 |
Yoga at the Workplace - Part 1: Yoga on the move
Article »
Career Topics
Posted by :
sushila
Feb 9 2007
|
| Part of a series of articles on integrating yoga techniques into the lifestyle of the ever-busy and time starved corporate executive. This article is for executives who are frequently on the move. |
Breakfast in Mumbai, lunch in Delhi, Dinner in Bangalore and sleep at home(wherever)?
If this is the kind of killing travelling schedules you lead, you most certainly have no time for even breathing, let alone exercise! While we all know how great Yoga is for our body and mind, we possibly find it difficult to integrate it into our daily hectic work/life schedules. So why not try a few moves while waiting endlessly for our next activity?
If you’ve been standing for too long while waiting for the yet again delayed flight, you can suffer from severe leg pain and lower back pain as the day progresses. To avoid such damage to your limbs, move them around at regular intervals.
One Yoga technique that will definitely help is the standing Shalabhasana. This great Asana focuses on strengthening the leg and back. Stand straight, place your hands on your hips. Now stretch the left leg backwards, taking care not to bend the knee. Lift the left leg a few inches from the floor, while keep the torso as erect as possible. Do not bend forward. Can you feel a slight stretch along the small of the back? Stay for upto a count of 10. Now slowly bring the left leg down to the ground. Repeat the same for the right leg. The effort at this exercise is not to stretch the leg as high as possible, but to keep the torso as straight as possible with a minimal lift of the outstretched leg. At this stage, you will get maximum impact. Do this for about 6-8 times continuously with the same leg. Under no circumstance, will you lift BOTH LEGS standing!
If you are lucky to get a place to sit at the airport, then do try this fab exercise for the shoulders and upper arms, which must be quite sore, carrying the laptop bag around. This adapted gomukhasan, provides immense relief for sore shoulders. Firstly at regular intervals, shift carrying the laptop bag from the left shoulder to the right shoulder. Raise your right arm straight up above your head, bend it and place your palm along the back of your right shoulder. Take the left arm from below the back, at your waist, and grasp it with your right hand that is coming down from above the shoulder. Feel the stretch along your extended arm. Hold for upto 10 counts and then release. Reverse the sides.
These are a sample of how effectively you can integrate Yoga into any spare time that you have …
Yoga helps us deal with all our physical and emotional problems in a stronger and more mature manner. Yoga has long left the confines of the ashram and has now stormed corporate India, helping professionals across various industries. Yoga is fascinating because it blends very easily into our hectic schedule.
About the Authors:
Sushila Hariharan and Nandita Gopalan are founders of VibrantLife, a training company that specialises in conducting programmes on stress management and worklife harmony based on principles of yoga. They can be reached at sushila@vibrantlife.in,,
|
|
|