10‑Minute Kinstretch Routine for Desk Workers
Spending hours at a desk can do a number on your body. Tight shoulders, stiff hips and a cranky spine are all signs that your nervous system is dropping the ranges of motion you don’t use.
The good news?
You can reclaim and maintain those ranges of motion with a short, focused practice. Below I share a 10‑minute mobility routine that almost anyone can do at their desk.
It’s built around desk-optimized variations of Controlled Articular Rotations (CARs) – slow, deliberate movements that ask your joints to explore their end ranges without compensations. When you understand why you’re doing them, you’re far more likely to stick with it.
Why CARs instead of passive stretches?
If you only have ten minutes, long passive stretches aren’t your best investment. Passive stretches are great for acquiring flexibility, but they typically require holding a position for two to three minutes. That means you’d only squeeze in a handful within a short window.
Additionally, after spending all of that time sedentary at your desk, your body will need to MOVE!
This makes CARs a great option as they can help you:
Spend time in forgotten positions. Your nervous system conserves energy by dropping ranges you don’t use. CARs remind your brain that these positions matter.
Develop strength and control at end ranges. Actively squeezing the muscles around a joint tells your nervous system those ranges are important and safe.
Improve joint health. By moving slowly and with intention, you increase neural drive and lubrication through the entire joint cartilage.
Think of it as telling your body, “I need this movement – please keep it.” Over time you’ll notice less stiffness after work and you’ll have a bigger toolbox of movement options.
The Routine
The exercises in the video can be done standing with a chair or desk for support. Move slowly, stay pain‑free and squeeze the muscles you’re working. If you feel discomfort, decrease the range or detour around that spot.
1. Segmental Spine Wave
Purpose: Teaches you to move (and maintain movement of) your spine, one segment at a time.
Set up in a hip hinge (hips back, soft knees) and place your hands on a desk or chair. Start in extension (chest lifted, neck looking up).
Tuck your chin, give yourself a double‑chin and slowly round your neck. Curl through your upper back, then mid‑back, finishing by tucking your pelvis. Feel each vertebra move - one at a time.
To reverse, tilt your pelvis forward first, then extend up your spine one piece at a time. End by looking up again. Repeat a few cycles in each direction.
2. Neck CARs
Purpose: Maintains neck range of motion, often lost from prolonged screen time.
Stand with a wide stance and keep your lower body active. Tuck your chin, then curl it down into your chest.
Sweep your chin across your collarbone to the left, drop your left ear over your shoulder, then rotate through to the right side. Finish by pulling your chin down to the right shoulder and bringing it back to centre.
Reverse direction. Keep the movement slow and pain‑free; if a range feels tight, spend more time there.
3. Thoracic CARs
Purpose: Restores mobility to the mid‑back (thoracic spine), which often stiffens when we sit.
Cross your arms across your chest. Flex your thoracic spine (think rounding your upper back) without leaning forward.
Rotate to the right, drop your right shoulder toward your hip and then extend your thoracic spine by lifting your chest toward the ceiling.
Continue rotating through to the left side, drop your left shoulder toward your hip and return to flexion. Repeat in the opposite direction.
4. Scapular CARs (Shoulder Blade CARs)
Purpose: Improves shoulder blade movement, crucial for healthy shoulder function and upper back mobility.
Stand tall with your arms at your sides, hands glued to your pant seams. Keep your elbows straight.
Pull your shoulder blades up toward your ears, then forward around your ribcage, then down, then back. Think of tracing a slow square and eventually turning that square into the biggest (and smoothest) circle that you can.
Reverse direction: back, down, forward, up, back. Focus on moving only your shoulder blades, not your arms.
5. Shoulder CARs
Purpose: Trains the glenohumeral joint (ball‑and‑socket shoulder) through its full range without compensation.
Place your opposite hand on your ribcage to keep it still. Bring your working arm across your body, squeezing your chest, then lift it up toward your ear as high as pain‑free.
Rotate your arm internally (thumb down) and reach back behind you. At the bottom your palm should face away.
From extension, squeeze your tricep, then unwind the rotation as you bring the arm back through the same arc. Repeat on the other side.
6. Hip CARs
Purpose: Mobilizes the hip joint (also ball‑and‑socket) and reduces stiffness from sitting.
Use a chair or wall for balance. Lift your knee up and across your body like you’re kicking a hacky sack.
Bring your knee up into hip flexion, then open it out to the side. Maintain your pelvis facing forward.
Internally rotate the thigh (foot lifts), then reach your leg back into extension without arching your spine. Bring your knee down and return to start. Reverse the direction and repeat on the other leg. It’s normal to feel hip cramps at first – it’s a sign your nervous system is relearning that motion.
Putting it all together
Run through each set of CARs once or twice (minimum). With practice, you’ll be able to complete this whole sequence in under ten minutes.
Over time you can add elbow, wrist, knee and ankle CARs, but the spine, neck, thoracic, scapular, shoulder and hip rotations give you a solid foundation.
Remember to move slowly, breathe and stay out of painful ranges. As you build control and strength at end ranges, your body will reward you with better posture, fewer aches and more freedom of movement.
If you found this routine helpful, consider pairing it with my other Kinstretch guides, like What is Kinstretch? and How Often Should You Train Kinstretch?, for a deeper understanding of why mobility work matters.
Let’s keep your human body moving less like a robot and more like it was meant to – no matter how many hours you spend at a desk!
