6 Easy Yoga Poses to Boost Your Productivity

Yoga is well known to bring about all-round improvement and boost productivity. Its greatest benefit is the mind-body connection, which is strengthened by regular practice.

Yoga is known to have a calming effect, which is helpful in overcoming anxiety. The relaxed state of mind that yoga and pranayama bring about can help improve focus and clarity of thought. The impact of a sustained yoga practice on mental performance and productivity is immense.

In today’s world, we live in a perpetual state of distraction attributed largely to the clamour of digital overload.

Focusing for deep work cutting out all kinds of noise is becoming increasingly difficult. However, there are a few yoga poses that can help you find calmness and focus, even when you’re working in an office surrounded by the buzz of your co-workers.

Easy Yoga Poses to Boost Your Productivity

Here's a look at six yoga poses:

1) Easy Pose (Sukhasana)

Sometimes you can increase your productivity by reducing distractions and getting focused. Easy pose is the perfect way to accomplish that.

To get into the pose:

Sit on the floor with your legs crossed, and place your hands on your knees or in your lap, whichever feels most comfortable for your shoulders.
You can also take a hand gesture called a mudra—where you touch your thumb and index finger together—to help focus your energy.
Once you're in position, take five to ten slow breaths to centre yourself, and notice how you feel more grounded and ready to concentrate.

2) Downward Facing Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana)

When we place our head over the heart, like with the Downward Facing Dog, the brain gets more blood and oxygen, which increases productivity and energy level.

Here's how you do it:

Get into this pose by starting on your hands and knees in a table-top position.
Lie on your back, and raise your legs followed by the hips, creating an upside-down 'V'.
Your feet should be about hip distance apart or wider, and you'll press firmly into all points of your hands, especially between your middle finger and thumb.
Lift your tailbone towards the sky, and gently press your belly toward your thighs.
Take five breaths in this posture, and experience the benefits of 'resetting' the nervous system.

3) Tree Pose (Vrksasana)

If you're faced with a difficult challenge, you'll find that your productivity increases. That's because you must concentrate intently on the task at hand, strengthening your ability to focus.

Here's how you do this posture:

Stand on one leg, and place the other foot at your ankle as a kickstand, shin or above the knee.
You can make this pose more difficult by reaching your arms towards the sky overhead or closing your eyes.
By shifting your balance, you're forced to check in with your body, and make adjustments to stay lifted.

If you practice this pose regularly, you can improve your concentration and balance.

4) Camel Pose (Ustrasana)

Heart opening or back bending postures like camel pose help you to quiet all the chatter in your mind, as you're vulnerably opening a part of your body that's often shielded and protected: your heart.

Here's how you do a camel pose:

Begin on your knees and bring your hands to your low back as if you were going to slide them into your back pockets.
As you slide your hips forward, draw your elbows and shoulder blades towards one another, creating an opening through your thoracic spine.
If you can, bring your hands to the back of the heels as you continue to shift your hips forward till you feel a deep stretch in your upper back.

5) Mountain Pose (Tadasana)

Mountain pose, which is referred to as Tadasana in Sanskrit, can help you feel more productive by increasing your productivity and concentration. To get the most out of this pose, bring your hands to your hips, and take a few grounding breaths to harness your energy.

To do this pose:

Begin standing tall with your arms by your sides, and roll your shoulder blades down the spine. Bring your palms together in front of the chest.
Notice how rooting down through the feet can help you feel more grounded.
Lift up on the balls of your feet, and pull down through the heels to activate your quadriceps muscles in your thighs.
Hug your belly button up and in as you breathe deeply into the midsection of your torso.

6) Garudasana (Eagle Pose)

The standing balance pose strengthens your ankles and thighs, tones your inner thighs, stretches your outer hips, opens your upper back and improves your productivity and balance. It also tones your core.

Here's how you do this pose:

Stand in Mountain Pose, and cross your right leg over your left.
Make sure to hook your right foot behind your left calf.
Engage the inner thighs by squeezing them into the midline, and cross your right arm over your left (as if you're giving yourself a hug).
Bring the backs of your hands together, and lift through your sternum. Spread open your collarbones to create more space across the upper back.

Takeaway

If you're looking for ways to improve your productivity, you may want to try yoga, as it's known to boost motivation and focus.

The poses listed above are easy and can be done anywhere. What's more is that they can come in handy at work too. Just don't schedule them while you’re supposed to be working; they aren't a substitute for a relaxing lunch break too.

Edited by Bhargav