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Stretch Out Your Muscles With This 3 Minute Yoga Warm-Up
Been sitting at your desk for 10 hours crunching a deadline? Get up and do this three-minute routine before heading home.

by Women’s Health

June 21, 2017

a woman doing yoga on a pink mat

By Amy Hopkins, photography by jcomp/ Freepik.com

“First I do the yoga, then I do the things”

Been sitting at your desk for 10 hours crunching a deadline? Get up and do this three-minute routine before heading home. This yoga sequence can be used to warm you up before any work out or to simply get your started for the day!

This short sequence is a great neck, shoulder and back stretcher. The squat fires up your quads for a workout, but if you’re just stretching after a long day you can give it a skip. However, it’s a great knee and hip joint strengthener, so we advise doing it all the same.

READ MORE: 3 Yoga Poses That’ll Ease Back Tension

The neck stretches can be practiced in a chair and are particularly helpful if you’ve had a long flight.

Trikonasana (aka the triangle pose) is really great for stretching out your sides and back. Stay in the posture for 10 seconds and work it up to 30 seconds over time, while breathing normally. Start out by reaching for your knees at first with your bottom arm. Over time you will be able to reach your feet.

Follow along with one of our WH Staffers: 

Tips to prevent injury:

1. Always stand with your feet comfortably hip-width apart, unless otherwise stated and keep your hands on your hips while doing the neck stretches.

2. Move your head as far as possible, but be careful not to overstrain your neck.

READ MORE: What’s The Best Yoga Practice For You?

3. Keep your shoulders relaxed and steady.

4. When twisting, always be aware of any back pain and do not over stretch. If you have any abdominal injuries, avoid doing the twists. Strict yoga protocol does not recommended doing twists during menstruation, but you can judge for yourself.

5. When bending backwards, if you feel dizzy at any point, slowly inhale to come up and then lie down in Child’s Pose to catch your breath (Some people may experience a sense of vertigo with these types of chest openers).

Need more inspiration to do yoga? These 6 South African yogis will inspire you to roll out your yoga mat, plus this yoga flow will power up your day.