After 25 years of being in front of my computer, I have come to the realization that I have a lot of fatigue and the years of sedentary behavior have not been kind to my spine. Last year, I noticed that my life was filled with distractions, interactions, and commitments. I wanted to make a change. One of the habits of very successful people I discovered was meditation. I often hear about the benefits of mediation from successful actors, business executives, and speakers at conferences that I attend. This year I decided to try to care for my back and for my mental wellbeing using the free iPhone app, Office YogaMD. If you are sitting at a desk more than 2 hours a day, you might want to improve by adding a little office yoga.

After using the app for a week, I found it became easier to relax in a short amount of time. My posture is improving and I am paying more attention to how I am working. The in-app voice which explains the poses is quite soothing, and the positions are not difficult as they are meant to be done at the office.

The major advantage I noticed as I started to incorporate yoga into my work life was that I felt less tired throughout the day. It gave me the opportunity to take time to refresh my brain. I stare at a photo of Bora Bora and those huts over the water or I close my eyes and take a nice 5-minute break. The positivity leaves me energized and better able to handle my day.

When I quiet my mind, I am reminded of things I need to do. I add them to a written list so that I can leave them behind and relax once more.

I was surprised that this app speaks to you when you click a pose, offering tips on how to achieve the pose. While it’s nice to have these explanations, it is a bit frustrating, since it is meant to be used in the work place and might disturb nearby coworkers. I work from my home so this wasn’t a problem for me.  However, if you work in an office, you will want to use some earbuds, or spend time with this app, learning the poses outside of the office.

Key Features:

• Get visual postures and audio instruction on various poses.
• Get reminders to not allow you to sit too long in a poor posture.
• Listen to an audio file meditation.
• Keep a journal of your thoughts and intentions that come to you during quiet moments.

MLM.com Grade: 3/5

If you are interested in learning more about Office YogaMD Lite you can get it from the iTunes Store. After researching it seems that the creator is Dr. Schatz.

Resources:

Lite, O., & Schatz, M. (2016). Office YogaMD Lite on the App Store. App Store. Retrieved 18 January 2016, from https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/office-yogamd-lite/id491935040?mt=8

Maryschatzmd.com,. (2016). Mary Schatz, M.D. – Yoga, iPhone App, Back Care Basics, Computer Relief. Retrieved 18 January 2016, from http://www.maryschatzmd.com/products.aspx