This gentle chair stretching routine will ease lower-back tightness and improve posture—and it only takes three minutes

It's not your chair's fault—it's the inactivity that comes with most desk-based jobs that’s wreaking havoc on your back.

That's certainly been my experience, and certified personal trainer Carter Lee agrees.

"Sitting at a desk all day really does a number on your back," says Lee, a trainer at BetterMe.

"Your hip flexors get tight, your lower back locks up, you start rounding forward, and then you're dealing with that constant dull ache that just won't quit."

The remedy, he assures me, is to move.

"Just a few minutes of moving your spine and engaging your core helps get blood flowing again and loosens up those stiff spots."

Regular, bite-sized movement breaks, even for just a few minutes, can help counteract the effects of sitting all day.

The routine

To keep aches and pains at bay, Lee recommends a five-move chair yoga-inspired routine that's practical, gentle and mobilizes the spine through multiple planes of motion.

"What I like about these seated exercises is they're realistic," he explains.

"You don't need to change clothes, roll out a yoga mat, or block off half an hour. You can literally do them while you're thinking through a problem or between meetings."

Practicing them regularly, he adds, won't just offer your body temporary relief, you'll "retrain how you hold yourself, lengthening muscles that have become shortened from sitting, while taking pressure off your lower back".

Side flexion

Video: BetterMe

Reps: 4-6 each side

How to do it:

• Sit upright with your feet flat on the floor and your hands behind your head.
• Slowly, with control, bend your upper body to one side, then back to the center.
• Complete all the repetitions on one side, then repeat on the other side.

Why Lee recommends it: "Side flexion mobilizes the deep quadratus lumborum muscle in the lower back and obliques that run down the side of your abs, helping reduce lower-back stiffness from prolonged sitting," says Lee.

Hip shift

Video: BetterMe

Reps: 4-6 each side

How to do it:

• Sit upright with your feet flat on the floor and cross your arms over your chest.
• Carefully shift your weight to the left and lift your right hip.
• Return to the center and repeat on the other side.
• Continue, alternating sides with each rep.

Why Lee recommends it: "This move mobilizes the pelvis and lower spine, loosening the sacroiliac joint and hip flexors, which can tighten up through daily activities. It also helps improve postural misalignment and can contribute to increased balance while seated."

Overhead reach

Video: BetterMe

Reps: 4-5 each side

How to do it:

• Sit upright, holding the sides of your chair behind your glutes.
• Take a deep breath in, then as you exhale reach your right hand above your head and over to the left.
• Return to the center and repeat on the other side.
• Continue, alternating sides with each rep.

Why Lee recommends it: "This exercise improves spinal mobility and lengthening, altogether encouraging an upright posture through repeated dynamic movement rather than a static hold."

Back stretch

Video: BetterMe

Reps: 8-12

How to do it:

• Sit upright and interlink your fingers in front of your chest, palms facing you.
• Extend your arms forward, gently rounding your upper back and tucking your chin toward your chest.
• Return to the start, then reach both hands overhead, palms facing up, gently lengthening your spine.
• Return to the start position.

Why Lee recommends it: "This relieves mid- and lower-back tension from prolonged sitting by dynamically stretching the erector spinae muscle that runs along the spine, while counteracting kyphotic posture (hunched shoulders) that commonly affects desk workers when typing."

Spinal twist

Video: BetterMe

Time: 15-30sec

How to do it:

• Sit upright with your feet flat on the floor.
• Keeping your hips facing forward throughout, rotate your torso to the left and place both hands on the left-hand side of the backrest.
• Hold for time, then repeat on the other side.

Why Lee recommends it: "Spinal twists improve thoracic mobility, which can often become stiff from sedentary desk work. It also helps stretch the obliques, the lower back and even the shoulders, encouraging better postural alignment."

My experience

I hadn’t realized how stiff I was until I started practicing these chair yoga poses at my desk.

I usually like to start my day with a workout, but that’s been increasingly rare this year as my lower back has gotten increasingly tight.

A lack of regular mobility, I now believe, is likely the culprit. Plus, the fact I'm moving house and stress is undoubtedly playing its part.

But using this routine once a day for a week has reminded me how important it is to move my body through different ranges of motion more regularly.

The moves are discreet enough to use in a busy office or co-working space—like the one I’m in half the week—without drawing unwanted attention.