Project Report
Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the
Yoga Teacher Training Course – 500 Hrs
By
Denham Dunnett
Enrolment: July 2017
Under the Guidance of
Konty Yoga
Denham Dunnett
500 Hrs Yoga Alliance Certified Yoga Teacher, South Africa
Chair yoga for office students
Bringing awareness to the hazardous effects of the office chair could give one nightmares at night thinking how simply sitting can slowly destroy the bodies’ full capabilities of basic movement.
Before just stretching the body, trying to fix the issues caused by pro longer periods of sitting in a chair we first have to break down how the issues came to be.
To begin we need to start with correct standing posture,
Only once we’ve corrected our standing can we understand correct sitting posture, especially if we are going to be typing on a computer or writing.
We then have to understand what happens to the body and the effects sitting has on the body so we can fix the issue.
Next we are going to slowly undo the damage done, of course it is not an overnight fix, but with daily practice we can eliminate lower back pain, a hunched spine. (Which tightens our thoracic spine and leads in the shoulders making neck tense and gives us headaches) short quadriceps leg muscles, tight hamstrings and calves, forward rounded shoulders. (Which seizes up the forearms and hands) which disrupts our sleep?
All these contra-indications simply by sitting wrong for to long.
Correct Standing
Before we can sit correctly we first have to correct our standing,
now it’s similar to standing before asanas but is a little different,
to begin, stand with your feet together and activated your Pada bandha(foot lock)
by lifting your foot and staying on the heel, lift the toes and place the toes actively down, raising the arch in your foot which activates your quads and helps with tilting your pelvis and keeping the abdominals strong,
next we are going to squeeze our but cheeks tightly together, (moola bandha) and setting our tail bone in, next we are going to squeeze the abdominal muscles tightly(Uddiyana bandha) imagine the spine wrapping around the spine, we are not tensing the abdominals but wrapping the muscles around the spine like a blanket then slowly release them until about twenty percent(20%) tension, that way we are still relaxed enough to breathe but engaged enough to keep our spine secure, next we drop the ribcage down so our pelvis and ribcage are now in one line as if ur pelvis and ribcage were two bowls filled with water and we were keeping them evenly balanced, a good trick to make sure you are even is the two hand rule to tell if you are over extended or hunched, gently drop the chin and the ears are inline with the shoulders,
This posture is how we should stand always, and is called the warrior pose
Make your warrior stance your everyday stance and your everyday stance should be your warrior stance.
Standing posture by Kelly Starrett.
How to be a supple leopard. understanding this standing posture we can easily relate it to the yogi style of standing
when we activate our 3 locks except for the chin.
Correct Sitting
Now we understand correct standing, we can then move on to the correct sitting posture.
staying in our correct standing posture don’t push the bum out but the hamstring out and screwing our feet into the ground, and opening up the knees but keeping the shins vertical, engaging the abdominals we can compensate by bring our torso forward keeping a neutral posture, not rounding or over extending the spine, gently sit in the chair nice and comfortable.
remember to stand up every 15 minutes and reset your standing and sitting sequence,
which can be a real problem but in order to stay healthy it is necessary, For every 30 minutes of sitting we need to do 4 minutes of stretching to compensate for the muscle damage done, so every 30 minutes try a new lower extremity stretch to help keep the
muscles mobile and supple
Now that we are correctly seated and comfortable we can now do a few postures to counter our years spent sitting badly, but before we begin our stretches, we will start with a mantra and some Pranayama,
|| Shanti mantra ||
- om saha nav avatu
- saha nau bhunaktu
- saha viryam karavavahainavad
- tejasvi na vadhitamastu
- ma vidvishavahai
- om shanti shanti shanti
- may we together be protected
- may we together be nourished
- may we work together with vigor
- may our study be illuminating
- may we be free from discord.
- peace peace peace
- Pranayamabring awareness
- sounds in the room, outside,
- body from head to toe
- breath on the tip of the nose
- belly breathing for 10 breathes
- Alternate breathingafter completing moon breathing return to normal breathing for a few breathes then begin alternative breathing,to begin keep the left hand comfortable in a mudra, the right hand by the face, index and middle finger in-between the eyebrow on the third eye, the thumb by the right nostril and ring finger and pinky by the left nostril.block the left nostril and inhale through the right nostril for four(4) counts, block the right nostril with the thumb and release the left nostril exhale thought the left nostril for four (4) counts, then inhale through the left nostril for four(4) counts and block the left nostril and release the right nostril and exhale through the right nostril for four(4) counts.
- This is one round.
Yoga for the eyes
why?
Often when working at the office we spend hours directly staring into a computer screen which can bring strain to the eyes after a long period of time, and so its important to stretch those muscles around the eyes and face to keep us alert and awake to carry on working.
Muscles involved
The Corrugator – which lies below the eyebrow
The Levator palpebrae superioris – which is also known as the eyelid
The oribicularis Oculi – The muscle which surrounds the entire eye
To begin
shut the eyes and squeeze tightly and hold for 5 seconds and then open the eyes and try to open as wide as possible and hold for 5 seconds.
repeat this 5 times
look left
look right
repeat 3 times
look up
look down
repeat 3 times
look top left corner
look bottom right corner
repeat 3 times
look top right corner
look bottom left corner
repeat 3 times
clockwise 3 times
anti clockwise 3 times.
Loosening exercises
neck
lateral bending – left/right
rotate clockwise/anti clockwise
shoulders
shrugs up/down
rotate forwards 5 times
rotate backwards 5 times
arms
bring the arms parallel, make small circles rotating forwards and slowly widen the circles for 10 counts/ reverse big circles to small, repeat rotating backwards with small circles into big circles and reverse again for ten counts
chest
protrude the chest outwards and over extended the spine then pull the chest inwards and rolling the shoulders inwards and separating the shoulder blades
repeat this 5 times.
spine rolls
roll the shoulders down and forward and bending forward and then roll the shoulders back and push the chest between the arms and raise up, rolling the spinal column up and down, flexing and extending the spine.
spine twist
gentle twists in the spine, rotate to the left and rotate right, keeping the chest broad and shoulders back, gently rotating left to right
repeat 5 times.
hips
half butterfly
raise the right foot on top of the bent left knee and gently push the right knee towards the ground bringing movement to the hip joint
10 gentle pushes followed by a ten second hold
repeat left side
knees
raise the right leg up and keeping the knee locked and quads engaged, engage the abdominals to keep the spine straight.
bend the leg and bring it to the chest and then straighten out the leg forwards making circles with the leg.
repeat 3 times
Ankles
place the right foot back on to the bent left knee and shift the ankle over the knee so the shin rests on the knee and slowly rotate the ankle clockwise with the help of the hand for 10 rounds repeat anti clockwise
repeat on the left side.
Strength work
Shoulders
shoulder shrugs
grab hold of the arms of the chair and straighten out the arms bringing your body up, raising the legs and gluten off the chair, keeping the feet on the ground for support, keeping the arms straight lower the shoulders down and then pushing up through the shoulders lifting the body as if pushing the floor away.
repeat this 10 times for 3 rounds.
Triceps
slide the legs off the front of the seat and place the hands on the edge of the seat, fingers forwards, and lower the body down bending at the elbows, keeping the knees straight to support the body. slowly straighten the elbows bringing the body back up
repeat this 10 times for 3 rounds.
Abdominals
slide the bum to the edge of the seat and bring the hands on the arms of the chair for support and raise the legs up to sixty degrees and bring the knees to the chest and then extend out straight again,
keep the spine straight and abdominals engaged.
repeat this 10 – 15 times for 3 rounds.
legs
stand at the back of the chair hands on the back of the chair for support
legs shoulder width apart, activate your warrior stance and now push the hamstrings back and push the knees out, keeping the spine neutral.
drop into a squat and slowly raise up.
repeat this 10 times for three rounds.
static hold
sit back in the chair, hands on the arms of the chair and raise up straightening the arms as if going for the shoulder shrug, next engage the abdominals and raise both legs so the body comes into a ninety(90) degree angle.
hold for ten seconds for three rounds.
Deep stretches (Lower Body)
Uttanasana / Padahastasana / hand to foot pose
Feet together, (Pada bandha) tail bone in (moola bandha) chest broad, shoulders back, stomach in (Uddiyana bandha).
breath in, raise the arms up, breath out and swan dive down, keeping the back straight and abdominals engaged, knees locked, keeping the weight even across the feet, not to rock back, which over extends the knees and damages the hamstrings, squeeze the quads so the knees are lifted, and engage the lower abdominals to go a little deeper. keeping the hands on the floor and now looking at the navel activating the throat lock (Jalandhara bandha).
hold for two minutes.
slowly raise up rolling the spine vertebrae by vertebrae.
one legged hamstring stretch (supported)
standing at the back of the chair, gently raise the right leg up and placing the heel on the back of the chair, keeping the hips square, both knees locked and active through the quads to lift the knees, keeping the spine neutral take a deep breath in and slowly bend forward bringing the head to the knee but keeping the spine straight and not hunching the shoulders
hold for one minute
repeat left side
Quadriceps couch stretch
To begin stand in front of the chair facing away and take a step forward with the left leg and place the right foot of the sitting area of the chair, keeping the right foot on the chair slowly lower down bring the knee directly under the foot and placing on the ground, stretching the quadriceps and front hip flexor. Keeping the back straight and hands next to the front foot, keeping the hips square. bring your gaze(dristi) to the third eye. Keeping active the moola bandha and uddiyana bandha.
Repeat left side
Hold for 2 minutes
To make it more comfortable you can place a pillow or a towel under the knee
variations.
- once in the position to deepen the stretch one can raise the chest and place the hands on the hips and dropping the pelvis forward to open the hips more.
- Twist to the right or left to change the dynamic of the stretch to target different muscle groups.
- Bend backwards, keeping the hands on the hips and pushing the hips forwards for an even deeper hip and quadricep stretch.
Lunge with chair support
start by standing about half a meter in front of the chair and face the chair, raise the right leg and place on the seated area of the chair to come into a lunge. slowly move the back foot back to deepen the lunge, but keeping the front knee in a ninety (90) degree angle and keeping the hips square, lower the torso towards the knee and now bring the foot to the outer edge and drop the knee over to the right and twist the torso to the bent knee to open up the hip capsule.
hold for 2 minutes
repeat left side
These four simple lower body stretches help reverse the effects caused by sitting in an office chair, arm chair or simply the couch at home by opening and lengthening the necessary muscles to reduce hip and lower back pain.
Upper body
Shoulders and thoracic spine
Stand facing the back of the chair and place the palms on the back of the chair with the hands shoulder width or as wide as the chair will allow, slowly push the hips back, keeping the knees straight and feet flat, the back should flatten out as much as the body will allow, the body will now be an 90 degree angle, release the head between the arms and relax the neck, the stretch should be between the shoulders and spine and if the hamstrings are tight tension will be noticeable.
hold this posture for 2 minutes
Variations
Staying in this position, flip the wrist so the palms are facing up and again relax in this position for 2 minutes,
- Simply flipping the wrists changes the dynamic of the stretch and opens up different muscles of the shoulders and back.
bridge in chair
sit in the chair and place the hands on the arms of the chair next to the waist, straighten out the legs and straighten out the arms and protruding the chest and hips outwards to open up the deltoids, chest and hips and will strengthen the arms, abdominals and lower back. turn the head down to open up the neck and take the gaze to the back of the chair or floor.
Front Shoulder Stretch
stand facing away from the back of the chair and place the palms facing down on the back of the chair, roll the shoulders back, straighten the spine and broaden the chest, keep sure not to roll the shoulders forward, slowly bend at the knees, keeping the elbows straight and stop when you feel it stretch along the fronts of the shoulders, in time you can bring the hands closer together,
if numbness occurs in the hands, stop and come up immediately.
hold for 2 minutes.
Three simple shoulder and spine exercises held for two minutes each can definitely change the way you work in the office, giving one comfort and ease to the shoulders and spine.
- Even though this might seem like a lengthly routine to perform in the office, if ignoring the strength work from the routine, the stretching itself will take one no longer than 30 minutes to complete, leaving time to eat food and relax and carry on with the working hours more comfortable and pain free.
Shavasana
Closing Mantra
That is complete, This is complete,
From the completeness comes the completeness,
If completeness is taken away from completeness,
Only completeness remains !!
Thank you , Namaste
Denham Dunnett
500 Hrs Yoga Alliance Certified Yoga Teacher, South Africa