Working From Home For Dummies

Chapter 21

Stretching during the Workday

IN THIS CHAPTER

Standing up to stretch at your home workspace

Performing stretches while sitting at your desk

Your body wasn’t designed to sit for hours at a time. Do you think the cavemen would’ve survived if they had sat still all day? No, they would’ve been a buffet lunch for some hungry T. rex. But nowadays, no one has to run from giant carnivores every day. As a matter of fact, in the last 50 years, our lifestyles have changed so dramatically that we’ve developed an entirely new set of problems because of it: stress headaches, low-back pain, muscular tightness and imbalance, repetitive stress injuries such as carpal tunnel syndrome, and the special selection of aches and pains brought on by the ordeal of modern travel.

This chapter is composed of two sections — one that shows you exercises to do away from your desk (or confined space) to combat the constricting effects of sitting for long periods of time and another for when you must stay sitting. Either way, these exercises go a long way toward helping your work-at-home life evolve into a healthier, more comfortable form of existence.

Step Away from the Desk: Standing Stretches

Whether you’re a student, a traveler, a computer jockey, or a couch potato, there comes a time when you ...