We have now successfully adapted to the new situations after Covid. Many offices are still allowing work from home to their employees. We have been sitting around for too long on our beds and couches in extremely bad postures. Most students tend to bend their neck for long hours while studying or using mobile phones. Many people face a lot of difficulties in movement and flexibility of the body. This can happen due to a number of reasons like lifting weight improper mattress and many others.
Our lifestyles have become even more lethargic in the past few decades. Most mechanical work has been replaced by artificial intelligence. When the body remains inactive, your joints stiffen up and lose flexibility. One of the easiest ways to get rid of stiff body is to keep yourself active. You must give atleast 45-60 minutes of physical activity to your body and at least thrice a week. These exercises will help you stay more active and energised. Read this article further to know about some quick stretches to get rid of body stiffness during work from home.
Quick stretches to get rid of body stiffness
Here, we have discussed few stretches to get relief from body stiffness. Stretching our muscles helps in proper blood supply to tendons and ligaments improving mobility in the body. These are few simple stretches and exercises which might help you. Moreover, these exercises can be done anywhere and they need minimum equipments.
1. Cobra pose
In this pose, you need to lay down on your stomach and bend your back outwards. You should hold this position for a while and then come back. Repeating this exercise constantly gives you an improved posture and it is really helpful for lower back pain. It strengthens your arm and spinal region, and makes you more light footed. It is also considered helpful for your digestive system.
2. Shoulder stretches
Shouder stretches are a group of simple exercises like stretch rolls and raises. You should start from raising your shoulders, it relieves the weight of arms from the shoulder and relaxes. You can further proceed to rolling them in clockwise and anticlockwise directions and doing few repetitions. And, then you can swing your arms up and down. These exercises provide mobility to the ball and socket joints and relieves pain and stiffness in our shoulder.
3. Lizard
Rest your body on your elbows and toes and try to move one leg forward till your knees come near your shoulder. It is an amazing exercise for stretching your thighs, hamstrings and quadracepts. As we hardly have time to jog or run for few minutes, we must take out some time to relax the body. You should take care that you keep your body as low as possible. Holding this pose for 10-30 seconds each rep can help you improve flexibility in hips and strengthen leg muscles as well.
4. Downward dog
In this pose, you need to stand on your feet and then start sinking your head down towards the heels and support your body weight using your hands. This is a very good pose for back pain and back of the legs. This pose strengthens your bones, improves body posture and works out your arms too. This exercise helps in stretching your core, and at the same time it increases blood flow to the brain which helps you enhance focus and energy. It also relieves tension in the back of the neck.
5. Airplane
In this exercise, you need to stand on both your legs first and then slowly raise one leg backwards. And, bending your torso forward at the same time, you should stretch your arms to maintain balance. This exercise is great for improving balance and body shape. It tones out the entire body and also helps you get rid of that extra fat. Apart from that, it is also beneficial for strengthening core, hips, psoas and hamstrings. It is even good for improving brain functions.
6. Plank
You are supposed to lie on your elbows and toes, resting forearm on the ground. The key is to keep the body straight in the air for more time. Planks are really beneficial for our overall body but it primarily targets on strengthening spine and core muscles. Planks are an excellent choice to burn more calories in less time. Planks help you improve body posture as well as metabolism. Plank is a body weight exercise which doesn’t necessarily require any equipments.
7. Neck stretches
Neck stretch is most important for those who spend long hours sitting in front of a screen or facing any kind pain or discomfort in moving their necks. You can start exercise on even your office desk. You should pull back your chin so that the neck is aligned. Next exercise involves touching your chin to your shoulders and then tilting your head backwards. This helps to ease problems in your neck muscles and stiffness.
We must take care that we do not over stretch our body. It is good to push your limits but everybody is different and it may take some time to gain perfection. You should do the exercises with proper guidance and instructions or you might end up getting injured. You should try to do some of these exercises after every break. This won’t take much of your time but can help you.
