4 Yoga Poses to Combat the Mid-Afternoon Slump

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Wearing: jala pants, alala top

Despite working from home, I still sometimes fall into a mid-afternoon slump. I get kind of sluggish, and I don't drink coffee so instead, I'll get up and move around. The movement, for whatever reason, helps to wake me up. Lately, I've been incorporating some yoga poses because I'm making more of an effort to work on improving my flexibility and I've noticed that the yoga poses themselves leave me feeling more alert and ready to get back to work so I thought I'd share a few afternoon favorites here.

1. Wide leg forward fold variation - This is perfect for people who sit all day because it helps to open up the chest as well as the hamstrings. A trick: Picture the hips over the ankle joints and imagine that you're able to come all the way down to the ground with your mouth - this will keep your back in alignment. Breathe here 3 - 5 breaths.

2. Reverse tabletop pose - This is another good one for the shoulders, and it also helps to gently open the hip flexors, so like the previous pose, you're kind of killing two birds with one stone. (Kind of a weird thing to say on a yoga blog but I'm gonna go with it, haha.) Anyway, the trick here is to keep the ankles underneath the knees and the feet hip distance. Breathe here 3-5 breaths.

3. Seated forward fold - This is a beauty of a pose for the low back and the hamstrings. Try to imagine the stomach and upper thighs connecting as you come down and make that your goal rather than caring about the knee and the heat meeting. Breathe 5 - 10 breaths here. Don't forget - you can also use a yoga strap. Just avoid these common mistakes.

4. Happy baby pose - This silly pose always makes people laugh in class, so I kind of love doing it in the middle of the day when I'm tired. A little laughter is always good to wake yourself up, right?! Anyway, with happy baby you'll want to think about bringing the knees in toward the armpits and then lifting the feet into the air. This is a great hip opener and perfect for my desk dwellers! Breathe here 1 minute and be sure to avoid these common mistakes in happy baby pose.

What do you do to combat the mid-afternoon slump?! Are you a coffee drinker? Or maybe you get up and have a little mini dance party? Not going to lie, that sounds like a good idea...

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