I’ve heard from SO MANY clients recently that their new work-from-home situation is giving them aches and pains. You are used to a specific work environment, but seemingly small changes can have HUGE impacts on your body. When you’re at home you have fewer walks to meetings, more meetings happening on screen, no co-workers to chat with, a shorter trip to the bathroom… I could go on. So let’s slip a little movement in, shall we? You’ll need:

1)    A hand towel
2)   A massage ball (tennis ball, lacrosse ball, or this amazing OPTP pinky ball)
3)   A scarf or sweatshirt
4)   A yoga block or stack of books
5)   The chair you’re currently sitting in

Go grab them. Right now. Otherwise, you’ll forget.

1)    A Rolled Towel

Place the towel under your desk to keep your feet entertained. You can walk your feet side to side on it while sitting or do the calf stretch I’m demonstrating here:

Keep one heel on the ground and rest the ball of that foot on the towel. Try to keep your torso upright as you step the other foot forward. Bending the back knee will move the stretch lower in the calf - try it out!

You can also put the rolled towel just behind your sitz bones to keep you “perched” on top of them. Most chairs have a slight downward slant from front to back, which often results in a tucked pelvis. Can you see on the pelvis model that the very front points of the pelvis (they’re called your Anterior Superior Iliac Spines, or ASIS) are stacked directly over the front of the pubic bone? That is a neutral pelvis! When your pelvis is in neutral the rest of your spine can settle into its natural S-shape.

A lumbar support does a similar thing - it encourages the natural curve of the low back. If you have one, you can totally use it - but if not, this is an awesome (if not better!) option.

2)    A Massage Ball

You can put this bad boy under your table and massage your tootsies to your heart’s content. I like to start by massaging from the base of my heel to the knuckle of each toe. Then I drop my heel onto the ground and spread the ball of my foot around the ball. You can experiment with what feels good for you.

Next, take your ball to the nearest wall and give your upper back and pecs some love. You can control the pressure of the massage by pushing your weight more or less into the wall.  If you find a particularly cranky muscle see if you can stay on it for a bit and take deep breaths.

Note: This shouldn’t hurt! It should feel good. If you’re not able to relax into the pressure then you’re going a bit too hard.

3)    A Scarf or Sweatshirt

Now that your pecs are loosey goosey from your ball massage, give ‘em a stretch. Holding the scarf a bit wider than your shoulders, bring your arms overhead and behind your body. Try to keep your ribs still as your arms go behind you. If the stretch is too much widen your grip on the scarf.

This one is similar to the pec stretch – it’s called shoulder flossing. Your arms make a big circle around your head, hitting your full shoulder range of motion in the course of the movement.

You can also add the torso, creating a full upper body circle. Think about the crown of your head always pointing towards the scarf as you make the circle - hitting flexion, side-bending, and extension of your spine. Try to confine this movement to the ribcage, staying quiet from the belly-button down.

4)    A Yoga Block or Stack of Books

Add this to the growing pile of props under your desk. By resting a single foot on the block or balancing on one leg you are changing the weight distribution between legs and asking your muscles to work slightly differently. These tiny changes may seem insignificant, but when you stack HOURS worth of tiny movements together they can make for a happier body.

Calf Raises! Do ‘em with both legs, do ‘em with one leg at a time. Just do ‘em. If you don’t have a standing desk you can still do all of these things seated. Your lower leg muscles act as a pump to flush fluid to the rest of the body, so any movement is great!

5)    Your Chair

So far we have touched on your shoulders, ribcage, lower legs, and feet. Now let’s talk about your hips! There are SO MANY ways to sit in that chair you’re currently in. You can sit on one leg, sit on both legs, cross your legs, sit criss-cross-apple-sauce. You probably won’t sit in any of these positions for hours at a time, but THAT’S A GOOD THING! I challenge you to find new angles at your joints, new relationships between your body parts, and to Just. Keep. Moving.

By having movement props nearby you are more likely to use them. Would you ever get restless with work and think, “Hmm, I think I’ll go to the stairs and do some calf raises!” Nope. But if you have things nearby that invite movement, you just might accept the invitation.

Here is a downloadable PDF of the pics above in case you want to print it out and put it on the wall next to your workplace.  Want one step better? Bring it with you when you go back to work! You can do most of these things there too!

Take a picture of your dynamic workstation and tag PROnatal Support on facebook or instagram!

-Kat