Sit A Lot? These 4 Postures Can Help
Yoga postures and thoughts on a perfect weekend
Hi Everyone,
I hope you're enjoying the long weekend. I know I am. I'm good for saying a three-day weekend should be the norm. It just makes sense. I'd use one day for responsibilities like laundry and meal prepping for the week ahead. I'd use the second day for activities outside the house, whether at the gym or with friends, and the third for straight-up lounging.
Are you taking the time to lounge or spend your time how you wish? Over the past week, I've been getting over some body aches from a cold, taking two flights in less than 24 hours for a weekend away, and picking up some overtime at work. I often lie on the floor to gather myself at the end of a long day and then eventually stretch out through yoga, even if I don't have the mental capacity to do a full practice.
There are my four go-tos.
Waterfall/Legs Up the Wall - Viparita Karani
Why It's Amazing:
After a full day of being on my feet, waterfall posture is a great counter pose. As an inversion, maneuvering the legs above the heart gets gravity working in our favor by returning blood pulled to the legs while standing back into circulation. This posture also encourages lymphatic circulation, but the true gem is the ease of my hips and sacroiliac joint. While standing, our spine stacks and inserts into the pelvis bones to support our mobility. When inverted, the hips are 90 degrees, allowing the sacroiliac joint to be in neutral alignment and decompressed positioning. The welcome addition of body weight provides gentle massage as well.
How to Practice:
Come into a comfortable seat on the floor before rolling onto your back. Pull your knees into your chest and extend your heels towards the sky one at a time to accomplish sans wall. If you enter the pose using a wall or bench for support, once on your back, walk your hips down towards the structure until you can comfortably extend your legs overhead.
Standing Wide-Legged Forward Fold - Prasarita Padottanasana
Why It's Amazing:
The practice of sitting shortens the hip muscles. And if I am not mindful, even with a standing desk, I can do much of it during a shift. As a result, the body often offsets those shortened muscles by putting extra tension on the lower back. In standing wide-legged forward fold, the glutes, lateral rotators ( the muscles that help you sidestep into a car), and hamstrings work together to create a deep stretch while hinging at the hips.
How to Practice:
Begin by standing with your feet together. Widen your stance until they are significantly wider than shoulder width but not too much that you need help maintaining balance. With your feet close to parallel, bring your hands to your waist, and take a deep breath to grow through the torso. Press into the outer soles or knife edge of your feet on an exhale while bending forward with a neutral spine and open chest. Using support such as a bench or chair, allow your hands to rest gently on the structure while lengthening through the chest and neck.
Wind Relieving Pose - Pavanamuktasana
Why It's Amazing:
What a name. As it suggests, this pose is efficient at releasing gas and aiding digestion, but I love it because it also releases tension in the abdominals and lower back. If you often sit on stools - meaning seats with no back, your abs are consistently in go mode to keep you upright. After eight hours of being taxed, releasing my core is just what I need.
How to practice:
Come into a comfortable seat on a chair or recline onto your back on the floor. If seated, grow tall through the spine by sitting upright and relaxing the shoulders away from the ears. While reclined, lengthen the spine downward by tucking your tail bone underneath you. In both postures, grow sturdy through the opposite leg, draw your knee towards the chest and hold.
Pigeon Pose - Eka Pada Rajakapotasana
Why It's Amazing:
Pigeon is known as the queen of hip openers. As an asymmetrical posture, it increases the femur bone's outward rotation in the hip socket of the front leg and lengthens the psoas muscle of the back leg. By relieving tension in the hips, this posture brings ease to the lower back and, when practiced regularly, establishes balance while seated, walking, and standing.
How to practice:
To practice on the floor, enter from table top posture. Externally rotate your front leg so that your knee is pointed to the upper corner of the mat while you slowly walk your back leg towards the end of your mat. To practice on a bench, sit regularly with both knees together and facing forward. Turn to either side, allowing the internal leg to open up on the bench with the sole of your foot extending out
ward. Walk your bottom leg backward to provide support for the seated posture.
I hope these postures give you a quiet moment, a breath, or some relief from everyday fatigue. Let me know which is your favorite, what your perfect weekend looks like, how you celebrated the unofficial start of summer, or drop a 🧘🏾♀️ down below.
I am rooting for you, always.
With love,
R.
🧘♂️🧘♂️🧘♂️