In this digital world most of our jobs involve sitting at a desk, and typing away for hours. While sitting and working may sound like a great thing, it is so not great for our bodies. Most of the time we are too tired of spending 10 hours or so at our desk jobs to be able to take a break and exercise. Prolonged sitting along with the lack of exercise weakens our muscles, and bones are resulting in a backache, spondylitis, etc. As we age, and as our bone health deteriorates, it gets even worse with other problems such as rheumatoid arthritis adding onto it. Women are usually affected by it more than men because of menopause which leads to calcium deficiency and depletion of calcium from their bones. While meds are undoubtedly helpful and provide us with instant relief, yoga tends to work slowly yet effectively with absolutely no side-effects.
Why yoga?
It is difficult to fit in yoga into our busy schedules. Therefore, it is hard to opt for yoga over pain medication since they are hardly time-consuming. Yoga increases the core strength of the body; it also strengthens the bones, the muscles and the joints without relying on any external instruments or tools. Yoga doesn’t merely impact our bodies, it also affects our minds, which means yoga makes us more capable of dealing stress, which usually tends to heighten body pain, and it also improves our ability to bear the pain. Since yoga doesn’t require any fitness tools, it is more comfortable, and sometimes you can even do some of the yoga poses it while sitting on the couch.
It must be noted that yoga doesn’t just involve contorting and twisting your bodies into improbable, gravity-defying poses, it can also be simple such as breathing exercises or hand asanas. However, before jumping into yoga as a respite from body pain, one must always consult a physician, and make a note of all the recommendations and instructions. One must also take note of how the body is reacting to different postures, and prepare not to push oneself too hard.
Yoga poses on a couch
These are some of the yoga poses you can do without putting in too much effort on the especially painful days.
- Hand yoga—this involves simple postures and movement. Start by extending your arms outside, and then clench and unclench your fists on each count. Rotating the wrists in clockwise and anticlockwise movements is also quite helpful, and prevents carpal tunnel syndrome.
- Shoulder exercises—There are some good asanas for your shoulders as well. Extend your arms sideways, and then fold them back so that your fingers touch your shoulders. Repeat this motion 20-30 times while taking a break after every ten counts. Fold your arms so that your fingers touch your shoulders, and make circular movements with your arms—clockwise and anticlockwise. Change the direction after every ten counts.
- Feet yoga—while it isn’t possible to get a foot massage at the drop of a hat, you can ease your pain with some very simple yoga poses. Sit on the couch and rock your feet backwards and forward so that the pressure shifts from your toes to your heel. Hold each pose for three counts before moving on to the next. You can also lean back on the couch, extend your feet outwards. Then make circular movements with your ankles, clockwise and anticlockwise, alternating between the two after ten counts. Also, curling your toes and releasing them can also be an excellent stress reliever
- Twist—this is a unique way to relieve the pressure on your back. Sit straight on the couch; put one of your hands behind you, use the other hand to hold on to the opposite knee, and twist the upper part of your body. Hold the pose for five counts before reverting to normal posture. Repeat the same steps in the opposite direction.
- Neck exercises—a lot of stress falls on our shoulders. Sit straight on the couch; tuck your head towards your throat, and then slowly lean your head backwards. Repeat the whole process slowly for 10-20 counts. You could also move your head, and look towards your right, then slowly move your head towards your left side. Repeat the whole process 10-20 times.
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