Working from Home Is A Pain In The Neck!
Have you noticed how sitting has become your major activity working from home? Think about how much you’re sitting at the computer, watching TV, and reading those books that you never thought you’d have time to read? And, how much more time are you spending on cooking or baking than before? It’s a terrific non-sitting physical and mental activity but all that sitting during the day puts your head, neck, and shoulders in a bad place for standing over a counter or a stove for an hour or so. Let’s fix that.
Start with an easy balance exercise to help you sit, stand, climb, and walk around without hurting yourself. Standing at the Wall-Block/Pillow can be done wherever there’s a wall. Pick up a yoga block or a small pillow off the couch and find an uncluttered wall. Put the pillow or block between your thighs and press yourself into the wall. Both heels, hips, and shoulders should be on the wall, feet parallel, and straight ahead. The pillow is there to keep you vertical.
If your head is on the wall and your chest isn’t jutting out or your chin isn’t popping up, great. Don’t force it. Keep your chin level with the floor. Arms stay on the wall, about 10 inches from your hips, palms open. Breathe and relax into the floor and wall for 1 minute. Build up to 3 minutes. A minute will be hard at first. Walk around when you finish and see how you feel.
The second exercise, Active Wall Climbs, uses the wall, too. Turn around and face the wall. Stand about 18 inches away, feet parallel and straight ahead. Pull your shoulders blades to your spine and tighten your butt muscles. Reach up the wall with both hands in line with your shoulders. Keep the shoulders blades close to the spine and the elbows off the wall. Let your forehead drop to the wall. Breathe and reach up, heels on the floor. Hang out for 1 minute or as long as you can. You’ll feel this stretch in the pecs, the ribs, even down to the low back.
Now, move your left hand out to the 10 o’clock position and your right hand out to the 2 o’clock position. Keep your shoulders pulled down to your spine, butt muscles tight, and arms long, elbows straight. You’ll want to collapse into the wall but don’t. Stay there for 1 minute or as long as you can. Breathe and let your chest, shoulders, and neck unwind. Walk around and see how you feel.
The last exercise, Standing Arm Circles-Wide Stance, builds on the first two. It creates upper body strength, improves shoulder range of motion, and builds better balance. Standing and sitting without causing pain becomes natural. Stand in the middle of the room, legs wider than shoulder-width apart, feet straight ahead, and arms at your side. Close your hands in a golfer’s grip or hitchhiker’s grip. Bring both arms up to shoulder height. Pull your shoulder blades down toward your spine and rotate your palms toward the ceiling, thumbs facing backward. Rotate both arms backward, following your thumbs back. Your head stays straight, and your chin is level with the floor. This is real work, so take your time to get up to 30 circles or more. Do 10-20 to start, bring your arms down, and rest a bit.
Now, let’s do the circles going forward. This work will bring your head back to vertical, so you’ll feel it in the neck and shoulders. Return to your golfer’s grip and bring your arms back up to shoulder height and tighten your shoulder blades. But this time, turn your palms down so that your thumbs are facing forward. Follow your thumbs. Do a set of 10-20 circles this way. If you can’t do 30 today, you will in a week. The forward circles work your upper traps and neck muscles as they pull your head back to vertical. Walk around when you finish. You might feel taller, straighter, with a lighter walk and a longer stride. Why not? You did the work and the muscles responded.
Print this article out and do the exercises tomorrow. If you’d like a full BodyFix Method™ program of these exercises plus one more, email me at bill@bodyfixmethod.com. I’ll send it to you, no charge. These are tough times for all of us. I want you to feel better working from home and after you’re back at the office. That’s reward enough for me.
Be well.
Exercise Physiologist