Yoga @ Your Desk:
Yoga Position #23: The Bra Strap Stretch -- a.k.a. Over the Shoulder Boulder Rolls
by Blake More
Hey girls, remember those playground taunts you heard when you donned your first training bra? Hey guys, remember snapping them? For me, the whole ordeal was so unbearable I buried mine in the bushes every day on my way to school. Fortunately, puberty set in en masse, and eventually boulder holders became no big deal. Even so, the minute I hit college and no longer had a reputation to uphold, I gave up the notion of those crazy padded things and have been au natural ever since. But what does any of this have to do with this week's posture?
Objective: This exercise -- Over the Shoulder Boulder Rolls -- provides such excellent support to the chest and shoulders that even hippy girls, bra-burners, and guys don't mind doing them. If you practice regularly, you should discover that rolling the shoulders improves flexibility, builds strength, and even helps relieve bursitis.
1. Either sit on the ground in a comfortable position or push your chair back from your desk so your arms can extend freely out to the sides.
2. Arrange yourself with your head forward, your back straight, your shoulders back and square.
3. Keeping your eyes soft, pick a spot in front of you to focus on.
4. Gently press your lips together and begin breathing through your nose.
5. Take 3 easy, but full breaths.
6. On the inhale, lift your arms straight out to the sides with your hands flat and your thumbs facing up.
7. Roll your shoulders forward until your palms rotate behind you and your thumbs face down. It should feel as though your shoulders are hugging your neck.
8. Roll in the opposite direction.
9. Do this complete rotation ten or more rounds, each time concentrating on increasing the range of motion in your shoulders.
10. Don't you feel uplifted?
Blake More
Certified yoga instructor Blake More writes regularly forYoga Journal and Alternative Medicine Digest.. Before she learned to breathe and stand on her head at the same time, Blake was a dedicated stress junkie and pastry queen whose main source of fitness was running to catch trains in Tokyo.
Now, much to her amazement, she has traded city thrills for bucolic serenity, practicing yoga next to three mama goats, two bunnies and lots of chickens. She is currently working on her third book.
For more of Blake's tips on how to be a body-wise business person, check out her book, The Definitive Guide to Headaches.
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