During this exercise,
We will be combining our breath with body tension and stretches.
I will ask you to please pay attention to my instructions.
This exercise is better done while standing.
Then,
First of all,
Check that you are very comfortable.
Notice if your clothes or shoes are too tight.
If that is the case,
Make them loose.
Now find a comfortable and natural standing posture.
Feet will be a bit apart,
Knees soft,
Spine straight,
Chest open,
And shoulders down.
You don't need to close your eyes,
But feel free to do so if this is more comfortable for you.
Let's take our first deep and slow luxurious breath.
When you inhale,
Move your arms out and up.
At the end of the inhalation,
Hold your breath and try to reach the ceiling over your head.
Still holding,
Try to reach the ceiling on the right side of the room.
Holding the air,
Try to reach the left side.
Come to center and exhale through your mouth,
Letting the upper body fall in front of you.
Your head will be hanging in front of your legs and your hands will be close to the floor.
Start to rock the body in that position.
The upper body moves side to side,
Like if you were a rock doll.
With each movement,
Tension is released.
Feel free to comfortably and softly check the body.
Let go of any tension.
Come to center and slowly start to come up,
Vertebra by vertebra.
Then you reach the shoulders,
The neck,
And last,
The head.
In your natural standing position,
Notice the body.
And continue breathing in a soft way.
A lot of tension is stored in the shoulders.
Let's release some of this tension.
Still breathing in a soft way,
Try to touch your ears with your shoulders.
Go up to the point where you feel comfortable.
Once you have reached the maximum point of tension available to you,
Breathe in and imagine that the air is opening space in that area despite all this tension that is there right now.
At the end of the inhalation,
Hold the air and the tension.
Exhale and let go.
Notice this area.
If you want to move the shoulders softly to further release the tension,
Feel free to do so.
You can also move a little bit your head and your neck.
Also,
Move a little bit your head and your neck.
And then come to center.
During stressful situations,
Many times our chest is loaded with a lot of negativity.
It feels heavy and tense.
It is so difficult to breathe sometimes.
Let's open some space.
Inhale,
Arms out and up,
Up to the level of your chest.
Your arms are open,
In line.
Hold the air.
Now,
When you slowly exhale,
Start to move your arms in front of you,
Like you want to reach the front wall.
In that position,
You will keep the back a stretch.
It should feel good.
At the end of the exhalation,
Hold and stretch.
Now,
Opening your arms,
Start to inhale deeply and slowly.
This time,
You will open your chest.
Squeeze in your shoulder blades together.
At the end of the inhalation,
Hold your breath.
Remember,
It should feel good.
Now exhaling,
Allow the body to fall in front of you as we did before.
Your head is hanging,
Your arms are falling soft in front of the legs.
Softly shake the body and move it side to side,
As a pendulum or as a ragdoll.
Relax in that position.
Breathe in an easy,
Relaxed way.
Come to center and start to come up slowly.
The last thing that reach up is the head.
Once there,
Notice the body.
Bring your attention now to your lower body.
This includes your glutes,
Lower belly,
Legs and feet.
Inhale slowly and deeply and start to tense this area.
At the end of the inhalation,
Hold the breath and the tension.
Exhale and let go.
Feel the body.
And with soft knees,
You can start to softly bounce up and down.
No big movements,
Easy,
Relaxed,
Side to side.
Now shake the right leg,
Then the left leg,
And come to center.
Take a deep and slow breath.
Inhale in a generous way and at the end of the exhalation,
Shake the whole body to let go of any remaining tension.
Come to a neutral position and feel the body.
If you feel like you need to do more,
Feel free to repeat the whole sequence or just a part,
Or any other exercise that seems good to you right now.
I hope this has been helpful for you.
Thank you.
