How To Do Chair Yoga Stretches To Relieve Back And Shoulder Strain

Here are a few more great stretches for your back, shoulders, and arms all while sitting in the chair. The point to most of these is to make time for your self and to do them consistently. I suggest to all my clients and you that you will get greater benefit if you stretch at a minimum of ten minutes per day to about thirty minutes. We can usually find a few minutes here and there during our day. If you have less time do the minimum if you have more time, and you want to extend your stretch time, that’s all up to you. But I’m going to giving you a starting place.

Some more Easy Chair Stretches:nn(Seated- Modified Fish)
Step One: Push your chair back from your desk for the time of stretching.

Step Two: Uncross your legs and sit with your legs slightly open, which is chair or hip width. Put your feet solidly on the ground. Your hands can rest on the tops of your thighs for now. During the stretching please breathe in and out through your nose only.

Step Three: Move your body away from the chair back so that you have a few inches behind you and the chair. Next place both of your hands on the chair seat behind your hips. Put your hands close together behind you on the chair seat.

Step Four: Arch your back and chest upward. Look up towards the ceiling. At this moment since you are leaning back you can breathe out of your MOUTH because any time you lean backwards that becomes a moment of release and you can breathe out of your mouth. Hold the position for a few minutes and then release. You can repeat as often as you like.

This stretches the arms, chest and shoulders and neck. It releases a lot of built up chest and shoulder tension and is a great refreshing moment of recharge.

New Stretch:
(Diagonal Twist)

Step One: You can sit fully back on your chair now.

Step Two: Uncross your legs and sit with your legs slightly open, which is chair or hip width. Put your feet solidly on the ground. Your hands can rest on the tops of your thighs for now. During the stretching please breathe in and out through your nose only.

Step Three: Take your LEFT ELBOW and bring it down to the outside of your RIGHT KNEE or as close as you can get it. Extend your arm and fingers downward by your leg. Keep your hand open. Now take your RIGHT ARM and hand and extend all the way up towards the ceiling. Turn your head towards the RIGHT SHOULDER and look at the ceiling. Hold for approximately 5-15 seconds. Breath in and out only through your nose as you can. Release and come back to your original seating position.

Switch sides-
Step Four: Take your RIGHT ELBOW and bring it down to the outside of your LEFT KNEE or as close as you can get it. Extend your arm and fingers downward by your leg. Keep your hand open. Now take your LEFT ARM and hand and extend all the way up towards the ceiling. Turn your head towards the LEFT SHOULDER and look at the ceiling. Hold for approximately 5-15 seconds. Breath in and out only through your nose as you can. Release and come back to your original seating position.

This is a great diagonal twist across your back, your arms, and chest. You may feel a nice release in your lower back. You can repeat these simple exercises for as many times as you like.

New Stretch:
(Forward Extension and Stretch)

Step One: Sit with your hands palms down close to your body on the tops of your legs. The fingers are pointing in the direction of your knees.

Step Two: You are now going to slide your hands all the way down your legs. Down past your knees and continue down towards your feet. Bend your body over your legs as you do this.

Step Three: When you reach your feet, stretch and extend your arms straight out towards the floor in front of your feet and beyond. Keep extending outward and upward with your arms.

Step Four: Grasp your two thumbs together as you extend your fingers out and upward.
Your arms are now going to come upward off the floor. Keep extending upward.

Step Five: As you are lifting your body and arms upward from the bent over position, your arms, and hands extend upward, and continue to arch backward. Keep your thumbs together. Now push your chest slightly forward. Hold for a few seconds. Release.

Step Six:
Repeat this forward extension and stretch a few times. This stretch is really beneficial to extend the spine and back. As an added benefit it stretches the arms, chest, and shoulders, and you get some needed oxygen to the brain.

Take a few moments each day to do some of these simple stretches. You will feel a difference in the flexibility of your spine and back, and you will feel that your mind will be clearer and sharper in just a few minutes. Anything that you can do is better than not doing it. nn