Yoga for Computer Users: Healthy Necks, Shoulders, Wrists, and Hands in the Postmodern Age

Sandy Blaine
Rodmell Press (2008)
ISBN 9781930485198
Reviewed by Kam Aures for RebeccasReads (4/08)

“The human body evolved to hunt and gather, to run and jump and climb, to play hard and rest fully – not to sit in front of a computer all day. Evolution has not kept up with the rapid changes of the technological age; we are simply not equipped to deal with all the requirements of modern life.” (p. 15) Sitting at a computer for a prolonged period of time can wreak havoc on your body.  Not only can it affect your back, neck, and shoulders but it can also be the cause of tendonitis and carpal tunnel syndrome among other things.  In order to counteract the negative effects that heavy computer use can have on your body it is important to develop some sort of regular fitness regimen.

Throughout “Yoga for Computer Users,” Sandy Blaine provides us with a variety of yoga poses along with detailed explanations and photographs showing how to perform them correctly.  There are poses in the book that can be performed right at your computer desk at work and there are others that are for when you are away from your computer.  Under each exercise’s name is a list of what body areas this particular stretch will help to work.  To receive the highest level of benefits Blaine advises us to take “at least two focused, 10-to-20 minute yoga breaks during the course of a full workday.” (p. 25)                        

Being an avid computer user, this book was definitely geared toward me.  Even though I had always wanted to, I had never tried yoga in the past.  I found that the instructions and photographs that Blaine provided were very adequate in helping me to achieve the desired positions.  There were some exercises that I could not fully do because my body just didn’t stretch that way; but I am hoping in the future, with more practice, that I will be able to master them.  With the short amount of time that I have been practicing the poses in “Yoga for Computer Users,” I have noticed the benefits already, particularly in my neck and shoulders.  I think this book would be beneficial to anyone who spends a lot of time on a computer or at a desk.