Sitting in front of a computer for hours on end with minimal movement is not what nature had in mind when she designed our bodies. Limited movement day in day out effects our posture, energy levels, body, eyes and muscle tone.

A sluggishness sets in. Bodily needs get ignored such as thirst and hunger not to mention the aches, twitches and pains that start appearing from prolonged sitting and restricted movement. Your eyes, back and legs are probably craving for some variation and blood flow stimulation.

I certainly spend hours and hours writing and working in front of my computer but due the complaints of my body I have needed to develop a few healthy habits and mini workouts to give my body the attention it deserves.

Sure I do yoga and walk on the beach most days, but long stretches on the computer definitely require some mindful additions during computer time. The following are some ideas I hope will inspire you to add a few mindful healthy living habits to your hours spent in front of your computer.

Stick Out Your Tongue
Practice being Gene Simmons from Kiss. Extend your tongue down as far as it can go you and say “AHHH!” just like you would for the doctor. This helps in the release of tension being held in your jaw and neck area. It also encourages relaxation of your cheek and face muscles. In case you didn’t know, the jaw can be a hot spot for holding onto loads of tension. Even just having your mouth open slightly instead of fully closed while you work can make all the difference to relaxing your jaw and neck. Try it now and notice the difference between having your mouth totally closed or just slightly open.

Body Twist
This is my favourite. Body twists squeeze your organs releasing toxicity whilst massaging the muscles up and down the spine. Simply sit in your chair take a breathe in and twist your body to the right. Place your right hand on the back of your chair to encourage a deeper twist. Breathe out as you move into the twist. Repeat for the other side of your body. I generally do at least five either side

Wall Push Ups
This was recommended by the lovely Jennifer Jefferies at a workshop she gave here in Queensland which I was lucky to be a part of. Give your upper body muscles some exercise by taking a five minute break from the key board. Stand about arms length away from the wall with your hands against the wall at shoulder width. Treat your body to ten or twenty wall push ups.

De-Stress and Nurture Your Hands, Fingers and Wrist
Keep some hand cream or massage oil close by and give your hardworking fingers, hands, joints and wrists a little treat a couple of times a day. The perfect time to do this is when you stop to read an article. Gently massage along each finger individually including the tips, press firmly into your palm with your thumb and massage in a circular motion, then massage over your entire hand and around your wrists. Be mindful of any sore or stiff spots spending a bit more time over those areas. The fleshy part between your thumb and index finger when pressed firmly can help alleviate headaches. In fact if you do have a headache you will notice how sore that spot will feel.

Dance Your Fingers to Relieve Shoulder Tension
Dance your fingers happily up and down along the top of your shoulders. It’s a bit like playing the piano as your fingers pitter patter along any tension held in your shoulder muscles and up along the sides of your neck. This will increase blood flow and bring awareness into your shoulder area allowing you to relax the muscles, drop and spread your shoulder blades.

Fall in Love With a Golf Ball
This little trick is like a mini reflexology session. Take your shoes off and place a golf, ping pong or smallish ball under the arch of your foot. Now roll the ball around as it massages the bottom of your foot. There are pressure points in your feet which relate to specific organs in your body so in effect your whole body is getting a treatment. For a deeper massage you can stand whilst moving the ball around the soul of your foot.

Alternately fill a small box with marbles. Roll your bare feet over the marbles while you work and enjoy the bliss that follows. A couple of drops of the essential oil peppermint is blissful for your feet.

Strengthen Your Biceps
Another great suggestion from Jennifer Jefferies.

You can do this whilst sitting at your desk or standing and looking out the window for a 5 minute body break. Grab a can of tinned food and hold in one hand. Keep the elbow and top of your arm close to the side of your body whilst pulling the can up towards your shoulder and then dropping back down towards the ground again. Repeat as often as you like.

Breathe
Breathing correctly is hugely beneficial to your body, lungs, blood stream and brain. Empty old stale air from the bottom of your lungs and release all the carbon dioxide. Five gentle yet slow deep breaths periodically throughout the day will help detox your body, improve your thinking and eliminate stale air from your lungs.

Eye Yoga
Make sure your eyes don’t suffer from eye strain by being fixed on a computer screen for hours on end. This eye exercise is from Deepak Chopra about 15 years ago. Look straight up into the ceiling with your eyes then move them to the right looking as far as your eyes can reach then move your eyes gently to look down as far as they will go, then across to the left.

First start in clockwise direction then repeat in an anti clockwise direction. I personally feel this is an interesting exercise to do as you soon realize how little movement your eyes are often given when sitting in front of your computer.

Drink Water
Yep, your body is predominately water. Your muscles are 75% water, your blood is around 83% and your bones are around 22% water and because men have more muscle than women they generally need to drink more water. Drinking regularly not only hydrates your organs, it detoxifies your body and improves your concentration. Dehydration clouds your thinking. At least two litres of water per day is the recommended dose.

Eat Energy Snack Foods
Whilst eating at the computer is not the ideal scenario sometimes when your on a creative roll a high energy snack can be just the thing you need. A small handful of raw almonds offer protein and a good dose of stress relieving magnesium. I often have raw natural almonds and dried figs to snack on when driving and at the computer.

Oxygenate the Room
Static electricity and radiation from electricity can easily build up in a room which lacks good airflow. Make sure you invite fresh air into the room often to remove the build of electrical bi products and improve the oxygen flow in the room. If you live in a cold climate and opening windows is not an option, oxygenate your body by going outside into the fresh air for a few minutes. Your body will thank you for it.

在电脑前一坐几个小时一动不动可不是自然母亲在创造我们身体时所能想到的。日复一日没有足够运动会损害我们的体态、精力状态、身体、眼睛和肌肉骨骼。

惰性出现，你的身体需要，像饥饿和焦渴都被忽视，更不用说因为长时间的坐着不能动而出现的疼、痛和痉挛。你的眼睛、后背和腿可能渴望着能换个姿势、刺激一下血液流动。

我自然也花了一个又一个小时在电脑前写作和办公，但是因为身体的抱怨我需要养成健康的习惯，做些小锻炼来让身体有点必需的活动。

多数日子，我确实是在练瑜迦、在沙滩散步，但是长时间在电脑前的确需要一些有意识在电脑前做些额外运动。下面就是一些小办法，希望能够鼓励你在电脑前的时间里，有意识的增加几个健康生活习惯。

伸舌头

像吻乐队的吉恩·西蒙斯所做的练习，把舌头尽可能向下伸，并发出“啊”的音，就像你看医生时那样。它能帮助释放积累在下颚和颈部的压力，它还能促进脸颊和面部肌肉的放松。假使你不知道这一点，告诉你，下颚是积累紧张的热点地区。即使只是工作时轻轻地张开口，而不紧闭着嘴，也能对放松下颚和颈部有天渊之别的影响。

侧弯曲身体

这是我最喜欢的活动。弯曲身体挤压你的器官，释放有毒物质，同时上下按摩脊椎肌肉。就坐在你的椅子上，吸口气，把身体向右弯；右手放到椅子背上，让运动更充分。弯下去的时候呼气。重复做另一侧的身体。我一般每侧至少做五次。

推墙运动

这是可爱的詹妮弗·杰弗里斯推荐的，她是在昆士兰办的一个工作室里提出这个锻炼的，我有幸做为那里的一员。让你的上身肌肉做一些运动，离开键盘休息五分钟。站好离墙一臂远，手按墙上，与肩同宽。做上10或20次推墙运动。

减轻压力，营养你的双手、手指和手腕

身边准备一些护手霜或按摩油，每天给你辛苦工作的手指、双手、关节和手腕一些优待。做这项锻炼的最好时机是在你停下来读材料的时候。轻轻地一个个地按摩手指、包括指尖；用拇指使劲地按掌心，划圆圈按摩，然后按摩你的整个手掌和手腕。留神看哪里痛和僵硬，就多花几分钟按摩这些地方。使劲按拇指和食指间的肌肉区能够缓解头痛。实际上，如果你头痛的话，你会注意到按那点时会有多痛。

跳手指舞缓解肩膀紧张

延着肩膀上下拍动你的手指。这有点像弹钢琴，手指延着肩膀肌肉紧张的地方和脖子拍打手指。这可以增加血液循环、让你肩膀警醒，使你放松肌肉，松弛肩胛骨。

爱上高尔夫球

这项小把戏就像是种迷你反射疗法。脱了鞋，把一个高尔夫、乒乓球或小球放在你的脚弓下；用脚转动球，球就按摩你的足底。在你的脚下有同身体各器官相关联的压力反射点，因此，实际上你的整个身体都得到了治疗。要进行你能忍受的深入的按摩，用脚心滚动球。

另一种方法是在小盒子里装上鹅卵石，工作的时候光着脚踩鹅卵石，享受按摩的幸福。点上几滴薄荷精油，让你的脚获得无上的幸福。

加强你的肱二头肌

这又是一个詹妮弗·杰弗里斯提的好建议。

你可以坐在桌旁或站着向窗外望，让身体休息5分钟。抓一个食品罐头在手里攥着，让手肘和上臂紧贴体侧，把罐头向肩膀举起，然后落下。想重复多少次都行。

做个深呼吸

正确的呼吸对你的身体、肺部、血管和大脑都有好处。排干净肺中的废气，释放所有二氧化碳。一天隔一会做五个轻松的深呼吸能排出身体的毒素、改善你的思维、消除你肺中的废气。

眼部瑜迦

别为了盯上电脑屏幕几个小时而让你的眼睛疲劳。这个眼部锻炼是迪派克·彻布拉在十五年前提出的。用眼睛盯着天花板，然后尽可能让眼睛向右看，再让眼睛使劲看下面，然后再看左边。

首先按顺时针方向活动眼睛，然后逆时针方向活动。我个人觉得，这是一个有趣的锻炼，因为你很快就会明白坐在电脑前时，你的眼睛运动的是多么少。

饮水

是的，你的身体主要是水：肌肉中有75％是水，血液中水大约是83％，骨骼中水约为22％。因为男人比女人肌肉多，一般需要喝更多的水。经常喝水不仅使你的器官得到滋润，还能排出身体有毒物质，改善你的注意力。脱水会使你的思考陷入云雾。推荐量是每天至少喝两升水。

吃点高能零食

虽然在电脑前吃东西不是好方法，但如果你在进行创造性工作，一份高能量的零食可能恰是你所需。一小把生杏仁提供蛋白质和不少量的有缓解压力作用的镁。我经常在电脑旁和开车时吃些生的天然杏仁和干无花果。

给屋子补充氧气

在缺乏良好气流的屋子里，静电和放射很容易积累。要保证经常给屋子补充新鲜空气，这经常就免去了电子副产品的积累，改善了屋子里氧气流动。如果气候寒冷不宜开窗，到户外呼吸几分钟新鲜空气，让你的身体获得氧气。你的身体会因此而更舒适。