8 Yoga Exercises For Office To Free Your Muscles & Clear Your Mind

Exercise 1 : Wrist And Finger Stretches/Hastha Vistara Asana – 20 Seconds

Gently stretch each finger of your hands, until they "crack/snap" or feel less stiff. Hold each finger for a second each. Also, rotate both your wrists in circular motions, clockwise (5 seconds) and anti-clockwise (5 seconds).

Exercise 2: Seated Cat-Cow Pose/Upavistha Bitilasana Marjaryasana – 20 Seconds

This yoga pose can reduce back and shoulder stiffness. Sit on your chair, with your back not resting against the back of the chair. Now, exhale and create a ‘C' shape with your body, so that your spine touches the chair and the your head is bent. Now, inhale and come back up, and stretch your spine and head. Repeat 20 times for 20 seconds.

Exercise 3: Seated Figure ‘4’/Galavasana – 40 seconds

This yoga pose can also help reduce back pain and also stiffness in the legs. Sit upright on a chair. Now, bring your left foot up and place it on your right thigh and hold it for 10 seconds, then release. Repeat the same process with the right foot on your left thigh. Perform this repetition again, for 20 seconds.

Exercise 4: Seated Spinal Twists/Ardha Matsyendrasana – 30 seconds

This yoga pose can relieve stiffness in the back and side muscles. Sit upright on the chair, gently move just your torso, completely to the right, hold this position for 5 seconds. Now, come back to the original position and move your torso again, to the left and hold for 5 seconds. Repeat this process of 3 times - 30 seconds in total.

Exercise 5: Lateral Side Bend On The Chair/Ardha Mandalasana – 40 Seconds

This pose too is aimed at reducing stiffness and pain of your sides. Sit upright on a chair and and lift your right hand up, so that it is pointed towards the ceiling and touching your ear. Now, bend your torso to the left, as far as you can and hold this position for 10 seconds. Repeat the same process with your left hand lifted up and bend to your right and hold for 10 seconds. Repeat another time, 10 seconds for each side.

Exercise 6: Breath Of Fire/Kapalabathi – 40 Seconds

This is a powerful yoga pose which can help cleanse your body and de-stress your mind. Sit straight on the chair. Close your eyes and inhale (not too deep), now exhale with some force. Your naval point should be contracting and relaxing rhythmically while you are performing this exercise. Repeat 40 times, for 40 seconds.

Exercise 7: Uttita Ashwa Sanchalasana/High Lunge – 40 Seconds

This yoga pose can also help provide relief from back and shoulder pain. Place a chair in front of you, told it with both your hands and stand straight. Now, bring your left leg back gently, so that your knees are pointing to the ground. Bend your right knee forward, so that the right thigh is parallel to the ground. Now, stretch your torso backwards and look up. Hold this position for 10 seconds. Repeat by interchanging the legs and hold for 10 seconds. Perform the repetition for 20 more seconds.

Exercise 8: Viloma Breath/Viloma Pranayama – 30 Seconds

This is a powerful pranayama technique which can help reduce stress and headaches instantly! Sit comfortably on a chair, with your spine straight and relaxed. Now, inhale deeply. Now, slowly exhale, while exhaling, stop for a second and exhale again. Try to interrupt the exhalation and hold it for a second, 2 times, before exhaling completely. Repeat this process for 2 seconds with each breath, for 15 times.

So, with these above-mentioned exercises, along with the help of ayurvedic remedies, one can attain relief from lifestyle disorders effectively.

Essence Of Ayurveda In Indian Culture:

Ayurveda has been deeply rooted even in the Indian culture. For example, wearing ‘tilakas' on the forehead is known to stimulate the pituitary gland to produce healthy hormones.

Ayurveda uses powerful natural ingredients such as neem, turmeric, ghee, tulsi, etc., in its medicines and medicinal cosmetics.

Ayurveda originated based on the learnings from ancient ‘vedas' and ‘mantras'. Our ancestors used Ayurvedic remedies for various ailments and successfully treated them.

Obesity, stress, acne, hair fall, muscle pain and tightness, dry eyes, depression, etc., are some of the common lifestyle diseases that we see in people today due to the side effects of the modern way of life.

Commuting in pollution, job stress and financial pressure, desk-bound jobs, excess use of gadgets, etc., can cause all the above-mentioned problems and more.

With the combination of Ayurvedic remedies and yoga practice, such lifestyle diseases can be tackled effectively and cured.