Three Office Yoga Techniques for Back Pain

The demand for Yoga teachers in the corporate sector can easily be compared to the number of office workers with back pain. Office Yoga techniques for back pain can help to ease chronic tension and stress in the shoulders, neck, arms, upper back, and lower back. The tension that is created by sitting for long periods of time at a desk, doing repetitive movements like typing, can be mitigated by a regular practice of Office Chair Yoga.

Back pain is often exacerbated by tension in the neck, shoulders, and arms. Even a brief seated Yoga break will help to dissipate the tension that has built up in these areas over several hours of work. The following are three Office Chair Yoga techniques that will help to ease back pain. Companies who seek an office Yoga specialist would do well to hire a certified chair Yoga teacher specialist.

1. Elongated Back Stretch

Push your chair an arm's length away from your desk. Before you begin, take three long, slow, deep breaths through your nose. Exhale each breath fully before inhaling your next breath. After full three breaths, take three more complete breaths as you raise your arms to the side and over your head for a count of five. Five counts up with an inhale and five counts down with your exhale. Now, lean forward and place your hands, palms down and shoulder-width apart, on the top of your desk. Slowly exhale and sink into the stretch. Stretch only as far as is comfortable and hold this chair Yoga posture for three complete breaths. Repeat two more times. Sit up slowly and pause for a moment, feeling the elongation of your spine and the relief of tension in your back and arms.

2. Seated Spinal Twist

This Yoga pose is a great way to release tension all through your back, arms, and neck. Sit squarely on your chair with your feet planted on the floor. Take one deep inhale. As you exhale, slowly twist to the right by placing your left hand on the outside of your right knee and coil your right hand around onto the middle of the back of your chair. Continue to breath. With each exhale twist a little deeper to the right and with each inhale allow your body to gently release a little toward the front of your chair. Continue to twist and release for thirty seconds. Release the pose and repeat on the other side.

3. Seated Hip Stretch

Releasing tension in your hips will help to release the tension and pain in your lower back. Sit squarely on your chair with your feet flat on the floor. Take three long, deep breaths, inhaling and exhaling for five counts each. Slowly, place your right foot on top of your left knee and bend forward until you feel a nice stretch. Do not force or overstretch and only go as far forward as your body will allow. Hold for thirty seconds and repeat on the opposite side.

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Yoga Techniques to Move Beyond Stress

There are a many different techniques that Yoga teachers can give to students as help to move beyond stress. The feeling of stress in the body often feels like constriction of muscles, difficulty breathing deeply, a low level of constant anxiety that manifests as shallow breathing, and a slightly-increased heart rate. Stress in the mind can manifest as circular, obsessive thinking patterns in an attempt to control a certain situation or person. Stress in the mind can also impact an individual's ability to think clearly and to remember well. Yoga addresses and alleviates all of these different symptoms of stress.

One of the primary ways that Yoga helps a practitioner to relieve stress is just the sheer act of getting "on the mat" and focusing on one task in particular, doing Yoga. Often, many of us are extremely busy and over-scheduled. We have careers, families to attend to, our own health to care for, and possibly volunteer commitments.

In addition, there are so many electronic devices that keep us wired into the grid at all hours of the day and night, we often feel obligated to "be on" even during our off time. This unrelenting life pace can create great stress in the body. Slowing down enough to practice Yoga for thirty minutes or an hour helps to calm the mind and body by focusing on one task at a time. This practice of dharana (a spiritual exercise that helps one focus on a single point, or thought) is one of the primary ways in which Yoga helps to alleviate stress.

The physical postures of Yoga help to relieve and release stress and tension from the muscles and ligaments. The asanas also strengthen the body and help to increase circulation. Both a vigorous and restorative practice of Yoga asanas will help to release physical holding and tension from the muscle tissues. As the holding patterns in the muscles and ligaments release, mental tension is released as well.

The asanas also re-align the spine, which helps to increase the free flow of prana or life-force energy throughout the entire body. Stress and muscular tension often cause us to feel more tired than we really are and contribute to mental tension as well. As the tension is released, optimal spinal alignment is restored and energy flows more freely. At the completion of a Yoga class a student will feel that the sensation of tiredness and stress is eased and replaced with a feeling of lightness, expansiveness, and complete well-being.

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