iRead Reviews

November 3, 2005

New Book Stiff neck. Sore back. Aching arms. You don't have to do manual labour for a living to ache at the end of the day. We desk jockeys of the working world -- nine-to-fivers who type and talk on the phone all day long -- have our share of pain, too. Sitting in the same stiff office chair without budging for hours can seize up even the most limber muscles. But what's a paper pusher to do? Pick up Yoga For The Desk Jockey (Sha-Press, 2005). Certified yoga instructor and author Susi Hately Aldous of Calgary teaches us how to stretch the desk job out of our aching muscles while we're still confined to our cubicles. There are more than 25 yoga exercises and breathing and stretching techniques. © The Calgary Herald 2005 Click to Download Review

YOGA FOR THE DESK JOCKEY By Cecily Ross Saturday, February 18, 2006, Page L3 Yoga For the Desk Jockey By Susi Hately Aldous, Sha-Press, $14.99, ISBN: 0-9738894-0-3, http://www.yogaforthedeskjockey.com. Feeling anxious about the presentation you're scheduled to deliver this afternoon? Try this: Stand up. Hold onto the back of your chair. Lift your right ankle onto your left knee. Gently bend your left knee and breathe out through your nose. Relax your jaw and shoulders and breathe easily five to 10 times. Switch sides and repeat. This is just one of the dozens of yoga stretches outlined in this little blue book that you'll want to tuck under your keyboard for at-work stress relief. Who cares if your co-workers give you strange looks when they see you at one with your cubicle holding the eagle pose? Among the detailed instructions are tips on how to set up your work station to reduce physical strain, how to use a Pilates ball as a chair and even how to turn lunch (often a quick sandwich at your desk) into a being-in-the-moment experience. Susi Hately Aldous, a former ergonomics consultant who teaches yoga at Functional Synergy, her Calgary studio, also advises workers to take time out for short meditations during the day. All Aldous's suggestions offer plausible relief except perhaps the Legs up the Wall position, which requires you to find "a wall space about the width of a door" and lie on your back with your legs up the wall for 15 minutes at a time. It's supposed to ease lower back pain, recuperate tired feet and reduce anxiety. I'm sorely tempted to try it. But, darn it, I'm wearing a skirt. Click to Download Review