Hello,
I'm Gurmit.
I'm going to take you through some upper body exercises to do prior to relaxation and breathing.
Let's begin and make sure our shoulders are firmly down.
Push your shoulders down and then elongate your neck.
And your chin should be just slightly down.
And now,
What I'd like you to do is put your right ear on your right shoulder and slowly rotate your head down.
So the back of your neck touches your back.
Ever so slowly let your left ear come to your left shoulder.
And then your chin to your chest.
Slowly rotating your head round clockwise three times.
And then anti-clockwise three times.
Continue to do this in your own time.
The slower you do it,
The better.
Now what I'd like you to do is lift your shoulders up higher and higher.
Push them forward slightly and then push them down again.
Inhaling up as you lift your shoulders up again.
Okay,
Inhale up,
Lift your shoulders up,
Up.
Hold for a few seconds and then let them down.
Inhale,
Lift your shoulders up and then just let them go down.
Exhaling as you go.
One more time,
Inhale up and then exhale down.
And this time,
Inhale,
Lift your shoulders up and push slightly forward and then push them down again.
Inhale,
Lift your shoulders up,
Up and slightly forward and push them down.
Last time,
Inhale,
Lift your shoulders up and then push them down.
Now what I'd like you to do is lift your hands up in the air,
Interlace your fingers and bring your hands down back to your neck and hold.
Really feeling the stretch in your upper back.
Hold this position for one minute.
Really feel the stretch in your upper back.
A few more seconds,
We're nearly there.
Okay,
What I'd like you to do is lift your arms back up again and just stretch out,
Stretch up and now bring your arms back down again behind your neck and let your palms face up.
And in this position,
I'd like you to just move your hands up and down.
So we're really working on the upper back,
Your shoulders,
Trying to release any tension there.
Don't forget to breathe deeply as you do this.
It might hurt just a little bit to begin with but as you do it,
Your tension in the shoulders will slowly start to disappear and it'll become easier.
Ten more seconds,
We're nearly there.
Okay,
Bring your arms back up and then slowly bring them down,
Shaking your arms as you bring them down.
Shake your arms,
Shake your wrists,
Shake your neck and shoulders.
Okay,
Let's begin the relaxation and breathing.
Conscious breathing.
Babies naturally breathe gently.
Babies have little care in the world.
We'll go through some simple breathing exercises to help you become aware of your breath.
In the process of becoming aware of your breath,
You will slowly learn how to calm yourself down using your breath.
What we will do here is be conscious of our breathing,
How our breathing affects all our body.
This part of the exercise can be done anywhere.
You might find it useful to do this while sitting in a train or while you have a few moments to yourself.
Sit down and relax.
Be conscious of your breathing.
Think about your breathing.
How does it feel to you?
How does your breathing feel?
What noises does it make?
In your head,
Describe the noises.
How do you feel about this?
Be conscious of your thoughts.
As you inhale,
Slowly pause at the end of the inhale,
Just for a few seconds and then exhale slowly.
At the end of the exhale,
Pause.
Continue breathing through your nose,
Inhaling.
At the end of the inhale,
Pause for a few seconds and then exhale.
All the time being conscious of your breath.
Now,
What I'd like you to do is consciously tense your upper shoulders.
Really tense your upper shoulders.
Really tight,
Continue tensing them.
And now,
Be conscious of your breath.
Again,
Think about your breathing.
How does your breathing feel?
Now that your shoulders are all tense,
Describe your breathing as you tense your shoulders.
Now,
Let go,
My friend,
And relax your shoulders.
Completely relax your shoulders and compare your breathing to how it was when your shoulders were tense and when they are relaxed.
Can you feel the difference your breathing has when your shoulders are relaxed and when your shoulders are tense?
Now,
What I'd like you to do is tense your chest.
Really tense your chest.
Again,
Bring your shoulders further down and hold for a few seconds,
Really tensing your chest.
And think about your breathing.
How does your breathing feel now?
In your mind,
Describe your breathing.
Describe how your breathing feels.
Think about the length of your breaths.
Are they long or short?
Are they easy and free?
Now,
Let go.
Let go.
Put your shoulders back down again.
Right back and relax down.
Now,
You're totally relaxed.
How does your breathing feel now?
Now,
What I'd like you to do is tense your pelvic area.
Really tense it.
Pull your stomach in really tight.
Really tight,
Tense your pelvic area.
In your mind,
Describe your breath.
How does your breathing feel?
Describe your breathing as you tense your pelvic area and stomach.
Now,
Let go.
Let go of all the tension.
Release all the tension in your stomach and pelvic area.
Really let go.
Now that you're free,
Describe your breathing to yourself.
How does your breathing feel now that you have no tension there,
Now that you've let go?
Relax now.
And for a few moments,
Just focus on your breathing.
Be conscious of your body.
Breathe deeply,
Inhaling and pausing at the end of the inhale,
Exhaling and pausing at the end of the exhale.
Take a few minutes while you listen to relaxing music to be conscious of your breathing.
As you focus on your breath,
Your breath will naturally become longer and deeper.
Be conscious throughout the day of how holding tension in your body affects your breathing.
Now come out and be alert.
Shake your hands and bring your awareness to your surroundings.
Remembering throughout the day,
Do take time out to focus on your breath,
Even if it's for a few minutes while you take a break.
Remember that your breath is one of the most precious gifts that you have.
Gift that was given freely to you to use.
It is the most valuable gift of all,
The gift of life.
