These activities are designed to help you relieve stress and re-energize. You can do any of these activities separately or combined in a way that is most useful to you. Do as many or as few as you wish. There is no contest or stop-watch to keep track of how many or how fast you do them. Suggestions are made to guide you, but you be the judge of “how many” or “how long.” Proceed at your own pace. Don’t hold your breath – breathe and enjoy . . .  If ANY of them hurt you are uncomfortable to perform, modify them (ie, do less, don’t reach so far) or don’t do them. You know your body. Don’t overdo.

Check-in – This is a daily practice to help you understand what is going on in your body. It is useful in helping you detect changes in your body due to stress, illness, injury, or the benefits of taking care of yourself (ie, starting to exercise, quitting smoking, getting more sleep, participating in activities that are life-giving). It is good to perform this brief activity at the beginning and end of your day – or anytime you find is helpful.
Sit or stand quietly. Close your eyes and pay attention inside yourself and do a “body scan.” Just notice the sensations in your body. Don’t judge them, just notice. Are there any areas of tightness? Discomfort? Are there areas that feel relaxed? Comfortable? How is you energy level now? Are you energized? Is your energy low, compared to how you usually feel? How is your breathing? Is it relaxed? Is it comfortable? Is it rapid? Is it slow? Does your breathing seem to come from the effort of muscles in your chest, or stomach, or both? Focus on your mood. Are you aggravated? Happy? Sad? Joyful? Grumpy? Grateful? What is going on with your mind? Is it racing? Is it darting from topic to topic? Are you able to focus? Is your thinking clear? Are you worried? Are you obsessing over something? Are you “in the moment” and paying attention to what you are doing, or are you thinking about the past or future?

Breath – Although you are well experienced in breathing, you may not be doing it in a way that helps you relax and energize yourself. In the beginning, it is easiest to do this activity lying down and with your eyes closed to get rid of other distractions. If lying down is not possible, do it sitting. It only takes one to two minutes if that is all the time you have. Later, as you become more aware, you can do this anytime and anywhere.
Put one hand on your chest and one on your stomach. Take note. Which hand rises and falls the most? If the hand on your chest is rising and falling the most – or exclusively – you are using your chest muscles to breathe. If the hand on your stomach is rising and falling the most, you are using your stomach muscles to breathe. The most relaxing and energizing way to breathe is to allow the stomach muscles to do most of the work. The chest muscles are most efficient when used to help with breathing in response to increased activity.
For now, relax your stomach muscles and allow them to prompt you to breathe. Don’t force a breath. Just wait for it to happen. Wait for your body to decide when it is time to exhale and allow that to happen. Continue this cycle of relaxed breathing - of allowing the relaxed muscles in the stomach to react to the body’s need to inhale or exhale.
To calm the body during times of stress, anxiety, or worry, use this way of breathing to take some slow, deep breaths – not so deep or so quickly that you start to get lightheaded or experience numbness or tingling in your fingers or lips. Perhaps two or three slow, deep breaths. It is more challenging to feel stressed in a relaxed body.

Movement Activities
None of these activities should be uncomfortable – eliminate them or modify them if needed.

Shaking – While standing, gently shake your right hand for a few seconds (10-30 or so), then stop. Now shake your left hand, then your left leg, then your right leg. As you do this, pay attention to your breath. Occasionally take a slow, deep breath. Next, shake your whole body – arms, legs, hips, shoulder, head. This can help you become more limber, energized, and relaxed.

Bouncing – Allow the knees to bend a little and “be soft” while you come up on your toes and bounce lightly and easily up and down on your heels. Do this for 30 to 60 seconds, or until you feel you are finished. This can help relieve tension in all parts of the body and is helpful in stimulating lymph flow – a key component in a well-functioning immune system.

Waist and Pelvic Rotations – Standing with your feet shoulder-width apart, your knees slightly bent or “soft,” your breath slow, and your arms bent with your hands on your hips or low back, slowly rotate your hips/pelvis in a large circle forward, to the right, left, back, forward again, and around for a minimum of 10 times. Repeat going opposite direction – and at half the speed. This is an energizing activity that helps loosen tight muscles in the center of the body that can contribute to back pain.

Knee Rotations – Standing with feet 4-8 inches apart and knees together, bend the knees softly and make a circular motion with both of them together. Repeat slowly 10 times in one direction, then the other.

Ankle Rotations – Standing and holding onto something for support, if needed, raise the right foot slightly off the floor and rotate the ankle, first in one direction, then the other. Repeat with the left foot. This activity may be done while sitting. If ankles are weak or have a history of sprains, you may want to lengthen the exercise by pretending to use the big toe to write the alphabet.

Stretches
Streching helps you feel more limber and energized. These stretches can be incorporated into a warm-up or cool-down routine for sport or work-out.

Neck Stretches –  Moving slowly, lower your chin to your chest, then back to center. Lift your chin upward, then back to center. Next, look as far as is comfortable to the right, then the left, keeping the shoulder facing forward. Back to center. Lower your right ear toward the right shoulder as far as is comfortable, then the left ear toward the left

shoulder (don’t raise your shoulder to meet your ear). Back to center. Now turn your head to the right about 45° and look down as though you are trying to look at your right armpit. Holding that angle, bring the head back so the chin is tilted upward; repeat on left side. These stretches should last about 5-10 seconds and should be within your comfort level. Discontinue if any of these hurt or cause dizziness.

Shoulder Stretches – Raise your shoulders toward your ears (not tightly), hold as you take a deep breath and exhale. Slowly rotate raising one shoulder, then the other. Relax. Shrug the shoulders forward, then back. Roll your shoulders in forward circles, then backward circles. Feel creative? Roll the right shoulder forward and the left backward, then the left forward and the right backward. Shoulders feel looser?

Shoulder/Arm Stretches – Begin by inhaling and opening your arms out wide to you sides at shoulder level. Exhale and gently swing your arms back toward the body, across the chest, and around your shoulders as though you are giving yourself a giant hug. Notice how this stretches both the front and back of your shoulders. Repeat 6-10 times.

Series of Back Stretches
These back stretches (actually, any of these activities) are NOT for you if your physician or physical therapist have instructed you to do only specific stretches. Remember to respect your limitations . . . go slowly . . . breathe. The spine stretches six directions (forward, backward, right, left, and twist to right and left); these stretches address all six.

Side to Side Back Stretch – With feet shoulder-width apart and knees soft, take a deep breath and raise your right arm above your head; exhaling, lean your body toward your left side with your right arm reaching gently over the left side of your body. Your left arm hangs at the side and slides along the left side of your body. Inhale as you release the stretch and return to center. Repeat other side. Stretch to each side 3-4 times.

Across-Body Back Stretch – Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent. Reach your right arm high above your head , as though you are trying to touch something almost out of reach. Repeat with the left arm. With your right arm, reach again, but this time, lower your reach to half-way to the shoulder (from where you started) and reach across your body to the far left, again as though trying to touch something almost out of reach. Repeat to the left. These stretches should involve the whole body, with a weight shift to the side you are reaching toward; the side doing the reaching gets stretched all the way from the hand, arm, shoulder torso, to the hip, leg, and foot. Each time you reach across the body, lower the reach a little (progression: high above the head, half-way to the shoulders, shoulder level, mid-chest level, hip level, mid-thigh level, knee-level, then touch the floor on either side of your body – be sure to bend knees to accommodate your comfort level. From the floor level, reverse directions and work your way back up to above your head). Repeat 2-3 times as tolerated. Movements should be slow and smooth – and comfortable.

Forward-Backward Back Stretch – With both arms above your head, feet shoulder-width apart, and knees soft, take a deep breath. As you exhale, slowly bring your arms down toward the floor – first tucking head toward chest, rolling shoulders forward and down, reaching closer to the floor one vertebrae at a time. Don’t lock your knees; rather, let them bend as you feel necessary (a little or a lot, depending on your comfort level). Continue exhaling; touch the floor if possible (if not possible, save it for another day). Inhale, bend your knees some more, and push your feet against the floor as you begin to slowly unroll one vertebrae at a time.When your legs are straight and your arms are above your head again, continue to exhale and lean back as far as you can within your comfort level. Then reverse directions, exhaling; repeat 3-4 times.

Advanced Forward Back Stretch - It is advised that you be comfortable with all of the other back stretches described in this section before doing this advanced stretch). This is a very specific stretch. Attention to details greatly enhances the quality of the stretch. Not a good stretch if you are having significant back pain at the time. This is more of a preventive and maintenance stretch.
Standing with your feet a few inches apart (you decide; find your comfort level), bend your knees gently, take a couple of slow, deep breaths. Put your hands on your hips (palms on the top of the hip; fingers pointed downward toward your feet and touching the side of your hip so you can feel and monitor the next part of the stretch). Roll the front of your pelvis forward (you should feel a gentle stretch in your lower back) and hold it in this position throughout the stretch to the best of your ability. Raise your arms above your head and keep them next to the ears throughout the entire stretch. Keep your knees bent and allow the bend in the knee to increase as you take a deep breath and slowly tuck your chin to your chest as you roll your shoulders forward and unroll one vertebra at a time toward the floor. When (if) you reach the floor, move your neck gently back and forth (to remind yourself this is not a “stiff neck” exercise). Inhale, push your feet against the floor, unroll back to standing position, keeping the arms next to your ears and your lower pelvis pushed forward.  Repeat within your comfort level; even once can be quite beneficial if you perform it slowly and with attention to details. When performed as described, you may notice tight hip muscles being stretched.

Closing – Stand with your feet a few inches apart, knees soft. Rub the palms of your hands together vigorously for several seconds. Lay the heels of your palms over your cheek bones. Let your hands mold themselves to the contours of your forehead and scalp. Take some slow, deep breaths as you let your neck, face, eyes, and shoulders relax. Using slow, smooth, and continuous motion, inhale and sweep both hands over the top of your head, down behind your neck, around your shoulders, down each side of your torso to your waist, along each side of your waist to your lower back, (bending your knees as needed) down the backs of your thighs, back of your calves, around the sides of your feet to the front of your feet. Exhale as you sweep your hands up the front of you legs, abdomen, chest, heart, neck, face. Repeat 3 times.

Check-in . . . again.  Take note of any differences in your body, breathing, mood, thoughts, ability to focus. Take some time to be grateful for what you have in your life.

For more information or to schedule an appointment call 219-879-5722.

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