Featured Sequence Mini Office Yoga Practice

by Nina

Recently on Thursdays we've been featuring our essential office yoga poses and today is the day when we get to put them together into a sequence! This mini sequence is very well rounded, and even follows the format of traditional Iyengar sequence: a warm-up pose (Half Dog Pose) followed by "standing poses," a backbend, a twist, and a forward bend. As always, when you are practicing a sequence, feel free to skip any poses that don't work for you and to add in any favorites you can't live without.

1. Half Dog at the Wall (or desk, chair, kitchen counter, whatever). See here for details.

2. Standing Leg Stretches. See here for details and for the sequence of three leg stretches.

3. Seated Backbend. See here for details.

4. Seated Twist. See here for details.

5. Seated Forward Bend. See here for details.

We'll be featuring even more office yoga poses in the coming weeks, and our grand finale will be full-length office yoga sequence. But realistically, when we're traveling or taking a break at work, most of us only have time for a quick practice. So, enjoy! And if you have any fun stories about practicing office yoga under unusual circumstances, we'd love to hear them. I recently did some yoga on an airplane, and my favorite pose out of everything I tried that day was the standing forward bend I did in the corner at the back of the airplane by the bathroom, using a bit of wall space there to support my buttocks. Ahhh!

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Featured Pose Chair Forward Bend

by Baxter and Nina
The simple Chair Forward Bend, one of our five essential office yoga poses, is a safe forward bend for almost everyone. Because you’re bending your legs at the knees, you’re reducing the tension on your hamstrings and therefore allowing your pelvis to have more flexibility at your hip joints. In addition, because you’re resting your arms and head on a chair or desk and you’re not hanging in space, your lower back muscles can release more completely and relax more deeply. (Some of the seated forward bends with straight legs can aggravate lower back pain or disc problems because they pull so strongly on your back muscles and encourage the discs to move toward a posterior position, and you can sometimes over-strain your ligaments when you overdo.)

This forward bend can provide you a quiet moment in your busy day, and allows you to access the deep rest of conscious relaxation without lying on the floor, especially if you focus on your breath while you are in the pose. In addition, folding forward creates a feeling of safety and comfort for many people. And supporting your head enhances the soothing quality of the forward bend, so the Chair Forward Bend may even have a quieting effect on your mind and your emotions, cooling negative emotions such as anger and anxiety.

Of course the pose can be done anywhere you can find a table and chair, such as an office or a dining room, or you can do it with two chairs when there is no table available. (Nina used to practice this pose quite frequently when she worked full time for a software startup company for a few minutes of respite during a hectic day.)

Baxter prescribes it for:

• fatigue
• eye strain
• stress
• anger and/or anxiety
• sensory overload
• lower back tightness (if it feels good to you)
• hip tightness and increased mobility in hip joints

Instructions: Depending on your height and flexibility, move your chair one to two feet away from the desk or second chair where you will be resting your arms and head. Next, sit either in the center of the chair or near the edge, with your feet flat on the floor and about hip-width apart. If you are very short or tall, use a prop if necessary under your feet or your buttocks. Position your knees directly above your feet, with your legs parallel to each other.

Now, tip forward from your hip joints, keeping your back as straight as possible, and then rest your arms on the desk as shown below, and your forehead on your top arm. At this point, you can allow your back to soften and round a bit (if that is comfortable for you). Once your forehead is resting on your forearms, try gently pressing your head forward so your forehead skin stretches downward toward your eyebrows. You may find this enhances the quieting effect of the pose.

Stay in the pose from one to 10 minutes. (Nina’s experiments with Iyengar’s recommendations confirmed that three minutes is the minimum time to get the full “forward bend” feeling from the pose, though even a quick forward bend can be quite effective.) To come out, slip your hands onto your knees and use your arms to support yourself as you gently roll up to sitting, keeping your back muscles remain relaxed, long, and open.

Cautions: If you have a history of chronic low back pain or other back problems, be careful going into this pose, checking as you move into it to ensure your back feels okay. If moving into this forward bend causes a flare of discomfort, you should eliminate it from your practice. See "Featured Series: Low Back Care" for poses to help with back pain. You may also want to avoid this pose if you have severe arthritis in the hips or abdominal discomfort, but in general it is a very safe pose. If you have depression, forward bends may cause you to brood or to become more depressed. In this case, keep your eyes softly open, rather than closing them. If that doesn't help, avoid forward bends until you feel ready for them.

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Featured Pose Warrior 2 for Upper Body Strength

by Baxter and Nina

Warrior 2 is the first pose in our upper body strengthening series because it is a very easy and accessible pose that is very strengthening for your arms and upper body. Even though you don’t bear weight on your hands or arms, the arm position entails resisting gravity. This strengthens the muscles that lift your arms to your sides and all of the small muscles inside the joint that help you stabilize your arms at the shoulder joint, including the deltoid and supraspinatus, which are important for maintaining the health of those joints. In addition the pose provides equal strengthening of both your upper back, around the shoulder blades, and your chest, around the collar bones, as you build strength in your upper trapezius. And of course an added benefit is that this  pose is very strengthening for the legs as well as the upper body!

This pose is accessible even if you have something going on in your shoulders that is challenging because it doesn’t require full range of motion in the shoulder joints. And you don’t need to bear weight on your hands, so if you have wrist or hand problems you can still can do the pose.

Because we’re focusing on upper body strength for next several weeks, we’re going to give you three different ways to strengthen your body with Warrior 2. Version 1 is the traditional pose, and Versions 2 and 3 use a slightly different arm position.

Instructions: Starting in Tadasana, step your feet wide apart. Turn your right foot out 90 degrees, then, pivoting on the ball of your back foot, shift your left heel back an inch or two to your left so the foot is slightly turned in.

Next, inhale and raise your arms up so they are parallel to the floor, with your palms facing down toward the floor. Keep your shoulder blades relaxed and moving down your back (not sliding up toward your ears) as you raise your arms. Then, on an exhalation, bend your right knee directly over your right ankle while keeping your torso centered over your pelvis (not leaning over your front leg). Allow your hips to rotate slightly toward your right knee but rotate your chest away from your right knee so your chest faces directly forward. Finally, allow your head and neck to turn so you gaze over your right hand.

Once you are in the pose, use your eyes to check both arms to make sure they are in an even line with the tops of your shoulders, that they are neither too high or low, and that they are parallel with the floor.

Because your purpose in doing Warrior 2 this time is to develop strength in your upper body, you should keep your arms out to your sides for a decent amount of time. Start with 30 seconds and work your way up to 1 to 2 minutes over time, gradually building up endurance. Of course if you’re very fatigued or shaking, come out earlier. Notice that the longer you hold your arms up, the more you unconsciously will slide your shoulder blades up toward your ears. If this happens, consciously move relax your shoulder blades back down your back.

To come out of the pose, exhale and release your arms. Then straight your knee, turn your feet to a parallel position, and switch to the other side:

Version 2: Palms turned up

Because of the external rotation in your shoulder joint required to turn your palms up, this variation allows you to strengthen areas that aren’t strengthened with the first version With your palms up you activate a different portion of your deltoid muscles (front portion) and other muscles deeper in your shoulder joint. You could do Version 2 of the pose immediately after doing Version 1 or you could alternate different arm positions on different days. activates a different portion of your deltoid muscles and activates other muscles deeper in the shoulder joint.

For this version, follow the instructions for Version 1. When it comes time to raise your arms, start by spinning from your upper arms to turn your palms to face front. Then as your raise your arms, keep spinning form your upper arms to turn your palms up toward the ceiling.

Version 3: Holding blocks

This version strengthens the same muscles as version 2, but provides increased strength building because you are holding a weight. You can use yoga blocks, same-weight books, or even bags of rice or beans. However, we recommend building up your strength practicing Versions 1 and 2 before trying Versions 3. We also recommend that you start off with lightest weight possible, such as foam blocks, and work up to heavier weights over time, such as cork or wooden blocks.

For this version, start by holding the props and then follow the instructions for Version 1. As you lift your arms, rotate your upper arm bones so as you arms come out to the sides, the blocks are resting on your upturned palms.

Because of the additional weight, you may feel the additional work, and you may need to reduce the time you stay in the pose! If you become fatigued or shaky, release your arms. Gradually, over time, increase your time in the pose to up to 2 minutes.

Cautions: In general, Warrior 2 is a very safe pose. However, if you experience pain in your shoulder joints or neck, come out of the pose and get some advice from a yoga teacher about your alignment. If you have a history of rotator cuff injury or dislocated shoulder, approach the pose carefully, especially Version 3.

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Featured Pose Downward Facing Dog Pose

by Baxter

Two things prompted me to want to write about Downward Facing Dog pose (Adho Mukha Svanasana)—about one of the most commonly practiced modern yoga poses—today. The first was the answer by Judie Craven, RN, in the amazing interview we posted yesterday Yoga for Cancer: An Interview with a Nurse and Cancer Survivor to the question of what one of her favorite yoga poses was:

“Downward-Facing Dog. My job can be pretty stressful! Down Dog helps to release tension better than any other pose for me. It stretches my whole body and makes me feel strong—like I can accomplish anything.”

The second reason was that in looking back on what we have shared with you in the past about this pose, I discovered we have done a good job telling you all about modified versions of Downward-Facing Dog pose, but we had failed to talk about the full version! Well, we remedy that today! 

As Judie so rightly points out, Downward-Facing Dog pose provides a great combination of stretching and strengthening actions for your body. It opens up your shoulders and upper back, just as Mountain pose with arms overhead would, but with the added challenge of resisting gravity. It also stretches and lengthens the muscles in your lower back, the backs of your hips, and the backs of the legs (especially the hamstring and calf muscles). It simultaneously builds strength in your upper body, which is tasked with pushing back strongly towards your hips, the front thighs, which contract to help fold your pelvis over your legs, and your core abdominal muscles, which help to stabilize your belly so it does not sag into the pull of gravity. Finally, it is a partial inversion, and as such can have some of the effects of some of the full inversions, such as helping to improve the regulation of your heart and lung function as well as quieting your nervous system, possibly accounting for the stress reducing effects Judie noted. 

Nina says this is an excellent pose for building up the arm strength that will allow you to do more challenging poses, such as arm balances or pushing up into a backbend. And because it provides allover stretching, it is a very good warm-up pose for almost any kind of practice, including a forward bend, backbend, twist, or inversion practice. The version using the chair makes the pose accessible to almost everyone, including people who cannot get up and down from the floor. If you have wrist problems, you can practice the version with your forearms on the floor.

I prescribe this pose for: 

• overall strengthening and stretching 
• a first step in strengthening your arms and upper body 
• part of a stress-reducing practice 
• anxiety or an overactive mind 
• low back pain that is muscular in nature (versus disc or nerve related) 
• an introduction to inverted poses for beginners

Cautions 

Because this pose is a partial inversion and does require quite a bit of effort to maintain, those with newly diagnosed or poorly controlled high blood pressure should practice a modified version, such as Half Downward-Facing Dog Pose at the Wall.

Because your wrists bear quite a bit of body weight in this pose, people with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome or types of wrist or hand pain should practice versions that reduce the weight on the wrists and hands, such as the Forearm version (see below). 

People with acute colds and sinus issues or chronic allergies may find the partial inversion could worsen their symptoms. When your symptoms are in full swing, try a version where you are not inverted (Half Downward-Facing Dog Pose at the Wall) or are less inverted (using the chair—see below). Then, when you are healthy and symptom free, you can return to the classic version.

Classic Version 

1. Start in Hands and Knees pose (as you would set up for Cat/Cow) and move your hands forward about one hand length so your arms are now angled forward at about a 30 degree angle with the floor and turn your toes under. 

2. Press firmly through your arms towards your hands, fully extending your elbows. As you press forward, begin to lift your knees off the floor and push your hips up and back, away from your hands, as you gradually begin to straighten your legs. If you have particularly tight hamstrings or calves, maintain a slight bend to your knees, at least at first. 

3. Creating the feeling of a long spine is of primary importance in doing Downward-Facing Dog, so use the push of your hands forward into your mat to cultivate a feeling of lengthening up and back from your wrists to your sitting bones.

4. Next, focus on your legs. Imagine you are lifting the middle of your hamstring muscles up towards your sitting bones while simultaneously releasing your mid-calf muscles towards your heels. You can also bring a feeling of increased contraction to the muscles at the front of your thighs, the Quadriceps, to assist in opening and lengthening your back leg muscles. 

5. Think about “releasing” your heels toward the floor, not pushing them down. Keep in mind that the vast majority of people do not have ankle joints that will allow their heels to come all the way to the floor, so don’t make that a priority or goal. Instead, keep a sense of even descent, making sure to look back occasionally to make sure your heels are positioned evenly behind the balls of your foot, not dropping left or right. And for that small minority of folks who can get their heels to the floor, make sure you do not round the lower back towards the ceiling to do that: spinal length is more important than heels to the floor. 

6. If you feel like your belly and lower back are collapsing toward the floor or going into a sway back position, provide more support to this region by consciously engage your abdominal muscles up and into your body towards your lower spine.

7. There are different ways to position your head in this pose. In general, I recommend keeping your head in line with the rest of the spine. One way to do that is to think about keeping your ears lined up with your arms. Another head position is to release the top of your head down toward the floor, and this is the head position you’ll need to use if you are doing the version of Downward-Facing Dog with head support (see All About Supported Inverted Poses). Some teachers suggest tucking the chin toward the chest. However, if you have neck issues, be cautious with the second and third head positions. 

8. Bring your awareness to the quality of your breath. Try to keep your breath steady and even, even if your breathing in the pose is faster than your resting breath. After all, you are working to stay in the pose, so some change to your breath in natural and to be expected! However, if you become short of breath or you find you are holding your breath, perhaps due to over-efforting to stay in the pose, it might be time to come down and rest for a few moments before trying again. 

9. If you are new to Downward-Facing Dog, stay in the pose for just a few breaths. As your understanding of the actions of the pose improve and your endurance increases, gradually lengthen the amount of time, staying as long as 1-2 minutes or longer. 

10. To come out of the pose, bend your knees and bring them lightly the floor to Hands and Knees position. Consider resting in Child's Pose for a few breaths, releasing any hand or wrist tension. Feel free to try the pose a second or third time. 

There are, of course, many other more subtle ways to work in this pose, but these points will get you started in the right direction. As one teacher used to say, “Another day, another Dog!” 

Variation 1: Bent Knees

This version is excellent for people with extremely tight hamstrings, calves, hips, or lower back muscles that cause your lower back to round when your legs are straight, interfering with the length of your spine. 

To practice this version, rather than straightening your legs, bend your knees to the degree that allows you to maintain the length of your spine. Instead of allowing your leg muscles to relax, keep your leg muscles engaged, which will allow some areas to get stronger as you stretch your tight hamstrings and calves, (that’s right, even when the knees are bent you can still get some stretch to those areas!)

Variation 2: Chair Version

Placing your hands on the seat of the chair takes some of the weight off your hands and keeps your wrists in a more neutral position, so this version is good for people who have wrist or hand problems. Depending on your hand and wrists issues, you can choose between two hand positions: hands flat on the chair seat and hands holding the chair edges. Because you bear less weight on your upper body than in the classic version, this version is a good starting pose for people who are not yet strong enough for the classic pose. And working with the chair also allows people who cannot get up and down from the floor to get some of the same benefits as the floor version provides. See Featured Pose: Downward-Facing Dog Variations for instructions.

Variation 3: Forearm Version

This version is useful for anyone who has wrist or hand problems. See Featured Pose: Downward-Facing Dog Variations for instructions and two different arm positions.

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