A practical yoga and mobility routine for desk workers

If you sit for most of the working day and your back, neck or shoulders feel stiff by the afternoon, the most useful change is usually frequency rather than intensity: short movement breaks through the day, plus a brief routine in the evening. What follows is general wellness guidance, not medical advice.

Movement breaks during the working day

• Stand up briefly every 30 to 45 minutes, even for thirty seconds.
• Roll the shoulders backwards a few times and let the arms hang heavy.
• Turn the head slowly left and right within a comfortable range; do not force it.
• Stand and reach the arms overhead, then gently side bend each way.
• Take three slow breaths with a slightly longer exhale before returning to the screen.

A short evening routine

• Supported forward fold, knees soft — around 90 seconds.
• Gentle chest opening over a rolled towel or cushion — around 2 minutes.
• Slow seated twist, each side — around 60 seconds.
• Hip flexor lunge with the back knee down, each side — around 60 seconds.
• Legs resting up against a wall or on a chair — 3 to 5 minutes.
• Quiet breathing to finish — 2 minutes.

Workstation basics

Screen roughly at eye level, feet supported, elbows near your sides, and the chair adjusted so you are not perching forward. No setup removes the need to move; it simply makes sitting less demanding between breaks.

Stop signs

Stop and speak to a doctor or physiotherapist if you experience numbness or tingling down an arm or leg, weakness, pain following an accident, pain that is getting steadily worse, night pain that wakes you, or any loss of bladder or bowel control. A mobility routine is not the right response to those symptoms.

Where a teacher helps

Generic routines assume a generic body. If something in the list above consistently aggravates you, a live class lets a teacher watch what you are doing and change it. Our back-focused guidance explains how we adapt practice for people with existing discomfort, and private 60-minute sessions — in studio or online — build the routine entirely around you.

Fitting it into a working week

• Movement breaks daily — they cost almost nothing.
• The evening routine three or four times a week.
• One or two live classes weekly for correction and structure.
• Adjust rather than abandon when the week gets busy.