7 Simple Yoga Stretches to Relieve After Work Stress

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Yoga Stretches

When was the last time you came home from work feeling well rested, relaxed and energized? Sounds like ages ago for me but that all changed with yoga. Every day I do some yoga stretches, and I no longer feel tired and troubled anymore or wonder if I still have enough energy to go home, cook meals or spend time with friends.

Stress in work is always a serious matter since it represents major impacts on your general health. In fact according to the American Medical Association (AMA), more than 60% of all human illnesses and discomforts are all stress-related. Each week, about 95 million Americans are suffering from any stress-related symptom; you can start counting with high-blood pressure, migraines, lower back pains and the list goes on and on.

Thanks to yoga, you can combat all the negative effects that stress wreaks into your system. Anyone can give yoga stretching a try by dedicating some time throughout your day to release all the dangerous buildup of various stress chemicals within your body. Afterwards, you will feel better, lighter and more alert. You will also find it easier to concentrate on your tasks.

Here are some yoga stretch exercise routines that follow yoga principles and concepts that you can easily incorporate into your daily routines to facilitate the release of stress inside you and help calm your mind and body.

1. Seated Spinal Twist

You can start by sitting on a chair and crossing your left leg over the other leg. Placing your right hand over the crossed knee and keeping your own back straight, you can turn your body slowly to the left and end up looking over the shoulder. Return to the center with a gentle release. Change leg positions and carefully twist the other way.

2. Feet and Ankle Stretch

The idea here is to sit comfortably on a chair with your back straight and stretch your legs slowly, rotating the ankles and feet about five times.

3. Seated Bend Forward

Again, sitting on your chair comfortably with both feet planted firmly on the floor slowly start breathing in. And as you breathe out, bend your upper body forward slowly heading towards the floor, just as ragdolls do. Relax yourself while at it and take about 3-5 deep breaths before you return to your previous upright position.

4. Arms Stretched Above the Head

You can do this simple routine by either standing or sitting down. Raise your arms over your head and stretch away with your fingers. Use your right hand to hold your left wrist and stretch gently to the right. Relax while at it, and all the way back to the center. Switch your arms and repeat again to the other side.

5. Seated Cobra or the Backward Bend

As with previous sitting positions, you start by resting your palms on your thighs. While breathing in and out, lift your chest gently and lower your head backwards. And as always, return back to the center.

6. Neck Stretch

Sitting straight and tall, and with hands rested on the lap, breathe in and out slowly while you lower your right ear slowly over the right shoulder.

7. Chewing Gum

This is simple. All you have to do is to pretend that you are chewing gum and chew away. Close your eyes, massage those cheeks, temples, forehead gently using your fingers.

Just two or three of these yoga stretches are already enough to lighten up your day and power yourself up after work.

If you want to learn more about yoga to de-stress, lose weight, or gain flexibility, you need to check out Yoga Burn.

It has everything you need to get started, including a progressive 12 week follow along workout series (both a physical collection and digital download), over 20 in depth, step-by-step yoga pose tutorials, a fun quick-start class to ease your way into the main program, follow along audio classes (perfect for on-the-go), a free copy of Yoga Burn Monthly DVD, and more!

This program is a strategic, progressive approach to yoga that has been tried and tested with positive results. It’s a great solution for those that want to lose weight, gain flexibility, and de-stress.

You can check it out by clicking here.