I have a desk job, so I spend most of my day sitting and hunched over my laptop. And it should come as no surprise to anyone that this is not good for the body.
Sitting for long periods of time can weaken your glutes and core. It can also cause stiffness and pain, especially around the lower back and upper body.
I’m always looking for ways to compensate for the damage caused by desk work, and recently found an easy stretching routine on Instagram. Gemma Folkard, founder of Shape Pilates, has recommended some stretches for desk workers to do at the end of the day to improve posture.
After sitting at my desk for about 8 hours, with the exception of a quick walk around lunch, I wanted to do some physical activity. I was also looking forward to seeing if this habit could quickly relieve stiffness in my shoulders and back.
How to do Gemma Folkard’s stretching routine
These stretches don’t require any equipment, and this routine only takes a few minutes. Since the movement was performed from a kneeling position, I spread out my yoga mat to give my knees extra support.
My experience trying Gemma Falkard’s stretching routine
I try to do yoga once a week, so I’m familiar with the spine poses and stretches that Folkard does on a daily basis, but her variations were new to me.
We started in child’s pose, but the Folkado variation challenged me to move in and out of the pose while arching my back, rather than holding the pose passively.
As soon as my back was in a rounded position, I noticed that I had more tension in my upper back and shoulders than I expected. But by moving through the stretch six times, as Folkard had suggested, I felt the tension slowly melt away.
The next move was a twist. Again, this helped open up my shoulders, but I also felt it in my obliques (the muscles down the sides of my abdomen) and felt my core switch on after a mostly sedentary day. It felt good.
The final stretch is my favorite, as it opens up your lower back, which along with your upper body is the hardest part of your body.
I felt physically relaxed after doing this routine. It only took a few minutes, but I was in the mood to move more, so I added some additional stretching exercises.
Return to this routine as an easy way to reset your body and mind after work. I recommend it for people like me who spend most of their day sitting.
