It is all too common for a geek to realise that they have been staring at the screen non stop for the entire day. With social networking, email and every type of business possible being conducted online (as well as games and all that other techno geeky fun) we are lucky if we get 10 minutes to grab a latte before we glue our eyes back to the screen.

Your eyes are just like your neck and back, in that they will tire just as easily in the un-natural environment of staring at an screen all day long. When we do look around from our desks, we do so with our whole heads instead of moving our eyes. Keeping your eyes basically in the same position, focussed on the same distance leaves the eyes strained, sore and tired at the end of the working day.

There are however a few easy GeekYoga techniques to refresh those tired orbs and get you ready for a night of relaxation (or Xbox 360 if you prefer)

Eye Warming
Sit down on a chair, and rub your hands together to create some heat in your palms. Close your eyes and place your palms over your eyes. This blocks out light and allows your eyes to absorb the heat from your hands. The gentle warmth helps the muscles to relax and improves blood flow. Hold your hands over your eyes for 10, easy relaxed breaths, and repeat if necessary

Simple Eye Yoga
Remain seated on your chair, and keep your head facing forwards. With your heads still, look up at the ceiling, then to the right, then to the floor, then to the left and then back to the ceiling. Repeat 5 times and then reverse direction for 5 more rounds

Click. Point. Click. Point. Oh the clicking and pointing and the hurting!

Jokes aside it is a serious issue. You can only use one part of your body in one repetitive way for so long before you begin to feel pain, and you might know a lot of keyboard shortcuts, but chances are you still point n’ click your mouse like a pointy-clicky-thing more days than not.

Whether you call it “Mouse-hand” or “Mouse-itis” or Carpal Tunnel Syndrome or RSI (Repetitive Strain Injury) any true geek (or office worker general for that matter) will know what I mean: pain that starts in the hand and works it’s way up through the wrist and potentially even up the arm.

Yoga can help to alleviate or prevent this problem. You don’t even need to get up! Next time you’re downloading a huge file (or watching a software tutorial) just practice this simple routine of yoga for the wrists.

Wrist bending

1. Sit up straight in your chair.
2. Hold your arms straight out out in front of you (yes, you WILL need to let go of the mouse!)
3. Turn your palm down to face the floor, fingers stretched out straight. Your arms should be parallel to the floor.
4. Inhale as you lift your fingers up, bending from the wrists so that your palms face away from you like you were hand-signaling an oncoming truck to stop. (Oh - probably not a very relaxing analogy! Sorry!)
5. Feel that stretch? That’s a good thing (just go easy, don’t turn a ’stretch’ into a ’strain’).
6. Exhale as you lower your palms again, continuing until your fingers are pointing at the floor. Your arms should stay in the same position, just bend from the wrist. You should feel a nice stretch in your forearm.
   
7. Repeat several times.
   
8. Get back to work.

This should increase strength and flexibility in your wrists and help to alleviate the pain caused by repeated use of the mouse.

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