Spending your day at a desk hunched over a computer causes your upper body to round forward, shoulders, neck and upper back tighten along with your lower back and hamstrings.

A few simple Pilates exercises can help you lengthen your spine and stretch out these tight areas.

Here are some more seated exercises for you to try!

Additional Seated Exercises

Shaving the Head/Triceps Extension:

Seated on the front edge of your chair with your torso pitched on a very slight angle forward. Feet planted firmly on the floor with your knees squeezing tightly together. Hold your hands in a triangle behind your head. Keep your shoulders down away from the ears. Inhale to prepare then exhale to press your hands upward on a slight diagonal forward. Imagine you are rolling a large boulder up a steep mountain with your hands. Inhale and slowly bring your hands back behind your head, imagining the weight of the boulder hovering over your head as you do. Use your core to control your movements. Repeat for a total of 8.

Inner Thigh Squeeze:

With your feet together sit tall and place the palms against upper thighs, squeeze inner thighs while resisting with your palms, hold several seconds, release. Sit up tall! Repeat for a total of 8.

Leg Lift with Round Back/Extension:

Lift the right knee and cradle it with fingers interlaced, inhale to prepare then exhale and round back with your core engaged, inhale into extended spine. Repeat 6x. Switch and repeat with left knee.

Forward Stretch:

Extend the right leg out straight with your heel on the floor & foot flexed toward shins. Place your hands on the opposite thigh and with a straight back lean into the right leg. Head and neck in line with the spine. Hold the stretch for several seconds then slowly return to start. Repeat 3-4x. Switch and repeat with the left leg.

Seated Pigeon:

Place your right ankle on left knee, inhale to prepare, exhale to lean into the stretch with a straight back head and neck in line with the spine. Inhale to hold, exhale to return to start. Repeat 3-4x. Switch and repeat with the left leg.

Ankle Flexes:

Great for getting circulation going in the legs! Sitting in your chair, cross one leg over the other at the knee. Point the toes of the top leg as far away from you as possible and then flex the toes back. You should feel a slight stretch in your calf and shin. Repeat 8x, switch legs.