Take a deep breath
Why?
Taking a deep breath can improve concentration and promote relaxation.
It expands areas of the lungs that don’t usually get expanded, bringing oxygen to these areas.
The reason for expanding the bottom part of the lungs is because the most efficient area of the lungs is at the bottom. Breathing from the top of the lungs is less efficient and uses some of the muscles that attach to the neck (which may cause tiredness in those muscles).
What?
Take a deep breath any way that feels comfortable.
The video shows one example of a way you can take a deep breath. You can see the breath comes in through the nose and starts from the tummy. This enables the lungs to expand first from the lower part, moving progressively upwards.
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LittleNudge’s movement reminders
The three most important things to remember are that movement should be:
- simple
- frequent
- comfortable
- and even better... if its fun!
The length of time you do the exercises for is up to you. As long as it is comfortable during and after the movement; the more movement the better.
If you are new to doing these movements, it is worth starting with a small number of repetitions (eg.5) and slowly increasing over time.
When stretching, hold positions briefly in a comfortable position. You can risk injury if you hold long or painful positions, especially if you are not warmed up.
There are lots of reasons to do these movements. The main purposes are to:
- boost circulation to areas where blood flow becomes more restricted as a result of sitting (eg. the buttock muscles)
- give you a brief break from computer work
- relieve tension and warm up your muscles
- release pressure on those more compressed parts of your body (eg. the discs of the spine)
If you can find ways to make the exercises fun.. even better!
You can adapt and add your own exercises to those provided (ensure they are comfortable..) Please send us any video exercises you like to do in your office and we will post the best ones on our blog.
We would love to hear your ideas so please send us videos of exercises you like to do in your office and we will post the best ones on our blog.