Sitting at your desk all day often leads to tension. Stress from your job can worsen such tension. Take a break occasionally through your day to engage in seated exercises that help relieve tension, reduce your stress and clear your mind. You don't need special equipment, but if you wish, keep an exercise band or tube in your desk drawer to add challenge to some of your desk stress-relieving exercises.
Shoulder Rotations
Relieve strain and tension in your neck and shoulders by performing large forward and backward rotations every couple of hours. This takes only a few minutes but offers effective stress relief caused by tension in the arms, shoulders, upper back and neck area. Sit straight in your chair with your arms down by your sides. Circle your arms forward 10 times, then backward 10 times.
Stretching
Give yourself a break and stretch and elongate the muscles along the side of your neck, shoulder and arm by performing a tension-relieving neck stretch. Close your eyes and think of something relaxing. Tilt your head toward your left shoulder while extending and pressing your right arm downward to the right of your chair. Sit tall, keeping your back straight and your abdominal muscles pulled inward as you perform this exercise. Hold the stretch for 30 seconds and then relax and repeat the stretch on the other side.
Deep Breathing
Deep breathing or yoga breathing may help relieve stress at work or school. Sit tall and inhale deeply while pulling your stomach inward, as if you're trying to touch your belly button to your spine. Your chest should expand with your inhalation. This inhalation should proceed slowly. Hold your breath for a couple of seconds and then exhale slowly. Concentrate on inhaling and exhaling as slowly as you can and feel the tension leaving your muscles. Breathe deeply four to five times every hour.
Meditation
Meditation exercises or imagery exercises also help reduce anxiety and stress. If possible, close your office door or find a moment of quiet time at your desk and practice deep breathing while envisioning something peaceful. Imagine the ocean and hear the sounds of the waves, and smell the salt in the air. Alternatively, picture yourself in a mountain meadow, listening to a breeze in the treetops while smelling the heady scent of pine. Such imagery is a form of meditation that soothes and relaxes your mind.
Stress Ball
Squeeze your frustration and stress away when you start feeling tense at work. Keep a ball in your desk drawer and squeeze it every couple of hours. Squeezing the ball releases anxiety and pent-up tension and exercises your fingers and wrists too. Stress balls are filled with sand, gel, baby powder or small beads or beans. Squeezing a stress ball hard and rhythmically in each hand helps focus the release of anger, frustration and tension.
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