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Exercices

5 Stretches You Can Do at Your Office

You may know that physical activity, stretching, and movement allow you to manage stress better, increase the quality of your sleep and your quality of life in general. It happens sometimes that we don’t have time to do exercise on a regular basis.

We propose you a series of 5 stretches to do, at your workspace, a couple minutes by day to:

  • Reduce elbows and stiffness;
  • Reduce stress;
  • Reduce eye strain associated with screens;
  • Improve posture;
  • Prevent headaches or pain.

Exercise for Eye Strain

Action
  • Extend your index finger or a pen, in front of your face, at eye level, arm extend and stare at it.
  • Without stopping to stare at your index finger or your pen, exhale and move it closer to your nose.
  • While inhaling, distance it slowly as far as your arm allows it, by continuing to fix it.
  • Repeat slowly this back and forth 25 times, and the rhythm of your breath.

Variant: Facing a window, hold a pen at fifteen centimeters of your nose. The pen is sharp, and the window is blurred. Observe the window, the pen becomes blurred and splits. Look back to the pen… Repeat the exercise 5 to 6 times.

Streching of the scapula lift

Starting position
  • In a standing or sitting position, place your left forearm in your lower back to lower your shoulder.
Action
  • Tuck in your chin and tilt gently the head in the direction of the opposite shoulder and maintain 30 seconds.
  • Stop the movement when there’s a stretching feeling.
  • Maintain position head held high (self-growth).
  •  Avoid leaning your head forward or to the back.
  • Repeat the action on the other side.

Variant: turn your chin in the direction of the opposite shoulder and repeat the following steps.

Hip, Pectoral and Shoulders Flexor Stretch

Starting Position
  • Standing, feet to the width of the basin. Take a big step backward with one leg.

Action

  • Align the fronting knee at 90 degrees above the ankle.
  • Keep shoulders above the hips.
  • Interleave the hands on the lower back and extend your arms.
  • Inhale in opening the thorax, by lowering the shoulders and lengthening the neck.
  • Take deep breaths during 30 seconds before changing sides.

Active Stretching Hamstrings

Starting Position
  • In standing position, the target leg supports on a chair or on the floor.

Action

  • Start from straight position and slowly move forward (anteversion) while keeping your back straight until you feel a stretching sensation behind the leg.
  • To maximize the stretching in your calves, bring back your toes towards you.
  •  Avoid compensating by digging the lower back.
  • Redo the exercise on the other side.

Manual stretching of wrist and hand extenders and superficial finger reflector

General stretching of short muscles and long radial extensor of the carp, ulnar extensor, and common extensor of the fingers and specific to the superficial flexor muscle of the fingers.

Action
  • Arms outstretched in front of the body in pronation (palms down).
  • Take your hand with your fingers in front and thumb behind.
  • Performs a pull by tilting the hand and the fingers down until you feel a stretching sensation.
  • Try not to compress the wrist.
  • Repeat the exercise with the other hand.

Variant: Take your hand with the thumb behind and the fingers just before the last phalanx (let the fingertips protrude). Then repeat the other steps.  

Move happily

Un séjour tout-inclus dans les Cantons-de-l’Est

Treat yourself to the experience of a lasting transformation and learn to move happily woth this 4-night stay – Movement.

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