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If you happen to’ve experienced dead butt syndrome after responding to emails all day or find your back aching after scrolling your phone for hours, you’re not the just one. As Americans, we spent numerous time sitting. And it’s slowly killing us.

Research has shown that excessive sitting does a number in your mental and physical health—from increasing the chance for heart disease and other chronic conditions to straining your neck, back, and spine and spiking anxiety.

If all that makes you must stand up and move, yoga may help. These six poses—from fun inversions to full-body stretches—will loosen you up and leave you feeling invigorated. Your legs, back, and neck will thanks.

Yoga Poses to Combat the Effects of Sitting

Urdhva Dhanurasana (Wheel Pose)

(Photo: Andrew Clark; Clothing: Calia)

Boost your creativity with this full-body inversion. Getting your head upside-down literally changes your perspective, and the main focus required to maintain yourself from falling over immediately replaces the dullness of sitting at a desk with a fun challenge. Plus, this posture engages your glutes, hamstrings, quadriceps, abs, triceps, deltoids, the total back, and doubles as a heart opener, quickly reawakening any drained or strained muscles.

To practice this posture:

1. Lie down together with your back on the ground. Bend your knees and place your feet hips-width distance apart together with your heels near your sitting bones. Bend your elbows and spread your palms on the ground beside your head together with your fingers pointing toward your shoulders.
2. On an exhalation, press your feet into the ground while lifting your pelvis to the ceiling. Firm your glutes to round out your pelvis and keep your quadriceps engaged and parallel.
3. On an exhalation, press your hands into the ground, keeping your shoulders blades flat against your back. Keep your arms parallel, attempting to not flare the elbows out. Lift the crown of your head onto the ground.
4. On an exhalation, press your hands and feet into the ground, lifting your head off the ground and straightening your arms. Lengthen the tailbone to the back of the knees while your pelvis lifts toward the navel.
5. Hold for five–10 seconds, then gently lower yourself back down.

Prasarita Padottanasana (Wide-Legged Standing Forward Bend)

(Photo: Andrew Clark; Clothing: Calia)

This gentle inversion will provide a deep stretch through the perimeters of your calves, hamstrings, glutes, back, and shoulders, and releases tension in your neck.

To practice this posture:

1. Begin in Tadasana (Mountain Pose) together with your arms prolonged by your sides.
2. Step your feet out so that they’re according to your wrists (about 3 to 4 feet), keeping them parallel.
3. On an exhalation, fold forward from the hip joints, keeping your torso open.
4. Lower your fingertips to the ground, or interlace your fingers behind your back and with straight arms, lift them toward the ceiling.
5. Hold for 30 seconds to 2 minutes.

Utkata Konasana (Goddess Pose)

Photo: Brien Hollowell

Step into your power and take up space after hours hunched over a pc. This posture prompts your root and sacral chakras, stirring powerful feminine energy, while also engaging the quadriceps, inner thighs, and core; and stretching the hips and low back.

To practice this posture:

1. Start together with your feet and arms mimicking Wide-Legged Standing Forward Bend, but then turns your toes out and your heels in at a 45-degree angle.
2. Bend your elbows at a 90-degree angle and flip your palms forward, facing in front of you.
3. Bend your knees toward your toes and drop your hips in a squatting motion, pressing your pelvis forward and your tailbone to the ground.
4. Engage your core while maintaining a flat back.
5. Choice to rock your hips back and forth, leaning into one knee at a time (without extending your knee past your toes), to feel a deeper stretch in your hamstrings.
6. Hold for 30 seconds to 2 minutes.

Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward-Facing Dog Pose)

(Photo: Andrew Clark; Clothing: Calia)

This classic pose offers a full-body stretch, lengthening the neck, arms, chest, back, and legs. Pedal out your feet to wake your legs up, after which do “yes” and “no” movements together with your head to release tension in your neck.

To practice this posture:

1. From Tabletop, walk your hands 3 inches in front of your head.
2. Firmly press your palms into the ground while spinning your biceps toward your ears.
3. On an inhalation, tuck your toes under.
4. On an exhalation, press your hips back and up toward the ceiling.
5. Allow your shoulders to spin out and up while maintaining a flat back.
6. Let your head hang freely.
7. Hold for 1 to three minutes.

Bananasana

Stretch out your side body and spine with this gentle posture. The psoas will feel nearly all of the stretch while your spine gets lengthened. This is a wonderful option to reverse the emotions of slouching and provides movement to your side body, which can stay mostly sedentary whilst you’re at a desk.

To practice this posture:

1. Begin by lying down together with your arms by your sides and your legs out in front of you.
2. Press your heels and palms into the ground to boost and scoot your pelvis up and to the left of your body, about 3 inches. Try to maintain your legs and arms where they were, only your hips should move.
3. Walk your feet out to the fitting about 3 inches while keeping your legs touching, and reach your arms overhead and interlace your fingers. Keep them straight.
4. Bend through your side body to stretch your arms to the fitting of your head.
5. Point your toes down toward the ground, increasing the stretch on the tops of your feet.
6. Hold for 1 minute, then switch sides.

Makarasana (Crocodile Pose)

Photo: AzmanL / Getty Images

Let all of your tension go on this soothing pose that releases the neck, shoulders, and low back. If you happen to’re feeling anxious, this pose will provide help to calm down, while also giving relief to areas of the body that will have tightened up from typing all day.

To practice this posture:

1. Lie down on the ground together with your chest, quadriceps, the tops of your feet, and your arms on the bottom.
2. Fold your arms above your head and rest 4 fingers out of your right hand over the knuckles of your left hand while forming a V shape with each thumbs
3. Rest your brow within the V between your thumbs and fingers.
4. Hold for so long as needed.

This text has been updated. Originally published on May 29, 2021.