5 Midday Mobility Movements

Raise your hand if you spend the majority of your workday seated, forward facing, and slumped over a keyboard.

While our work culture is such that we are more sedentary than ever, adding dynamic mobility exercises to your work day can help keep your alignment optimal, your movement patterns proficient, and your brain awake.

Upswell is here to help you live your most vibrant life, and move with integrity and ease all day, everyday.

Here are 5 Midday Mobility Movements to add to your workday routine.

Seated Cat/Cow

Sit up tall, feet hip width apart, and firmly placed on the floor. Starting from the tailbone, curl the tail between the legs, round the lower back, round the upper back, and eventually drop the chin into the chest. Exhale throughout the entire curve of the “cow” motion, feeling the abdominals deepen, and the lungs fully exhale all of the stale air out. 

Then, starting again from the tailbone, tip the tailbone back behind you, move into an arch of the lower back, upper back, and a lift of the head without completely collapsing in the back of the neck. Inhale throughout the entire arch of the “cat” motion, letting the belly fully expand and fill with air.

Attempt to mobilize one spinal segment at a time with each action, matching your breathing pattern to the timing of your movement. Repeat 5-8 repetitions in each direction of motion.

Seated Figure 4

Cross one heel over the opposite knee, with the uncrossed leg firmly planted on the floor. Allow the crossed knee to fall open and flex that foot to stabilize the ankle.

Start sitting straight up with the spine, and your sit bones reaching straight down (try not to let the tailbone be tucked under). With a very straight back, hinge forward with the entire torso, feeling a stretch of the back of the hip on the crossed leg.

Tip the torso forward exhaling and upright inhaling, alternating between the depth of the stretch and no stretch at all. Repeat 5-8 repetitions each leg.

Kneeling Hip Flexor Stretch

Start down on one knee, with the opposite leg bent at 90 degrees and foot firmly placed on the floor in front of you. You may have a hand on a chair, desk, or wall beside you.

On an exhale, tuck the tail between the legs, rotating the hip point of the kneeling leg forward, and feeling a deep stretch on the front of the pelvis and hip flexor of that same side. Inhale, to let the tuck relax and the tail move back into a slight arch. Repeat this action of mobilizing the pelvis atop the fixed thigh bone 5-8 times each leg, making sure to synchronize your breath to your movement.

Lateral Neck Stretch

Sitting up straight, ground one hand by sitting on it with the palm facing up, and tip the head to the opposite shoulder, creating a side bend of the neck but keeping the face pointed straight forward. 

Gently begin to rotate the head down towards the ungrounded arm (the arm you aren’t sitting on), taking your facial focus towards the ground and then back to where it came from, maintaining the side bend of the neck. Repeat this rotation 5-8 times on each side.

Wall Chest Stretch 

Stand with a wall arms distance to your side. Place the hand closest to the wall on it, a little higher than shoulder height, with the fingers pointed back. Elbow should be straight, but don’t force too much weight into the wrist or hand — this should be a point of light contact with the entire palm attached to the wall.

Without letting the shoulder round forward, gently rotate the torso and head away from the wall, feeling a deep stretch all the way from the front of the shoulder down the arm, and into the hand. With a very small motion of the torso, rotate in and out of the stretch 3 -5 times, connecting your breath to your movement. Repeat on the other side.

Even though we spend a large portion of our work week hovering over a computer, we don’t have to let this dictate the integrity of our posture, movement, and mental diligence.

Let Upswell be the source for all of your active recovery needs.

For more information about our movement offerings, recovery equipment, and anything else related to living your most vibrant life visit our website here or email our managing partner Dr. Kat Sand at kat@upswellstudio.com.