How can I loosen tight shoulders from sitting at the computer?
Do your shoulders get achy after sitting at the computer or laptop for a while? Before you know it, it’s the end of the day and before you realize you have spent the entire day in front of your laptop. As an IT professional, it can be difficult to get away from the computer because it is such an important tool we use in our daily work.
I used my background as a yoga instructor to put together some yoga postures to counteract all the hunching in front of the computer. These postures made a huge difference with my tight shoulders, and I hope they help you too.
Standing yoga postures to loosen your shoulders
1. Standing side bend
Think about opening up in between your ribs and giving space to your lungs to breathe.
2. Standing back bend (Hasta Uttanasana)
The front line is opening up, in the complete opposite shape of hunching over at the desk.
3. Forward fold with arms over head (Uttanasana variation)
Rotate the shoulder, take an inversion at the same time.
4. Eagle (Garudasana)
Draw in, see if you can sink down as you lift your shoulders slightly up at the same time.
5. Warmup Stretch for Cowface
The inside of your upper inner arm should feel a little opening here.
6. Standing Cowface (Tadasana gomukhasana)
Use a strap or towel to make this pose more accessible
7. Chair with open arm twist
Twist to reset and open your arms.
8. Extended Side Angle (Utthita Parsvakonasana)
Feel the long line of energy from your heel out to the tips of your fingers as you open along the side of your body.
9. Wide legged forward fold (Prasarita Padottanasana)
You can reach for your ankles or shins to draw down and open up.
10. Side Lunge Pose with Pasasana (Skandasana with Pasasana)
Take your variation of this shape, it’s okay if your hands don’t touch, see how it feels and if you can still feel the opening.
As you take your body through these postures, think about your shoulders and what is happening with them in each pose. Notice how they feel. Are they tweaking at any point? Back out a little bit.
Do you feel like you can’t get into the posture like it looks in the picture? Actually, most of us can’t so don’t worry about that at all. The trick is to go partway, and make sure you are comfortable. You can use an object such as yoga blocks or even a chair or the wall for support. If you wan to try out these postures at home in a heated environment, here are my tips about how to set up a room to do hot yoga at home.
Be sure to make minor adjustments while you are in the pose to make it feel better.
As you go through a stressful day, sometimes a few positive affirmations can keep your positive energy levels up as well. Here are some positive yoga affirmations to help that along.
