I’ve just bought a standing desk. What now?
I was in London on a double decker bus recently and one advantage of being up so high is you get to see into people’s gardens, offices and over walls!
What I noticed a lot of were people in office spaces at their Standing Desks.
What I also noticed were the body positions people were in at their standing desks.
Standing work stations are great in theory but not so great if you just end up holding one position the whole time you are using it, reinforcing some of the problems that probably led to you ditching your chair for the standing desk.
Essential Foot Tools For Your Standing Work Station
Get some tools ready to enhance your standing desk experience and give your body some love while you’re working.
When I’m standing, I use various tools and props at my feet to encourage a bit more movement and change of position to break up the long stretches of computer and desk focused time.
Here are some ideas:
rolled up yoga mat for standing on and stretching your toes and calves
massage balls - Yoga TuneUp Balls are great
yoga block for balancing on 1 leg and calf stretching
rolled up towel or blanket to stand on lengthways for variation in surface
different textured things for keeping my soles interested
a stool to do a standing lunge
wearing toe spreaders to work on my toe splay and balance feels like a great use of standing time
My standing desk is portable and collapsable so I can stand at the desk for a while then move it to the floor to sit and introduce more variation there.
I find working at the computer tends to pull me down the rabbit hole a lot if I’m concentrating on something.
This tends to lead to staying in a fixed position and I almost forget I have a body!
Standing with different tools to play with helps keep you present in your body and also more alert to changing position more frequently which all counts as movement.
Vary your positions
My workspace is quite small but I have found that the portable option gives me more choice to change things when my brain starts to slow down.
When I start to lose concentration, I know it’s time to switch, so I grab the whole desk converter and switch to the floor or outside if possible.
It might seem like a lot of effort but that effort is investment in your joints and tissues and counts as new inputs to keep you moving in new and varied ways.
A bit like a refreshing green smoothie for your whole body!
Movement is nutritious for the cells, the internal chemistry and the bones and muscles and all the good stuff.
What tools can you place at your feet to get started with making time at your standing desk more nutritious?
Need help with what to do now you have a standing desk? I offer Private Sessions and Online Align and Move classes which focus on practical ways to bring alignment, mobility, flexibility and strength into your daily life.