At the office and in the kitchen

Yoga is an extremely versatile and flexible (pardon the pun) discipline.

Practice stretching, breathing and awareness of the body and mind at all times, especially at the work place. Every day we sit, stand and move, and most of this is done at work. Most often this is done in an environment that could be potentially hazardous and detrimental to our health.

Yoga for the working person is about increased consciousness, the expansion of our awareness through the activities of our daily lives. On a physical level yogic practices teaches us to stretch, move and hold the body in such a way as to promote suppleness and relaxation.

The techniques of breathing shows us how to be full of vital energy and cope with stress while developing focus and clarity of thought. Incorporating the many hours spent at work into the application of yoga principals can develop into a seamless practice routine for the advancing practitioner.

Those who would never care to enter into a yoga class has much to benefit from even one or two simple postures or stretches easily learned. Just sit back and upright in your chair, throw the arms up and over while taking a big breath, sigh or yawn and you are well on your way. Everybody does that at least once a day anyway, it is just a matter of doing it with more method and less despair.

Learn to derive pleasure from your body, it is not an instrument of torture that you have to drag around all day long. When slumping gets you into a slump get up and treat your spine, shoulders and lungs to a self applied pleasure dome of stress relief with a simple table stretch.

The 'table' stretch described is a great example of taking yoga into the workplace or using it at home for stress management.

See the sequences page for a longer 'daily stretch when you can' sequence.

The table strech

While standing lean forward and use the back rest of a chair, the edge of a desk or counter as support for the hands with the feet firmly planted just far enough to allow the trunk and arms to form a straight line at a ninety degree angle with the legs. Bring your awareness to the breath with a big inhalation followed by a slow exhalation to increase the depth of the stretch while simultaneously releasing stress from the chest and abdomen. Repeat the breath cycle twice more before allowing the rhythm to quiet down. Stay with this feeling of quietness before one more big, hearty breath in and a slow exhalation. Come up carefully on the following breath. Then try to not slump to much when you sit back down again.

If you are fortunate enough to have a private space or time perhaps over lunch a brief relaxation on the floor is just the thing to even out the energy spend at trying to cope with the telephone, computer screen, deadlines, people and other such menacing devices. Go lie flat on your back with the legs bent at the knees, and a telephone directory underneath the head. Feel the small of the back pressed against the floor and the neck muscles elongating. After two minutes or so remove the phone book and stretch the legs out long. Turn the palms up and allow the body to become softer and softer on each out breath. Repeat about three times. Inhale and be still after a particularly big exhalation.

This little revitalisation programme should take you up to about five minutes of your free time, but will most surely make that free time twice as nice. Take it down to three minutes if you have to, but take it.

Acknowledge your body as the vehicle of your being with such a seemingly simple routine or any other posture of your choice and reap the rewards of that most basic respect, that of the self.

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