Ever since I did my first yoga class a couple of years ago I’ve become very conscious of my inflexibility.
One of my resolutions this year* was to sit on the floor and cross my legs.
As basic as it sounds it’s something that years of playing football and various types of inactivity have meant I can’t do.
The game plan for overcoming this has been to do various “hip opening” exercises. After some research, I settled on doing exercises from the routine on this Youtube video (most often at 07:30 and 08:30).
Losing the hunch
Last week I became aware of another “fundamental” movement I struggle with: shoulder rotation.
The science is here, though basically I have a hunch from years of sitting at a desk.
To sort it out there apparently needs to be a combination of:
- Stretching: contracting muscles
- Strengthen: corrective muscles
Despite the somewhat galling presenter, this Youtube video seems to offer the best routine for working on shoulder mobility (I’ve linked to a comment which breaks down the key points in the video).
Straighten up for the long term
Already I’m feeling that stuff like a bad posture is going to compound over the years and so am keen to get it rectified sooner rather than later.
Some actionable things I’ve come across to do include:
- Get a laptop stand (+ wireless keyboard and mouse)
- Keep a tennis ball suspended between your shoulder blades when you sit at a computer (on a chair with a high back)
- Replace checking social media with doing some simple movements (squatting down, loosening your shoulders) when you notice your thumb hovering over the unlock button
If there are any others you can think of/ have found helpful, please do share!
* I’ll send something around in the next couple of weeks about 2020 resolutions if you’re interested in sharing them
In other news…
At the time of writing this (Friday afternoon), I’m off to my first “julefrokost” [Christmas lunch] this evening.
It’s at the new co-working space I’ll be going to in Copenhagen next month.
I’ll be wearing my trusted festive sweater though it’s as yet unclear what the attitude of everyone else will be towards Christmas jumpers.
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