Collecting Stretches

Guest blog from our intern Logan Hill

It’s always interesting to walk through office corridors and see what people have on their desks. Trinkets, memorabilia… the usual clutter. And every so often there are those who start collections at their desk. Sometimes these collections are intentional. Sometimes they are accidental.

COmputerThough I don’t have a formal work desk of my own, I do have a useful collection to help me through moments of stress, fatigue and boredom.

I know I need to break out my stretch collection after a certain number of yawns. Stretching opens up the body, and when combined with breathing has an energizing effect. Yawning is like a stretch for the brain. If only the rest of our body would stretch involuntarily.

So I keep my collection of stretches handy when I know I’ll be sitting still for prolonged amounts of time. Being hunched at a desk all day makes the collarbones shrink and shorten and I fear that hunch back look later in life.

My favorite stretch is what I call the “Rose flying at the front of the titanic” stretch. You know that scene… her arms wide and her heart lifted up toward the sky. Sometimes I even imagine I am sailing on a beautiful ocean, or have Jack standing right behind me. I breathe deep, inhaling and exhaling letting my collarbones release and shoulder blades magnetize toward each other.

It feels simple and good. It’s not just about the stretch but the imagery and tiny little mind escape that serves to reset my body and mind.

What scene stretches can you collect to use at your desk? The best part…they don’t take up any room on your desk.


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