How to do Yoga at Work: 23 Essential Office Yoga Poses That’ll Preserve Your Body and Save Your Life

It’s difficult to admit, but…

You sometimes feel like you’re slowly dying.

There’s a yawning gap between how much time you put into your work and how much time you put into your health.

You know at the very minimum you’re supposed to exercise a few times a week, get a good night’s sleep and maybe eat a vegetable or two.

But how often do you actually do it?

Instead of even thinking twice about your health, you spend your days (and nights) locked in your cubicle all in the name of chasing zeros.

Not only do you ignore your health:

You ignore your wife.

And your kids.

And forget to feed your dog.

But you think you have the life?

In your eyes you’ve done everything right.

You got your engineering degree from some prestigious private school.

Like Stanford. Or Harvard. Or USC.

Then you went on to get a fancy job.

And you think to yourself:

“Making millions takes time.”

“But this whole health thing?”

“I can take care of it in 5 days or so with green smoothies, juice cleanses, and creatine powder.”

And all your peers see you as the high-flying model of success. 

However, you just can’t shake this niggling feeling on the inside…

“I’m slowly dying…”

Not to sound dramatic or anything, but you’re right. Sitting WILL kill you.

As a realistic yoga teacher, I can’t promise to fix all your problems overnight.

But I can get you moving in the right direction.

Starting with some simple but deadly-effective (you see what I did there?) yoga poses that you can do at work.

Sitting Will Kill You

There’s a new study in the Annals of Internal Medicine that shows sitting not only increases your risk for a whole host of diseases, but greatly increases your chance of an early death.

Scary right?

Ok. Start paying attention now please.

The Other Scary Things Sitting Does to You

Let’s point out the obvious first. Sit down for hours at a time and your mood changes.

This is what happens when you sit down for a season long Dexter binge:

You start energetic, enthused and energized. Then the gravitational pull of the couch magically transforms you into a lethargic, lazy-feeling sloth. You know the feeling right?

But what else happens behind the scenes?

Sitting can Damage Your Organs

The more you sit, the slower your blood flows.

This is a particularly large problem here in the Silicon Valley.

Do you work at large corporation and sit all day long, like 10 hours, 12 hours?

Then go home and watch another 2 hours of TV before bed. This is terrible for blood flow. In fact, your blood flow has slowed down to a glacial pace.

Not to mention long periods of sitting are linked with high blood pressure and cardio vascular disease.

You get a little bit dumber

When your body moves, you’re not just pumping and circulating fresh blood around your body, but to your brain. Fresh blood to the brain triggers all sorts of brain and mood enhancing chemicals. This goes away as soon as you sit.

You Develop a “Bad Back”

Let’s start at the neck and shoulders.

Slouching over your keyboard for hours on end strains your neck. Have you ever had a problem in C5-C6? Stop sitting so much.

But it’s not only the neck, it’s the shoulders and trap muscles.

Sitting overextends both sets of muscles and not only tightens the entire upper back, but puts additional strain on the neck. 

A Bulging Stomach: And You Don’t Even Need to Overeat

Have you ever seen someone with what you thought was a “beer belly”?

It’s not always that.

Sitting for long periods of time can accomplish that too!

Here’s how:

Part of having a flat stomach means knowing how to engage your stomach muscles (and TVA). When you stop engaging those precious muscles, they literally start “hanging out”, getting “loose” or “floppy”. Then your stomach starts to appear round rather than flat.

Scary…

Not only that, the weakness in your stomach muscles can exaggerate the natural curve of your spine which is called hyperlordosis, or swayback.

You Develop a Squishy Butt

Same principle applies. Your Glutes never engage and they get soft and squishy. Over time the muscles degrade and get weak. This effects your natural stride when you walk. Then you start to walk funny.

That’s right, it’s possible to sit so much that you can forget to walk.

Attractive huh?

You Lose Your Inner Athlete: Your Hips Tighten

This one is downright terrifying.

No mobility in your hips means a couple of things:

• You slow down
• Become clumsy
• Can’t move laterally
• Lose your quickness and ability to react
• Lose your inner athlete

Further, your stiff hips will cause you to fall over when you get older.

Sitting Causes Varicose Veins

Those ugly blue veins.

Those spider-web-looking things that make you want to hide your legs.

Do you know where they come from?

Poor circulation.

You know what else is symptom of poor circulation?

Swollen feet and ankles.

You know the feeling after a long plane ride?

Your feet are almost ovular shaped and your shoes don’t fit. Yes, some people’s feet are like that daily.

Watch your Wrists: How to Type

As if sitting wasn’t bad enough:

Here in the Silicon Valley, you don’t just sit for 12 hours a day, you sit and type (and work). Would that be considered glorified slavery?

Have you been to the zoo lately? Have you seen those poor Polar Bears?

They’re stuck in a cage with a little swimming pool and every now and again they get a fish thrown at them?

 

They look deathly. And that’s what you’ll transform into if you don’t get this sitting thing under control.

Typing can potentially be horrible for the wrists and can cause Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

Understanding Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Look at your wrist for a second.

Within your wrist joint, there’s a tunnel. That’s called your Carpal Tunnel. This tunnel is actually an extremely narrow space in which tendons and nerves run through.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome occurs when consistent excess pressure is exerted on the main nerve that runs through that space. That never is called the Median Nerve.

Symptoms of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome include:

• Burning in the wrist joint and radiating pain sometimes up the forearm
• Tingling in the heel of your hand
• Numbness in the fingers and sometimes the sensation of feeling swollen
• Various types of pains (pins and needles) pulsing up and down the entire arm
• Decreased gripping strength

Here’s how to prevent it (and it’s simple once you get used to it):

Get comfortable with what’s called “neutral wrist” position.

Get your forearms right in line with your keyboard. Don’t allow them to drop lower and cause your wrists to sit in flexion all day long. Make it a new habit to readjust your forearms the second you sit down.

A comparison to motivate you (kinda):

You know when (if) you’re practicing handstand and I always tell you to stack your hips over your shoulders over your wrists? And you don’t ever forget it?

Approach your typing posture in the exact same way. Line up your forearms with your wrists with the keyboard. Bam! Fundamental position on typing. Now don’t forget it.

Doomed, Gloomed…… and Downright Depressing

Now you probably feel down about the day job that you have that’s secretly killing you? And now you probably like it that much less.

Didn’t think I was going to leave you hanging did you?

Start a new habit, stand up every 15 minutes, shake out your arms and legs and try these office friendly yoga poses to save your life.

1. Gomukhasana A (Cow Faced Arms)

Let’s start by stretching the shoulders.

If you’re stuck sitting all day long, you might as well make the best of it.

Making the best of it means mastering your ability to sit correctly. Remember the floppy stomach thing I told you about? Well, this can make your shoulders slouch forward.

Any poses that encourage your shoulders to draw back are your best friends.

No seriously, if you lose the ability to draw your shoulders back, it’ll have seriously ramifications on the rest of your spine. And not to mention your friends will start calling you “hunchback”.

So this variation is as follows and can be done in a couple of ways:

• Lift your right arm up into the air and pat your back
• Reach it as far down your back as you can by drawing your right shoulder back
• Take your left arm reach it out to the side and around your back
• Clasp the fingers if you can
• If not, stash a towel or old t-shirt in your office and grab hold of that
• Alternatively, if your bottom arm is nowhere close, just push down on the right elbow/tricep with your left hand
• Try the other side 

When to do this pose:

Anytime you feel like your shoulders start slouching forward a bit too much.

2. Hands Interlaced Behind the Back 

Follow Gomukhasana with this pose. This one not only draws your shoulders back but encourages your shoulder blades to squeeze together.

This pose is pretty simple, do it like this:

• Stand up out of your chair
• Interlace your hands behind your back
• Start the motion by squeezing your shoulder blades together, not by physically moving the shoulders, they’ll move on their own
• First work on drawing the hands down
• Second work on drawing the hands out
• Watch out for hyperextending elbows, in the process of fixing one problem I don’t want you to create another

Do this pose anytime you you feel your shoulders slouching forward or your spine (especially your upper back) start rounding.

Something to note about this pose:

Because you spend all day developing apps, reading spreadsheets, or checking Facebook, your upper back muscles are probably already tight. When you try this pose initially, your shoulder blades won’t move much and your shoulders won’t move back much. That’s okay, chip away at it.

Also, your arms might not even go straight. That’s okay too. Chip away at it.

This version of the pose is worth pointing out although it might be too much to do in “work clothes”. However, isn’t standard work attire at Google sweatpants and vintage t-shirts these days?

*Gasps*

Or…you know…you could actually try and practice this for 5 minutes when you get home? I know, I know, it’s asking a lot.

3. Prasarita Padottanasana C

This version of the pose builds on the first:

• Widen your legs about 4 feet apart
• Make sure your toes are facing forward
• Interlace yours hands behind your back
• Start the movement from your shoulder blades, draw them together
• Fold forward as much as you can
• Make sure you repeat the pose interlacing your hands the “funky” way (opposite pinky on top)

4. Chair Pigeon

Of all the poses I’m going to show you, this one takes the least amount of work. So even if you consider yourself too lazy or too busy to stretch, you can do this one. All this takes is lifting your leg and you don’t even have to leave your chair for this one.

• Stay in your chair
• Lift your right ankle off the floor and place it your left thigh
• Don’t create excess pressure on the knee by forcing the leg further than is comfortable
• Hold this stretch for 25-30 seconds then switch sides

Now listen…

Do you suffer from Sciatic Nerve pain? Even just a tiny bit?

If you take the time daily for even 3 minutes to do this “lazy” stretch, you’ll gradually reduce the pain you experience and here’s why:

It’s stretches a muscle called the Piriformis. Essentially, this muscle connects the sacrum to the top of your thigh bone. And when the Piriformis becomes tight, it can become inflamed from normal everyday activities. Even something as simple as sitting! An inflamed Piriformis can swell and bang against your Sciatic Nerve which causes the pain you’re experiencing.

Don’t even think about underestimating the most basic of poses.

Now let’s work on your lower back.

5. Seated Office Chair Twist

Ok, so let’s start with the good news. If you hate Chair Pose, Utkatasana, we aren’t actually doing that one this time. And more good news, there’s actually no bad news, just a relieved lower back coming up.

Again you’re using the chair you’re sitting you’re just going to turn yourself sideways.

• Turn yourself sideways in your chair
• Make sure you glue your feet to the ground otherwise you might fall over
• Hold the back of the chair with both hands and twist yourself
• Use your breathe when you twist
• Lift your head and ribs when you inhale
• Rotate your torso when you exhale
• Make sure you keep hold of the chair

6. Hamstring Stretch WITHOUT Leaving the Chair (But Requires a Desk)

Here’s a clever way to stretch your hamstrings.

• Once again, stay sitting in your chair
• Push your chair back from your desk about a foot to give yourself some room
• Lift your right leg up and place it up on your desk
• Proceed to fold forward over the leg as much as you can
• Make sure you feel the stretch in the center of your hamstring, not behind the knee or in your hamstring attachment

Disclaimer: If anyone else see’s you doing this, they might find you weird. But that’s ok, don’t let opinions of your colleagues send you into a tailspin.

“But Brian, my boss occasionally catches a glimpse of me doing simple shoulder stretches and he already thinks I’m weird. If he see’s me chasing my shoelaces with one leg up on the desk he’ll think I’ve gone insane.”

Just remember doing these stretches at work (and while you’re getting paid) will actually increase the length of your life. Do I need to remind you about that again? Meanwhile, your boss who thinks you’re WEIRD, is actually KILLING himself.

And another disclaimer: the rest of the poses you’ll see will actually require you to leave your chair. No more lazy yoga.

7. Camel Pose (Pushing it a Tad)

You know your spinal health is important. But you never stretch your spine.

Why? Probably because you don’t know how or you’ve always thought it’s too difficult because you’re not “flexible”.

And unfortunately for you, this one requires you to leave your chair. 🙁

• Get up out of your chair and move to the floor somewhere
• If the floor is hard, you’re going to need a cushion for your knees
• Kneel onto the cushion
• Put your hands on your lower back (the fingers can face up or down)
• Push your hips as far forward as they’ll go
• Now squeeze your shoulder blades together
• Imagine lifting your Sternum Bone up
• If it’s comfortable, you can move your hands onto your heels and repeat
• Do this one at least 3 times, every time you do it, your spine gets warmer and warmer and it will feel better and better

8. Modified Extended Side Angle (Modifying is Key)

The purpose of all these stretches is to prevent chronic pain and extended your life. I’m emphasizing modification here because the mindset of most people who can’t consistently stick to any yoga routine is this:

“I’m stiff and my body takes way to long to warm-up so I just won’t do anything at all.”

This type of thinking leads you toward doing nothing and ultimately physical (and mental) decay.

Modified versions of poses are easier to start, so start here:

• Start from a Warrior 2 position
• Make sure your front heel is lined up to your back arch
• Know the full pose? Don’t do it. Save it for later
• Take your right forearm and rest it on top of your right thigh
• Stretch your left arm forward as much as you can
• Roll your left shoulder back
• Hold for 20-30 seconds
• Because you may not have a mat, if your back foot slides do this pose against a wall
• Do the other side

9. A More Comfortable Child’s Pose

Here’s a secret to get yourself through the ruthless workday:

And no, it’s not coffee unfortunately.

It’s a bolster.

Can you stash one of these somewhere? If so, great. We’ll put it to good use.

Back lengthening is good. More of it is great. Most people spend the entire workday compressing their backs. You do the opposite. Use every work day as an opportunity to heal your back.

• Leave your chair
• Set yourself up like you would do Child’s Pose
• Expect make this change
• Take that bolster you’ve stashed somewhere and rest it on your calves
• Now when you sink your hips down you’ll rest on the bolster
• Relax and hold for 60 seconds
• Try and breathe

10. Stretch your Inner, Hips, Groins *and* Release Your Back with Bound Angle (Badha Konasana)

Don’t push too far in this one. Also make sure you don’t rip your pants. Be careful.

• Leave your chair
• Sit on the ground
• Bring your feet together and your knees wide apart
• Don’t let your back slouch
• You can lightly press on your inner thighs to increase the stretch
• Hold for 2-3 minutes if you have the time
• Try this pose lying down (Supta Badha Konasana)
• You can also rest the bolster in your lap and fold forward

11. Don’t Neglect your Hip Flexors – You Know They Get Extremely Tight From Sitting

Not only do they get tight, they get weak.

Stretch them in a pose like a low lunge (Anjaneyasana).

• Again leave your chair
• Set yourself up in a lunge
• It’s helpful to remove your shoes, if you’re only going to remove one, remove the back one
• Be sure to rest on on the top of the back foot, this helps to focus the stretch in the hip flexor
• Add a cushion to your kneecap if it hurts
• Extend your Ribcage up as high as you can
• For variety interlace your hands behind your back and squeeze your shoulder blades together

12. Stretch Your Shoulders but Don’t Forget Your Traps

So you’ve got some basic shoulder stretches down and you know how to modify if necessary. You know that stretching the front, side, and back of your shoulders (deltoids) is important. But what about your traps?

You know those muscles you see that get so large on some people they interfere with hearing? Yeah, those muscles. Did you know that tight traps cause neck pain?

Try Eagle Pose (Just the arms – can add the legs if more ambitious and confident you won’t lose your balance in front of your entire office)

• Do this one standing
• Wrap your right arm underneath the left
• Squeeze the elbows together
• If you do the pose just like this, you’ll stretch the back of your shoulders (still good)
• Stretch the traps by setting the pose in motion
• With the elbows squeezing together lift the elbows up (in front of your face) as high as you can
• Then drop the elbows as low as possible
• Repeat that up-and-down motion 9-10 times, you’ll stretch your traps
• Do the other side

13. Activate your Obliques

As a developer, spreadsheet reader, or all other jobs that turn you into a hunchback, you probably don’t see the necessity of your obliques.

But just like athletes, you use them.

In complex tasks like bending over to tie your shoe, reaching across your desk to grab a pencil (or iPhone), or stretching a little further than you’d like for the coffee pot at 2:00. Wouldn’t want to lose your ability to do these now would you?

Stand up and side bend from time to time. It takes 30 seconds. Here’s how:

• Stand up next to your chair, but get a little further away than normal
• Interlace your hands but point your index fingers up (just because it looks kinda cool, that’s your yogi squirt gun)
• Push your hips to the left
• Tilt your body to the right as possible without falling over (that would be embarrassing)
• The obliques on your left side will stretch
• Rotate your left rib cage back
• push your right rib cage forward, this will optimize the stretch
• Now switch sides
• Do this pose every 15 minutes for 30 seconds, your torso will feel stretched rather than compressed (and all by lunch time)

14. Dodge Squishy Organs and a Round Belly – Avoid Looking “Skinny-Fat” (navasana)

I know, did I just bring up “skinny-fat”?

The average man can settle for not having “abs”, not having perfectly round biceps, and not having perfectly broad shoulders. (I think)

But, most men fear the dreaded “skinny-fat” look. You know it:

• Looks like a troll (a real one, not the internet ones)
• Shoulders slouch over
• Looks slightly pregnant
• Elbows perpetually bent
• Appears clumsy

How do you avoid all this? Just do Navasana.

• Leave your chair
• Sit down on the the ground, find a little cushion if necessary
• Extend your legs out in front of you
• Bend your knees if you have to
• Your toes should be in line with your eyeballs
• Make sure you squeeze your thighs together
• Make sure you’re pulling your belly in
• Hold for 10-20 seconds at a time
• Repeat 5 times

Navasana also strengthens your hip flexors that’ve become weak from sitting too much. It’s also a opportunity to reintroduce yourself to your quadriceps. Remember those?

15. Half Your Boat to Double Your Intensity

Trying this version of Navasana. Ardha-Navasana. Half Boat.

• Leave your seat
• Get into Navasana on the floor
• Slowly Lower yourself down 
• Stop when your shoulders and heels are about an inch or two above the floor
• Warning: This is intense and might make you sweat a little bit

16. More Spinal Twists

I showed you a “lazy” version of a twist that you can do in your chair. Do that one for a month and graduate to his one, Lying Spinal Twist.

This twist is like wringing out a towel. Once you’ve wrung the water out of the towel, it becomes a whole lot lighter. Your torso will feel the same way.

• Lie down on your back
• Wrap the right knee over the left
• Drop your legs to the left
• Look to the right
• This’ll have a wringing-a-towel like effect
• Switch and to the other side
• Do this pose before lunch and at the end of the day
• Do this pose twice on each side, the second time will feel completely different 

17. I Don’t Know What This Pose Is Called But It’s Effective

Let’s not neglect the back of your shoulders (deltoids). See the picture, this one is hard to describe, but I’ll do my best. And you’ll know if you’re doing this correct. 🙂

• Sit on the floor next to your chair
• Bend both knees and plant your feet on the floor about a 1-1.5 ft. from your hips
• Extend your left hand out in front of you
• Rotate the hand so the palm is facing out
• Then tuck your hand into your hip crease so the top of your hand is on the inside (this is the tricky part)
• Add your left hand
• Now draw your elbows in so that they are on the inside of your knees
• Use your thighs to lightly push the elbows together
• Hold for as long as you can
• Do this 3 times
• Avoid looking like you’re committing suicide, it’s just a shoulder stretch, albeit an uncomfortable one

18. Stretch your Chest (And Your Shoulders)

Stretching your chest just might be the key to unlocking your shoulders. Which could lengthen your breaths and reduce your stress level. Kinda cool right?

Your lungs need room to suck up oxygen. If your rounding in your upper back and collapsing in your shoulders, your pinching your entire lung cavity, making it hard to breathe. Longer breaths down-regulate cortisol (stress hormone). So pay attention:

• Lie on your stomach this time
• Extend your arms out to the side
• Open your body to the left by rolling onto your right shoulder and planting your left foot behind you
• You’ll feel your right chest muscle stretching and probably the shoulder
• Hold for 20-30 seconds
• Do the other side
• Repeat 3 times

19. The “ Please Don’t Shoot Me” Variation

This version will isolate your chest muscles more. You’ll find this version particularly useful if your shoulders are way more open than your chest. As I stated just above, it should be your chest and NOT your shoulders that are contributing to poor posture.

• Again, lie on your stomach
• Extend your arms out to the side
• But this time, bend your elbows so your forearms and upper arms create a 90 degree angle, hence “Please don’t shoot me”
• Then roll off to each side
• Repeat 2-3 times
• Use both variations if necessary

20. Your Quadriceps Are Equally As Important As Hamstrings

Your legs are similar to your arms. And here’s why I bring this up. Ever been to a gym? Guys work their their biceps way more and IGNORE their triceps.

Same thing happens when stretching the leg. People stretch their hamstring and think that’s stretching their leg. It’s not.

Do Hero Pose (Virasana):

Oh, and I should have said but failed to mention until now, you should stash a block under your desk. And if not? Get creative. This pose stretches your Quadriceps and your Hip Flexors.

• Leave your chair
• Place your block or other creative something to sit on on the ground
• Sit on it so that your heels are outside the block and hips
• Eventually you’ll simply sit between your heels
• It’s tempting to round the spine especially if this stretch is intense, which if very well might be for you
• Use your hands to press your knees together if they are splaying way out

21. Develop Daredevil Like Senses (And Stop Falling Over Like an Old Person)

And the good news is you don’t have to jump from rooftop to rooftop to do it. You just have to do this simple exercise:

• Stand up next to your chair
• Don’t just stand, stand with your best possible posture
• Don’t allow yourself to slouch while you do this
• Close your eyes
• Lift and hover your right foot off the ground just 1 inch
• Hold for 10 seconds if you can
• Then switch side
• Learn to trust your ability to balance in dependent of your vision, you’ll be less clumsy
• Try this exercise in Tree Pose when you get good

22. Rehab Your Wrists

Use these as one of the last poses you do before you sit down and get back to your keyboard. You can do these daily and you’ll prevent Carpal Tunnel (in just 1 minute a day!).

• Stand up and put the tops of your hands on your desk
• Face your fingers toward you
• Then make fists
• This will not only increase the mobility in your wrists but strengthen your forearms
• Lift your hands off the desk
• Pull your fingers back toward your forearms (wrist flexion)
• Push your fingers down toward your forearms (wrist extension)
• Repeat a couple times until your wrists feel “free”

If you need more wrist stretches read my Ultimate Handstand Guide.

23. Take a Nap (A Special Savasana)

I would tell you to just lay down and do Savasana. However, you’re at work and your co-workers (and with your luck your boss) might think you’re taking a nap.

This is the one pose they CANNOT see you doing. Do it if you want to take the risk or do this special seated version. It doubles as a Savasana and a meditation.

• Stay in your seat
• Sit up as tall as you can
• Rest your hands in your lap
• Close your eyes and commit to sitting still for approximately 1 minute
• Focus on your breathing
• Slow it down as much as possible and take full breathes
• Then tell yourself 10 things your grateful for (like stretching at work)
• You’ll reduce your stress
• Consider this a 1 minute reset, like hitting the reboot button on your PC

A Whole New Life

There you have it.

You no longer have to ignore your health in the name of a paycheck.

You can slowly improve your health (and yourself) WHILE you work on that paycheck.

In small increments at a time.

Taking the last 5 minutes of every hour to stretch is powerful way to transform your health.

It is possible to bulletproof your body at work.

You just have to pay attention.

You have to learn to read the things your body truly needs.

Yes, a paycheck and keeping your job are important.

But they’re not worth sacrificing your life over.

Now get it together, transform your health, and put these poses to good work.