How To Work a Demanding Desk Job and Not End Up in Pain

Dealing with Desk Job Aches, improving posture and finding workable solutions at Shine, Stoke Newington Church Street with Sarah Warman, Alexander Technique Practitioner.

We all have to work. And some of us are lucky enough to be passionate about our work. But whether you feel a purposeful connection or not (or perhaps that’s dissipated more recently), our bodies have not evolved to be able to comfortably work sitting at a desk for large proportions of our lives, typing away at computers, and we have not been trained how to do this in way that is sustainable, in which we still feel at ease in our bodies, comfortable, present, connected, spacious and generally able for it.

Able for the demands of today’s work life in London, which – even if you are the most zen of people, is very demanding – mentally, but also very much physically – it can be extremely physically demanding! And nobody taught us or prepared us for how to sit comfortably at our desks for years on end – and to even feel good in our bodies, and not just now, but in years to come – when we retire and beyond.

So I’ve had many a client, perhaps like you, who has come to me, the end result of long working  hours, tight deadlines, busy arms, hands and head, and perhaps disconnected from the rest of their body, who find themselves in pain. Pain that isn’t shifting. Perhaps despite their best efforts with massages, pilates and yoga. Emma, for example, a 33 year old young woman, came to me in this situation, finding herself unable to shift lower back pain and discomfort as well as sciatica, and occasional sore neck and shoulders.

She wanted a fix, but knew she was ready perhaps to work for it – not just to have work done on her that may lead to a temporary solution, this time she was ready for a more sustainable solution. And that’s all you need – the willingness to look, to learn, and to explore new possibilities. And that’s what I teach, a different way of moving, being and thinking with your experience, so that you can open to a greater sense of freedom and lightness; so you are able to inhabit a greater spaciousness in your body with everything that you do – including sitting at a desk working to tight deadlines, and even doing yoga or pilates, with greater efficiency and less constriction.

Desk Job Aches, Back Pain and Bad Posture solutions at our Stoke Newington Holistic Health Centre with the
Alexander Technique.

When you come to me with perhaps physical ailments, that is always only part of the whole picture. The beauty of the Alexander Technique is that it names the connection between the physical and mental, the emotional, and spiritual. We are not just physical beings, we have many layers and systems that interrelate and actually, perfectly and purposefully inextricably link with one another. It’s actually a perfect system – and our physical discomforts can, if we are aware and alert and able to speak their language, help us to identify and address our emotional needs, and vice versa.

So when Emma came to me with the physical pain and discomfort, of course we worked with that. That was our entry point. That was perhaps her call to action, as pain often is (it is a perfectly designed system). And then we went on a journey, so that Emma was gradually able to see and explore the stress and anxiety that she was experiencing in her work – that was quite intense for her, although she had not initially named it as a motivation for our sessions.

Our sessions were deep and we worked physically as well as emotionally – not forced, but in perfect timing, to support Emma in revealing to herself what else was going on for her: why she was feeling stressed and anxious and also quite exhausted alot of the time (stress, anxiety and pain can all be quite exhausting). And as we were able to unpick this together, then she was able to begin to see a different way of being in her work, in the demanding environment, with the demanding people, as well as in her wider life. She cultivated an awareness that brought with it a capacity for a different way of being, a different way of moving, a different way of responding to all the potential stresses of daily life.

Through our sessions she was equipped with the practical skills and knowledge that made an alternative way possible – in a sustainable way for the long term. We finished our sessions knowing that she had the tools and the wherewithal to know she was able for whatever came her way: that she was able to hear her inner voice more clearly through her physical and emotional experience, and more equipped to be able to act with it in mind, to create a more healthy, balanced, and peaceful life – even in the eye of the storm – where she simply feels more able to be herself more freely. It’s simple and complex all at once – as are we all, and that’s what makes this learning journey so fulfilling.

And this quality of freedom and spaciousness in the body and the mind, is also very much possible for you – it is not reserved for famous gurus only! You do not have to end up more bent over and in pain than when you were very little and young and free. There is an alternative. Let’s explore it together.

Sarah Warman

February 2019, Sarah is offering 30min taster sessions for just £35.
To find out more, see our Promotions.

To book an appointment please call 020 7241 2065 for our Newington Green health & beauty salon or 020 7241 5033 for our Church Street health & beauty salon in Stoke Newington.

Tag : Desk-Job-Aches