The Duck Pond Five Minute chair yoga for busy business owners
Avoiding burnout and taking care of our physical and mental health as much as we can is as important to the success of our business as all the "real" business stuff. With that in mind, I'm delighted to introduce Melina from Womama Yoga to the Pond for an exclusive 5-minute yoga for busy business owners session.
Here's a little text guide from Melina in case you can't watch the video:
Have you got lower back pain?
It might not be your back. It might be your glutes have gone to sleep.
If you work in an office or at home, chances are you sit, a lot, maybe even all day. Chronic sitting can lead to muscle imbalances and even cause some muscles to go completely dormant.
The problem may not be originating in the lower back at all. Muscle imbalances from sitting or inactivity can lead to weak or dormant glutes and abs, leaving your psoas, hamstrings and lower back contracted and tight. In fact, it’s possible your glutes aren’t firing at all.
Of course, be sure to visit your doctor and / or chiropractor to be sure you don’t have any disk disease, acute injury, or spinal issues that may be causing your pain.
Once you know what you’re dealing with, there are some ways to recover throughout the day as well as specific exercises and yoga poses to help retrain your muscles to work for you again, in the right order.
Exercises to do at work to keep your muscles engaged
First and foremost, be sure to get up and move around at least once an hour. Maybe set a reminder for yourself to do these short exercises throughout the day (you don’t even have to leave your seat for a few of them):
Glute squeeze. Move to the edge of your seat, and press your heels into the floor, you’ll immediately feel your glutes engage. Do this 10 times, holding for a count of 5 each time.
Brace yourself. Engage your abs as if you’re bracing yourself to get punched in the stomach. Hold for a count of 5, and do this 5 or 10 times. Don’t forget to breathe!
Suck in your gut. Pull your lower abs and belly button in toward your spine, and contract your ribs. Hold for 5 breaths. Do 5 of these.