Some people find a simple backbend easier to do on the floor.
To do so, lie on your stomach on the floor, spreading your hands on the floor under your shoulders.
Push up onto your hands so that they support the weight of your upper body. Slowly push against your hands to raise your shoulders up, while keeping your hips flat on the floor.
You will feel a gentle stretch in your back. Go only as far up as you feel comfortable. Then lower yourself to the floor, relax and repeat.
5. Hip Flexor Lunge
Hip flexors are muscles that connect the leg, pelvis and abdomen. The hip flexor lunge stretches out these muscles, which can shorten from prolonged sitting.
Stand with your feet approximately hip-width apart. Take a step forward with your left leg.
Shift your weight forward onto your leg and lower both your body and your right leg at the same time. Continue descending until your left thigh is parallel with the floor and your right knee is resting on the floor.
Stretch your right leg out behind you and rest your toe on the floor. Keeping your back straight and your hands on your hips, lean forward from your hips. Gently drive your hips forward toward your front foot until you feel a nice stretch across the front of your hip.
Hold this position. Relax and return to the position you started in.
Repeat with your opposite foot forward.
6. Hamstring Stretch
Stand comfortably. Bend forward from your hips with a straight back. You may need to rest your hands on a support, such as a chair placed in front of you.
Stretch only as far forward as you feel comfortable.
Then hold this position for thirty seconds. When done stretching, keep your back straight and return to your starting position.
You may also perform this stretch while seated. Put one foot up on a chair. Lean forward from the hips toward the leg that is up on the chair, bending forward from the hips. Again, stretch only as far as is comfortable.
7. Calf Stretches
The muscles of your calf are the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles. Stretches performed with a straight knee focus on the gastrocnemius muscle while stretches done with a bent knee focus on the soleus muscle. The following stretch uses both of these muscles.
Stand facing a wall with your hands in front of you, flat against the wall. Put your right leg forward, foot flat on the floor.
Extend your left leg back, with your heel against the floor. Bend your right knee but keep the knee of your left leg straight.
Push your hips forward and lean into the wall. Press your back heel to the floor. You will feel a stretch in the gastrocnemius muscle of your left leg. Hold that stretch. Return to a relaxed standing position and repeat, alternating legs.
When you have stretched the gastrocnemius muscles of both legs, stand facing a wall with your hands in front of you, flat against the wall.
Put your right leg forward, foot flat on the floor. Extend your left leg back, with your heel against the floor. Then bend the knee of your left leg and hold that stretch.
You are now stretching the soleus muscle. Return to a relaxed standing position and repeat, alternating legs.
After three to four weeks of regular stretching, you can expect to see an increase in your flexibility and range of motion, says Loveless. Also try to incorporate movement into your day—even simple moves such as changing your position—to keep yourself limber and counteract the ill effects of too much sitting.