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Does working a desk give you lower back pain? Then it might be time to lunge and squat!
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Jul 10, 2019
Spending a significant portion of our day seated can take a toll on us in many ways. One area of our body that is often effected is our lower back, that can get stiff and painful without regular movement.
Couple this with tension in the surrounding muscles: hip flexors, hamstrings and lower back muscles plus the extra pressure on the spine when seated and we could have a problem on out hands: LOWER BACK PAIN!
So what can we do?
SQUAT!!
Research shows us that doing hip flexor stretches combined with holding a deep squat is a powerful way to maintain lower back, hip and ankle mobility.
In just as few as 10 minutes a day we can go a long way towards keeping our spines healthy and pain free!
Mobility expert Kelly Starrett suggests that we start with 10 one minute squats every day, working our way up to a 10 minute hold.
Eventually, we want to work our way up to a more balanced ratio of time spent sitting, to time spent mobilizing our body….but we have to start somewhere right?
Combining these squats with hip flexor stretches such this lunge stretch is a great pairing. Make sure to do both legs in the lunge stretch and then do a squat.
To do the Lunge Stretch:
- Stand up tall, abs engaged, shoulders back, chest broad and chin level with the floor
- Take a few deep belly breaths
- Step your left foot back so that your heel is lifted
- Keeping abs engaged and spine tall, bend your right knee forward until it is stacked on top of your heel
- Straighten your left leg behind you
- Stay for 5 breaths and then repeat on other side
When you first start out your squat may not look like this:
But that is the eventual goal!
Here some important tips to remember when you do the squats:
- Keep a neutral spine (i.e don’t tilt your pelvis forward (anteriorly) or back (posteriorly))
- Keep knees in line with your toes
- Keep heels on the ground
- Keep torso as upright as possible
- Work towards getting your hips below your knees (stop if there is pain)
- Stay engaged (*ie: pay attention and work the pose!)
Try a few a day to let your body get used to it! Then work towards 10 minute squat hols a day until you can hold the squat for 10 minutes!!
Want to help your team stay healthy and happy at work? Help them learn stretches to ease tension, strengthening exercises to stay strong and relaxation techniques to stay calm and focused with my Yoga at Work sessions! Contact me to book a complimentary onsite 20 minute demo to see if it’s a good fit for your team. Learn more about my Workplace Wellness services here!