saw
Reps: 3-6 each side
- Sit on the floor with your legs extended and feet wider than hip-width apart.
- Keeping your weight evenly distributed through your hips, twist your torso to the right.
- Once you’ve rotated, you can add a forward bend and bring your right pinky finger past the left pinky toe.
- You can accentuate the stretch by looking back at your left arm and trying to open up the right side of your ribcage.
- Reverse the movements with control back to the start, then repeat on the other side, alternating sides with each rep.
Juanita Franke is a NeuroStudio Level 1 Practitioner and Club Pilates Charlottesville, lead instructor and master trainer.
She was certified in 2017 through Vitality Pilates in Seattle, WA, but has been teaching movement for more than 20 years. She fell in love with pilates while a faculty member at Pacific Northwest Ballet. She has taught in an MS clinic, private clients, and the group exercise setting and has witnessed the power of Pilates to enrich lives, from golfers and surgeons to wheelchair-bound clients.
