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Sitting at a desk, or anywhere else, for long periods of time takes a major freaking toll on the body!

I’ve been there. I worked as a product manager for years, spending hours everyday sitting at my desk, which resulted in back, neck, and hip pain. Until finally, I created a short series of yoga postures to make sitting at my desk job [more] bearable.

Which is exactly what I’m sharing with you here!

In this blog post, I’m sharing 5 yoga poses that I do every day to combat the aches from sitting at my desk all week. I’ll be covering:

How I reversed the aches and pains from sitting at a desk
The importance of consistency
3 Expected and 2 unexpected benefits
The 5 poses and how to do them

So if your back aches from rounding your shoulders at your desk, you neck hurts from looking at your phone or laptop, or your hips hurt from sitting all day, you are in the right place!

All of that is about to change for good!

How I reversed the aches and pains from sitting at a desk

Before my corporate job I led a very active lifestyle. I thought I was intentionally taking good care of my body, but after graduation and “real life” settled in, I realized it was more like convenience.

Let me explain:

Not only did I start my first big girl job after graduating, but the world went into full pandemic mode (which let to really improving my meditation practice but that’s another story).

Suddenly I was sitting at my desk in my apartment all day. No walking to different meeting rooms—let alone different buildings on campus. No mid day fitness classes—a brief walk around the block just isn’t the same.

Slowly, everything began to hurt. My back and neck ached from sitting, even if it wasn’t a very long day. My hips and legs easily cramped. I started to get headaches by midafternoon.

Even my motivation and energy levels took a hit. It seemed that by the time the work day was over, I was only capable of making dinner and watching an episode with my fiancé (now husband).

Sound familiar?

Something had to change. I am embarrassed to say it was months before I finally kicked it into gear. I dusted off my 500+ hour yoga certification materials and started doing tons of research on the body and yoga postures to find which poses would actually make a difference for me.

I spent weeks listening to my body and figuring out what felt good and what I needed most after sitting at a desk day in and day out.

Eventually, I finally created a series of yoga postures that worked. It was easy enough to do without requiring a warm up, and it was short enough that I was able to be consistent.

Before I knew it, I was productively working at my desk without any body pain. I was ache free after work. I was sitting and standing up straighter than ever before. I was managing my work life balance. And have been able to keep it up ever since.

I feel so productive, so healthy, so energized, and so confident! It sounds dramatic, but my life has completely changed for the better.

So here’s exactly what I learned, and how to implement it for yourself. This is exactly how to reverse the aches and pains from sitting at a desk for good.

The importance of consistency

The first thing I learned is the importance of consistency.

Here’s why:

Think of all the time you spend sitting. At the kitchen table for meals, on the couch in front of the TV, at your desk, in your car. Cough cough are you sitting right now?

All that rounding in the back and shoulders and hips needs to be countered. Doing these 5 postures just once might make you feel better, but it won’t undo years of desk sitting. Think equal action and reaction.

So what will counter all the sitting? Those same 5 postures…repeated every. Single. Day.

I admit, in the beginning I really struggled with consistency. I would do my 5 postures and feel better and not do them again for days or weeks. If you resonate with this, take comfort that these 5 postures aren’t going anywhere.

In fact, doing them even once a week or once a month is better than nothing! You can always start again. That’s what I did. I restarted again and again and again. And that’s what you can do, too.

What finally changed?

I made an investment.

I purchased an online yoga course and I did my 5 postures before each video. I prefer practicing at home, but if you have a yoga studio membership you can do these postures before the class starts.

If you’re ready to invest in yourself and start creating the habit of daily yoga & stretching, consider exploring the beginner friendly course Yoga For Desk Jockeys. Sometimes all we need is a little financial motivation to really get a habit to stick! Click here to get started!

If you’re not ready to make an investment, all is not lost.

Keep reading to find out how you can still get fantastic results for free.

3 Expected and 2 unexpected benefits

Yoga in general has a lot of benefits, but what about a mini practice like these simple moves?

You bet.

In all honestly, I expected to have less aches and pains, improve my posture, and better my mental stamina.

What I didn’t expect? That a simple and short home yoga practice could improve work life balance and sexual performance.

What?

Let’s get into it.

Expected benefit #1 - less aches and pains.

I created my sequence of 5 yoga postures for this exact reason. I wanted something that countered all the sitting I was doing, because I wanted to feel better physically. I wanted my back and neck and hips to stop aching. And all that happened.

What does this mean for you?

It means this sequence works, and you can be ache free too!

Expected benefit #2 - improved posture.

It wasn’t my intention to improve my posture, although I suspected it would get better. I knew that I was focusing on the posture areas of my body and I hoped I would see positive results.

And I did, because these yoga poses create balance in the body.

Let me explain.

Sitting all day with good posture requires hella strong posture muscles. I didn’t have strong enough posture muscles, so my back and neck rounded when I sat at my desk for so long. That rounding lead to aches and pains.

Reversing these aches and pains means reversing the rounding. Your body will get stronger through these yoga poses and once you get a taste for the ache free life, you’ll never go back!

Expected benefit #3 - Increased mental and emotional stamina.

It’s well known that there is a powerful connection between the body and the mind. It’s not easily measured, especially compared to measuring something like body weight or other changes in the physical body.

But here’s the truth.

The mental and emotional benefits from yoga are equally real and equally important. In my experience, after doing these stretches and postures, I noticed a difference in my mental and emotional wellbeing.

Things that used to upset me didn’t seem as upsetting anymore. I felt empowered mentally to keep on.

Unexpected benefit #1 - Improved work life balance.

I expected the mental improvements, but what I didn’t foresee what the connection between a better state of mind and work life balance.

That’s right.

Reverse burnout.

For me, burn out comes from thinking about work outside of work hours. The practice of getting out of my head and into my body every day helped me to draw the line between work and home more distinctly.

Unexpected benefit #2 - better sex performance.

I know what you’re thinking.

It’s not the increase in flexibility. In fact, it’s more similar how you get better work life balance.

It’s all about getting out of one’s head and into the body. It can be hard to be “in the mood” or even present in the moment if there is a lot on one’s mind.

The simple practice of getting out of my head and into my body by doing these 5 yoga postures everyday taught me to “get out of head” in the bedroom as well.

For more information about the benefits of yoga read my blog post 27 Benefits of Yoga.

The poses

So what are these poses already?! Let’s not wait another moment.

These are the 5 poses in the order of the sequence.

1 - forward fold

Keep your feet together, bend your knees, and lower your upper body toward the floor. Do your best to relax into the pose, especially your neck, head, and face. Bonus points if you reach your arms up to the ceiling before folding forward to get some length into your spine! Stay here for five deep breaths.
This pose might feel like you’re rounding your shoulders and back even more, so how is it helping? We are focusing on the legs in the beginning. Sitting at a desk all day tightens the leg muscles so we want to stretch out our calves and hamstrings and remind them they’re alive. This pose also brings your head below your heart which is good for blood circulation, your immune system, your nervous system, and helping silence your brain.
*Go a little deeper:* Deepen the stretch by bringing your body weight into your toes and trying to bring the crown of your head toward the feet. If your back is rounding, bend the knees. Bring your stomach to you thighs, chest to knees, and face to your shins. Arms wrap around your legs. From here work on straightening your legs.

2 - downward facing dog

From the forward fold, bend your knees until you can put some weight into your hands on the floor. Step your feet back until you can make a triangle with your upper body, lower body, and the floor. Bend your knees as much as you have to. Push away from the floor with your hands to lengthen your spine and shoulders. Gaze at your thighs to keep your neck in line. Stay here for five deep breaths.
Down dog is great for strengthening and stretching the upper body. You might feel your shoulders tiring the first few times in this pose, but it won’t take long before this posture becomes a resting posture. Downdog is also a head below heart pose so like in the forward fold, this posture has benefits for your blood circulation, your immune system, your nervous system, and calming your brain.
*Go a little deeper:* You can challenge yourself in downward dog by working on bringing your chest toward the mat. This will increase the stretch and pressure in the shoulders, so move mindfully.

3 - cat cow

From downward facing dog, bend your knees until you come into a table top position (hands and knees, with shoulders and hips at ninety degree angles). Inhale drop your stomach and try to create a “u” shape with your back. Gaze to the ceiling. Cow. Exhale arch your back to make an “n” shape, tuck your chin to your chest. Cat. Repeat for 5 breaths.
Cat cow is one of my favorite poses. I do it every day and I include it in almost every class I teach. It is so good to get movement and space into your spine and shoulders and it *feels so good.* This posture is also good for your abdominal muscles and hips.
*Go a little deeper:* Add some lateral movement to your cat cow. From your cat position, circle your spine clockwise to the cow position. As if you’re trying to reach the side wall with your ribs. Continue this circle from cow as you move into cat again. Make sure to do counter clockwise to stay symmetrical!

4 - pigeon

From this table to position, bring your right calf to lay on the mat in front of you, keeping your foot flexed to protect your knee. Make sure your right heel is touching your left hip bone. Lower your upper body toward the mat until your feel a good stretch in your left hip flexor and/or your right glute. Do your best to relax your entire body. Stay here for five breaths and repeat on the other side.
Pigeon is a fairly deep hip opener. It can take time before it feels good, but back off if anything feels *painful.* This posture does wonders to relieve tension in the hip flexors, groin, and glutes. The hip flexors especially get very tight from sitting all day. The best part of pigeon pose, is that it’s good for your low back. Another fun benefit of this pose is that when your upper body descends on your bent leg, it puts pressure onto the abdomen and can help support digestion.
*Go a little deeper:* King pigeon. In your pigeon pose, bring your upper body up vertical and flex your back leg foot, kneecap flat on the floor. Reach your hand toward your foot as it bends toward you. Be mindful of your knee. This increases the hip flexor and quadriceps stretch.

5 - child’s pose

Exit the pigeon pose, being mindful of your knees, and come back to a table top position on your mat. Sit your hips back and reach your arms and upper body forward. Rest your forehead on your mat. You can choose between keeping your knees closer together or wider apart. Close your eyes, relax every part of your body, and stay here for 5 breaths.
Child’s pose is like THE yoga pose. It feels delicious, and wait til you hear these benefits. Opens hips and shoulders, lengthens spine, supports digestion, calms brain, and relieves body tension. Incredible. If you had to pick just one of these postures, I would recommend this one.
*Go a little deeper:* if you are looking to go deeper here, I recommend staying for longer than 5 breaths. Yoga is just as much about finding stillness as it is about doing advanced yoga postures. Going deeper, doesn’t mean doing a harder posture. Sometimes it simply means sitting with yourself in an easy posture and breathing through whatever feelings come up.

Conclusion

Once I figured out this mini sequence and was actually consistent, I had significantly fewer aches and pains, more energy, and overall a better work life balance.

Sitting at my desk doesn’t take the same toll on my body that it used to take. I am more productive at work and at the same time I am happier and ache free after work.

I didn’t have to pay for a massage subscription, an expensive desk chair or other fancy exercise equipment.

All I had to do was commit to the habit of daily movement.

Taking a small amount of time everyday to stretch has made real, lasting changes in my body and posture. I feel better than ever!

What does this mean for you?

This can be your reality too!

I want this for you!

If you’re ready to reconnect with your body, finally be consistent with daily movement, and reduce all those aches and pains, then I urge you to get started with Yoga For Desk Jockeys now while it’s the lowest price it will ever be!

Click here to get flexible and reduce aches and pains of desk sitting for good! Click here to get started!!

If you’re not ready to purchase the Yoga For Desk Jockeys course to feel better from sitting at your desk all day, you can still do yoga to feel better!

You bet.

Do the sequence listed above every day for 30 days. Download my FREE Yoga Practice Habit Tracker to stay consistent and track your progress!

5 Yoga Poses to Reverse the Aches of Sitting at a Desk