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By: Georgia Maxwell, Gradlife Ambassador

I have become a bit obsessed with watching those videos of chiropractors professionally cracking people’s backs, and this is definitely because my neck and shoulders are permanently sore thanks to my BFF laptop. While this post is sadly nowhere close to any sort of professional spinal realignment, here are some suggestions on ways you can incorporate little movement and stretching breaks into your day. Hopefully these tips will help keep you from getting to the point where your day dreaming of chiropractic appointments!

Stand up and stretch when your camera’s off

One of my favourite things about online meetings and lectures is that you can turn your camera off! Whenever you find yourself in this (glorious) situation, why don’t you take a stretch break while you listen? If this strikes your fancy here are some simple stretches you can try.

Or if you don’t feel like getting out of your chair (and hey, I don’t blame you) why don’t you try these chair yoga poses I found? That’s right, you can get a little bit of movement in without even leaving your chair. Thank you internet!

Why Don’t you go for a walk?

While I am no doctor, I find that going for a quick walk always makes my neck and back feel better after being hunched over at a computer. It can be hard to find the time, or the motivation, to leave everything where it is and get outside, but I’ve found that the key to success is looking for creative ways you can fit a quick walk into your day. One great opportunity is whenever you find yourself with that awkward 30-minute break in between one obligation and the next. You might tell yourself you’ll get stuff done, but odds are it’s not a big enough chunk of time to do anything meaningful. If this is the case, why don’t you go for a quick walk?

Dial into your Next zoom meeting

Another great way to fit some movement into your day is to dial into zoom with your phone. Didn’t know you could do that? Now you do! That way you can do some yoga, walk around your house, your block, you name it! All while on zoom. Don’t know how to call into zoom? Here’s some step-by-step instructions on how to do it, straight from the zoom gods themselves.

Attend a U of T virtual drop-in fitness class

Looking for some more serious movement breaks? Hart House and the Sports and Rec centre have tons of drop-in virtual fitness classes you can sign up for, and Grad Minds run virtual yoga sessions for all levels. See, just because you’re working from home doesn’t mean you can’t work out from home as well!

I know all too well how easy it is to sit down at your workstation in the morning only to suddenly realize the sun has set, so I hope this post has given you some ideas on how to work some movement breaks into your day, or at the very least, stretch your neck!