Beat the Desk Potato Blues: 5 Ways to Stretch Your Way to Better Posture

Our modern day society simply does not support proper posture. We walk around hunched over, scrunched into small desks and cars, and slouched into cushy couches that are more appealing to the eye than the lumbar support. 

Try these simple exercises that can be done at home or even at the office to help correct your posture and get that stagnant energy back into a healthy flow.

• Neck Rolls -- in a seated position where you feel stable, drop the chin to the chest while keeping the shoulders back and sternum lifted. Allowing the head to feel heavy, inhale and roll the left ear to the left shoulder. Let the weight of the head open up the side of the neck. If you need an extra stretch, bring the hand to the side of the head, just about the ear, and give yourself a gentle stretch. Hold for several breaths, then roll back to center and repeat on the right side. Repeat as many times as necessary to relieve tension, remembering to pair movements with breath.

• Cat/Cow -- from a neutral tabletop position on all fours, take a deep breath in. On the exhale, tuck the tailbone and begin to arch the spine up toward the sky. Use your hands to push the mat away from you and drop your head. Once your exhale is complete, begin your inhale as your tailbone comes up and start to unroll your spine. The belly will drop toward the floor, chest will broaden, shoulders will come back, and gaze will tun slightly up (without putting any strain on the neck). Repeat at least 5 cycles. 

• Thread the Needle -- From tabletop, gain some stability by drawing the belly in slightly toward the spine. You should feel balanced here. Inhale and lift the right hand up overhead and turn the chest toward the right as much as possible. Keep the shoulder back and avoid hunching into the left shoulder. You should feel a good lateral stretch here beginning in the chest all the way out the fingertips. Feel free to look up toward your fingers, to the side, or keep the gaze down toward the mat. On the exhale, bring the hand down underneath the opposite arm -- "threading the needle" and reach far over to the left. Inhale and repeat 5-10 times. On the last set, allow the side of the right shoulder, side of the head and top of the hand to plant on the mat for a gentle twist.

• Pendulum Swings -- In a stable standing forward bend, allow your knees to bend as much as you need to feel comfortable. Stretch the belly long against the thighs and relax the hinge of your jaw. Grab a hold of your elbows or the back of your head and let the entire weight of your upper body just hang. Begin to rock your upper body back and forth while maintaining the feeling of weightlessness. Repeat for as long as necessary for a good release. This is a wonderful exercise to recharge on those lethargic afternoons. 

• Cow Face Pose -- From staff pose, bend the right knee and scoot the foot close to your left sit bone. Then, bend the left knee and try to stack the knees on top of one another. If the bottom leg complains, straighten it like in staff pose and keep top knee bent. Sit up tall and, if your body allows, scoot the feet a bit further away from the body. Now reach the right arm up over head and bend the elbow so that the side of your pinky rides along your spine. Reach the left arm out to the side and bend the elbow again, this time reaching the fingertips toward one another. If you can, hook the fingers and bring the top elbow to reach straight up and the bottom to reach straight down. This can also be done with a strap in hands in the fingers do not touch.