A 10-Minute Mobility Routine for Desk Workers

Sitting is not poison, but sitting still for hours is. Your body adapts to the positions it spends the most time in. Eight hours folded at the hips with your shoulders rounded forward makes those positions feel normal and everything else feel stiff. A short daily routine helps you move the other way.

The Routine

Do each move for about a minute. No equipment needed.

• Cat–cow: on hands and knees, round your back up slowly, then let it sag and lift your chest. Move with your breath.
• Thoracic rotations: on hands and knees, place one hand behind your head and rotate your elbow toward the ceiling, then down toward the other wrist. Switch sides halfway.
• Kneeling hip flexor stretch: one knee down, other foot forward. Squeeze the glute of the back leg and shift slightly forward. Thirty seconds per side.
• Deep squat hold: hold onto a doorframe if you need to and sit into a deep squat, keeping your heels down. Rock gently side to side.
• Wall angels: stand with your back against a wall and slide your arms up and down like a snow angel, keeping contact where you can.
• Chin tucks: draw your head straight back, making a double chin, hold two seconds, release. Ten slow reps.
• Glute bridges: lie on your back and lift your hips, squeezing at the top. Fifteen reps.
• Doorway chest stretch: forearm on a doorframe, step through gently until you feel the stretch across your chest. Thirty seconds per side.

Break Up the Sitting

The routine helps, but movement through the day helps more. Stand up every 30 to 60 minutes, even for a minute. Take calls standing or walking. Put your water bottle across the room so you have to get up to refill it.

Check Your Setup

Screen at roughly eye level, elbows near 90 degrees, feet flat on the floor. There is no single perfect posture — the best posture is the next one. Changing position often matters more than holding any position perfectly.