Stretching at you Desk

Take your hand off that mouse!
Push your chair away from the computer!
Takea break and stretch before muscles spasm. Stretching allows you to sit andwrite longer without getting out of your zone.
Simple Desk Stretches
SeatedCat-Cow Back Stretches - (illus. 1) Sit tall towards the front of yourchair. Inhale into a gentle backbend. Look up. Exhale and let the back roundfrom the base of the spine to the crown of the head. Keep moving back and forthwith the breath. ForwardBends - Bending forward stretches the back and shoulders and lowers your head below yourheart to bring blood to the brain for a quick pick-me-up. See more forward bendillustrations in Easy Yoga Poses (page 83).•Push back from your desk. Sit near the edge of your chair.Legswide, feet on the floor. Inhale. Reach arms up or rest your hands on yourknees. Exhale and hinge forward. (If necessary use a pillow on your lap for support.)Keep the spine extended. Relax. Take a few deep breaths. Try to let your head hanglower than your hips. Continue slow deep breaths. When ready, use your hands tosupport you back to sitting.•Move the chair further back. Sit with legs wide. Straighten arms and place palmson desktop. Hinge forward from hips. Keep back long and straight and shouldersextended in a comfortable stretch. Allow head to hang slightly lower thanshoulders. Breathe.•Stand an arm's length from your desk and place hands on the desktop. (illus. 2)Hinge forward from hips. Keep back long and straight and shoulders extended.Take slow deep breaths. NeckStretches -(illus. 3)•Sit tall. Imagine the crown of your head reaching towards the ceiling. Inhale.Slowly rotate your face up, keeping the feeling of length in the neck. Exhale,bringing the chin towards the chest. Repeat, slowly, three times. Next, elongatethe neck, exhale, moving your right ear in the direction of your right shoulder.Inhale back up. Alternate sides.•Imagine a pencil balanced (point up) on the top of your head. Sit tall in yourchair. Keeping the upper body still and your neck relaxed, write your name on theceiling (or the clouds). Jaw& Face - Press the tongue lightly against the roof of your mouth behind the frontteeth. Allow lips to part slightly. Open mouth as wide as you can. With mouthopen, lightly press fist under chin and use jaw to press down. Repeat. Arms - (illus. 4)Sit up straight. Raise arms over head. Clasp hands and stretch up, liftingtorso out of waist. Reverse hand position so palms face the ceiling. Take threeslow deep breaths. Release. (illus. 5) Stretch arms out to the sides.Alternatively rotate one arm forward and one backward. Next, flex one palm upand the other down. Alternate.
Shoulders
ShoulderStretch - (illus. 6) Stretch right arm in front of you. Using left hand, pull the rightelbow toward the left shoulder. Breathe into the stretch. Change sides. ShoulderShrugs - (illus. 7) Relax shoulders. Pull them up as high as you can. Release. Pull shoulderblades back and together. Squeeze shoulders forward towards the front of yourchest. Repeat.
Not So Simple Shoulder Rolls  1.Circle both shoulders forwards simultaneously. Then circle both backwards.2.Alternate forwards (Start with left lifted and right low.Circleboth forwards). Alternate backwards.3.Opposite simultaneously (both forwards, left lifted, right low). Oppositesimultaneously (backwards).4.Opposite alternate (left forwards, right backwards).Oppositealternate (right forwards, left backwards).
Asyou might guess, this exercise from Martin Gray'sNomatics also engages the mind.
HipCircles- Sit tall. Keeping hips solidly on the chair, move the torso in a circleseveral times. Reverse.Legand Hip- Sit up straight with both feet on floor. Place right ankle on left knee.Elongate upper body. Lean forward slightly, keeping back straight. Circleankle. Change sides. Stretch out left leg and straighten from hip to heel. Changesides.
Feet  Stretchout one leg, Flex and extend foot. Next, circle the ankle. Keep toes relaxed todiscourage cramping. Change sides.Placea tennis ball beneath the arch of the foot. Move foot and roll ball. Breathe.
Twist - (illus. 8)Twists should be done after forward, backward, and side stretches have warmedthe back muscles. Sit sideways, or if your chair has arms, toward the frontedge. Turn towards the right and exhaling reach the left arm across the chest,towards the right side of the back of the chair, twisting gently to the rightand looking over your right shoulder. Sit tall and keep shoulders down. Don'tforce. Only twist to 90% of your maximum. Inhale back to the center. On eachinhale elongate and on the exhale twist. Alternate sides. Twists wring out yourspine like a wet towel.
See also the chapters on: Self-Massage, Hand Stretches, Rolling & Passive Stretches, and EasyYoga Poses.
"Besides thenoble art of getting things done, there is a nobler art of leaving thingsundone. The wisdom of life consists in the elimination of nonessentials."Lin Yutang
[image error] Excerpt from: Relaxing the Writer:Guidebook to the Writer's High by Amber Polo 
Available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble & Smashwords