Are you experiencing lower back, upper back, or neck & shoulder pain?  Then you are in the same situation as most of my clients.  You may feel it’s not going to go away since you have it so long and nobody was able to help you.  Well, don’t be too sure about it.  Before you are giving up your hope, let me explain something about your body.

Our bodies are not designed to stay in one position over some time.  So any postures – sitting, standing, walking, running, or even lying down is not good to keep a long time.  Unfortunately, we have to spend many hours standing or sitting, or sometimes walking around all day depending on your job.  But you can improve the quality of your life with a little tweak.  I will list a few things and see what you can take in and adapt.  The first one is the easiest and the most difficult one at the same time.

Love yourself and start to care for your body     Sounds easy, right? But often time I hear from some people saying, ” It’s easy to take care of other people but I just can’t spend time for myself.”  I understand but if you don’t take care of yourself, who will?  You can take care of others as long as you are in good health.  Think about your body as your baby.  If you don’t take care of your baby, she will get sick. I think setting the right mindset is the most important thing and the rest gets easier.

Take 3 minutes break every hour   Are you going to get yelled at by your boss if you do this?  I’m not talking about the long break.  I’m talking about 3 minutes and you don’t even have to leave your seat. Have you watched a dog or a cat stretching themselves?  Nobody tells them to do but they stretch whenever they feel they need to do.  Sometimes they are smarter than us.  And I’m going to share a few easy exercises you can do anytime during your work.

1. Neck Stretch:  You know this, right?  bend your neck side to side, front and back, rotate clockwise and counterclockwise.  Most important with stretch is not how deep you stretch but feel your body and feel your stretch.  And do slowly.
2. Shoulder Exercise:   Raise your shoulders to your ears, squeeze your shoulders up for a few seconds and drop.  Do this a few times.  Then again, lift your shoulders as you breathe in and rotate your shoulders back and down as your breath out.  Do this slowly a few times.
3. Intestinal Exercise:   This is the most amazing exercise ever.  You can do this while nobody notices it!  I will tell you just a few benefits.  This exercise will enhance circulation, digestion, and strengthen your abdominal muscle so it helps you release lower back pain.  Here’s how you do it:  Pull your belly in and push back.  Repeat this at a fast pace rhythmically. This is not breathing exercise, so breathe naturally.  Do this 3-5 minutes, a few times a day.
4. Hip rotation:  Three exercises above are good while you are sitting so you don’t even need to get up your chair.  But finally, when you get up for the restroom, do this exercise.  Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, hands on your waist.  Move your hip front and back a few times, then side to side a few times.  Then rotate your hip clockwise and counterclockwise a few times.  Do it slowly.  Your hip joints get stiff if you sit all the time.