7 yoga poses that counteract sitting - that you can do easily at home!

Seated spinal twist

Option 1 (accessible)

1. Start by putting both legs straight out in front of you and then bending at one knee and pulling it into the body and then planting the foot to the outside of your straight leg. 
2. Reach your hands up to the sky, finding length in the spine and then wrap your opposite arm around your bent leg.
3. Your other hand's fingertips are gently reaching back and resting on the mat, in this full upper body twist. 

 Option 2 (advanced)

1. A more advanced version is to also bend at your straight leg in this semi cross-legged position - just make sure that both sit bones remain on the mat.
2. You can either have your upper body in the same position as variation 1, or to go a little deeper you can hook the outside of your opposite arm into the outside of opposite leg creating a counter force.
3. Always remember to find length, growing taller in the position as you continue to twist.

The benefits!

Just twist on both sides for about 30-45 seconds each to invite some healthy movement into the spine and to also stimulate the digestive organs, helping you to move more comfortably through the rest of your at-home yoga practice! This pose helps by rotating the spine, as a way to increase spinal mobility and range of motion that may be lost when we spend long hours sitting.  When you find length in this posture it can also help to strengthen and reinforce the back in twisting motions.

Cat-cow

Option 1 (regular)

1. To do variation 1 or a regular cat-cow, just start by coming into a table top position.
2. Set up your foundation by putting your shoulders over the hands and hips over the knees with evenly distributed weight and a neutral back.
3. Start by dropping the belly to the mat, lifting the tail bone up and then rise your gaze, stretching into the full front side of the body while inhaling for cow.
4. Push into the hands to round into your shoulders, spreading your shoulder blades apart, tucking the tailbone in and tucking the chin to the chest while exhaling for cat. 
5. Repeat this motion in sequence with your breath. 

Option 2 (other variations)

1. This involves the variation 1, or the regular cat and cow, combined with any freestyle motion, or even while sitting or standing.
2. Example 1: Add in full body circles, moving the head and hips in a synchronized circular motion.
3. Example 2: Wave the body back to the heels and then forwards while incorporating your cat-cow. 

The benefits!

Cat-cow is the ultimate spinal warm up, that gently and safely moves the spine through a wide range of motion allowing you to stay mobile, or to prepare for deeper back bends. Since this pose is also linked to your breath, inviting the body to move on your inhales and exhales, may also help to bring your attention inward to a place of stillness. This can have a calming effect on the entire nervous system. This posture can also help reset the spine and invite healing energy that can reduce pain caused by sitting. Go through this motion for at least 6 breath cycles to start to open up.

Sphinx

1.  Start by dropping down onto your belly, let your legs fall naturally out behind you and completely disengage the lower body.
2. Lift up slightly, placing your forearms on the ground in front of you, palms flat down onto the mat.
3. The elbows should be very slightly in front of the shoulders and the arms are shoulder-width distance apart.
4. Move the head away from the shoulders, engaging and finding length on the upper back, either with the head in a neutral position or slightly back, opening up into the neck
5. Keep the lower body completely relaxed, and the hips and pelvis may remain heavy on the mat.

The benefits!

This pose is so great for your posture and can really counteract the negative effects of sitting, especially on the lower back - it restores the natural curvature of the lower spine that quite often becomes rounded when sitting. It can also engage some of the supportive muscles in the upper body that can reinforce and counteract slouching. This posture can also feel really good, while gently opening into the chest, and may even allow you to feel more confident in this assertive pose. Try closing down the eyes and turning your focus inward to also help calm down the nervous system. 

Firelog

Option 1 (accessible)

1. Sit with your legs out in front of you, feet flexed. Find length in your back.
2. Bend at one knee and cross the foot over the opposite thigh, continuing to flex at both feet.
3. If you don’t feel anything, you can fold forward or go to a regular firelog.
4. If you choose the accessible version, make sure not to hyperextend into the straight leg. You can even roll up a small towel to put it under the knee.

Option 2 (regular)

1. Bend at both knees, similar to cross legged position, but place one foot on top of the thigh of the opposite leg, stacking the legs (like firelogs).
2. The goal is to get the shins and calves to touch, keeping both feet flexed to protect the knees

Option 3 (other variations)

1. The first variation is to bend forward over the legs which can help you go deeper, especially if you have extremely tight hips or if you want to feel more sensation.
2. Similar to twisted chair pose, you can make prayer hands, elbows out to the sides and twist hooking your opposite elbow into opposite foot - it's a fun one to try!

The benefits!

Firelog is a deep hip opener and if you spend a lot of time sitting, you can effectively counteract the inner rotation of the hips to feel a release. It targets the outer hip area which can especially help you to relieve lower back pain and improve stability and strength. While this pose externally rotates the hips, it also targets the inner thigh and groin area, making it a dynamic stretch. 

Take note that if you’re someone who’s stored a lot of emotional pain, this posture can be more difficult to hold, however when you release it, it releases all of the stored emotions as well. That's one of the benefits of regularly doing hip openers, is releasing negative emotion. This posture can even help you to go into a meditative state, since most often focused breathing is required to calm the nervous system when doing hip openers. 

Camel

Option 1 (accessible)

1. Come into a tabletop with your toes tucked and then sit back onto your heels.
2. Then lift your hips off your heels so your body is fully upright from your knees, keeping your toes tucked behind you for more support.
3. Bring your hands to your lower back, fingertips pointing down, squeezing your elbows together behind the back.
4. Start to open up the front body, engaging your back, stretching out the belly and letting your head fall back.

Option 2 (advanced)

1. If variation 1 is too easy for you, you can drop the hands down to the heels to go into an even deeper backbend.
2.  If you have the strength and openness, you can even untuck the toes, going for the deepest backbend variation of this posture. 

The benefits!

Oftentimes when we sit, we’re hunched over, which is a completely normal reaction to sitting, however this causes spinal wear and tear over time. If you’ve been working at a desk, one of the best exercises to do is a heart opener. Not only will it stretch the entire front side of your body but it will also strengthen any weak neck muscles. This helps to reduce neck pain and prevent injury.

Heart openers can also help stimulate the vagus nerve, located in the neck. This nerve is critical for a healthy gut-brain connection and can easily become disrupted from stress. By doing regular heart openers, your keeping this nerve working as it should! And just like sphinx pose, you should feel more powerful because this posture engages high confidence body language.  

Low lunge

Option 1 (regular)

1. Starting in table top, step one foot through to centre, right between the hands, so that you can drop into your hips and feel a stretch in your thighs.
2. The knee should be over the ankle and shouldn’t go too far past the ankle.
3. You can keep the finger tips to either side of the foot, while gazing in front of you or if you have the strength, lift the arms up to the sky. Let the shoulders drop away from the ears, gazing forward over the nose.
4. You may have to adjust your front foot depending on your hips and to find a comfortable spot where you can maintain your stability.
5. Your back foot can either have toes tucked on untucked.

Option 2 (other variations)

1. An amazing variation of low lunge involves a gentle twist by dropping one hand down to the mat to the inside of the foot and reaching the other hand up to the sky, looking up at that top hand.
2. Another option is to reach both arms up to the sky and then bend at the elbows opening up the heart into cactus (as shown).

The benefits!

Low lunge is a great lower body workout that is generally accessible and can dramatically increase leg strength. When we spend a lot of time sitting the legs become very weak, so by engaging them, we can improve power and walking stability. Just make sure to spend equal time on both sides to keep your leg strength balanced! You can also incorporate different kinds of upper body postures and heart openers to give you a full body release and to target even more muscles. This dynamic and versatile position increases your physical fitness and the more you do it, the more that you can explore and improve. So, make it a staple in your physical fitness routine for proven results.

Pigeon

Option 1 (accessible)

1. Start in tabletop and then bring one knee to the chest and let the shin drop down to the mat at a 45 degree angle. Then start to drop into the hips.
2. Keep the hips square by pushing into the hands and bringing the body weight to the center of the hips.
3. The goal is to feel a stretch in your hip without leaning on one side or the other, and to go deeper you can let your upper body rest over the top leg

Option 2 (advanced)

1. Bring the shin more parallel to the top edge of the mat.
2. If you’re top leg is able to come all the way down to the mat while the weight remains in the center of your hips, then you most likely have very open hips.
3. You may also take variations such as bending at the back leg and pulling it in for a simultaneous thigh stretch, or by taking an advanced version called mermaid pose. 

The benefits!

Pigeon is similar to firelog - it’s actually like a half firelog. This posture deeply stretches into the hip flexors, which are muscles involved in complex movements like kicking and dancing, and yoga. Since sitting shortens your hip flexors, stretching them out helps to maintain optimal muscle length required for power.

Similar to firelog, pigeon can result in deep emotional release, and help people to feel better and more at peace after a stretch. To maximize benefits, make sure to hold for a minimum of 30 seconds, or as long as 5 minutes for an even deeper release. The body responds well to static stretches when we don't go too far too quickly, rather allow the body to settle over time, so don't be afraid to use pillows or blocks!