Hi,
This is Paige.
We all know it.
Too much time on a screen or a device leaves us feeling stiff,
Gripped,
Bleary-eyed and disembodied.
Today's practice is a 7 minute reset to help you unwind all of that.
We'll unhunch your shoulders,
Breathe life back into your hands and wrists,
Tend to your aching neck and give you some fresh perspective.
So back away from your screen and we'll get started.
We'll do this practice standing,
So maybe unwinding the shape you're often in when you're hunched over a computer or a device.
So just come to an easy standing position.
If you can have your shoes off,
That might feel really nice and if you can be outside,
All the better.
Simply feel your feet on the ground.
And as you do that,
Take in the air on your skin.
Let that begin to blend with breath moving in your body.
And let your ears attune to sounds that are far away,
So already beginning to reverse the kind of narrowed in stance and perspective we have as we gaze down and in toward a screen,
Widening your hearing and then doing the same thing with your gaze.
So letting your gaze rest very softly,
As far away as it can,
Off toward the distance and wide.
Let's get some blood moving into the chest,
The shoulders and the neck.
When you're ready to inhale,
Stretch your right arm right up alongside your ear.
Let it reach up toward the sky and as you exhale,
Circle it back down and around.
You might even with your gaze follow that arm circling back down and around.
And do that one more time.
Inhale,
Stretch your right arm way up toward the sky.
As you exhale,
Kind of turn and watch that arm circle its way back down and around.
Same thing on the left side.
Inhale,
Stretch your left arm up alongside your ear.
As you exhale,
Turn and watch that arm circle back down and around and do that once more.
Inhale,
Stretch your left arm up alongside your ear.
Exhale,
Turn and watch it circle slowly around,
Back and down.
And then let's put our hands back behind our head.
So you're just going to stack them one hand behind your head,
The other hand behind the first hand.
Let your elbows widen so you start to open up the front of your chest and let your head press back into your hands.
Let your hands resist gently back into your head.
Take a nice full inhale here and as you slowly exhale,
Twist,
Twist,
Twist yourself to the right,
Pressing your head into your hands,
Hands into the back of your head,
Opening up your elbows and then stay there in that twist.
Take your eyes way up into the right at a diagonal and then let them trace that diagonal line all the way down into the left,
Working into your eye muscles.
Once more like that,
Stretch your eyes up into the right and then all the way down into the left and close your eyes.
Just circle your eyeballs around one direction and then the other direction and come all the way back through center.
Widen your arms for a moment,
Give them a little shake and then stack your hands the other way back behind your head.
So same thing,
Pressing your head into your hands,
Hands into your head,
Winging your elbows wide,
Sip in a nice full breath across your chest and as you exhale,
Slow twist to the left,
Pressing your head into your hands,
Hands into your head,
Pause right there,
Take your gaze way up into the left and then feel the muscles of your eyes trace that line all the way down into the right,
All the way up into the left again,
Slow muscular movement down into the right with your gaze and then bring your eyes back through center,
Close your eyes,
Roll your eyeballs around one direction and then the other,
Come all the way back through center,
Stretch your arms wide and then swirl your wrists as you lower your arms down by your sides.
Interlace your fingers from here,
So you're just going to crisscross them way up by the webbing of your fingers and then press your interlaced hands forward,
So you get a little stretch from the beds of the fingers through your palms into your wrists and then stretch both arms back up alongside your ears,
Your palms are still,
Or your hands are still interlaced,
Take a nice big breath right there and then exhale,
Big side stretch up and over to your right,
Breathing some space and capacity into your left rib cage,
Your left lung,
Inhale all the way back up,
Up and over to the left,
So you're just opening up space that may have become a little compressed,
Enlarging your breath on the right,
Inhale all the way back through center,
Release the interlace of your hands and swirl your wrists around again as you exhale and lower your arms by your sides,
Then scrunch up your face here like you've just tasted a lemon,
Squeeze your eyes,
Your cheekbones,
Your jaw,
Your forehead,
Even your ears and then stretch your face wide,
Really open things up along the musculature of your face,
Do that once more,
Squeeze it like you've just tasted a lemon,
Really scrunching all the little tiny muscles of the face and then open your face wide,
You might even extend your tongue and then inhale,
Shrug your shoulders up to your ears,
Give them a squeeze,
Any remaining tension along the shoulders,
The neck,
Open your mouth and sigh as you roll your shoulders around,
Back and down,
One more like that,
Inhale,
Roll your shoulders forward,
Way up to your ears,
Give them a squeeze,
Open your mouth,
Sigh out as you roll your shoulders around,
Back and down,
Back to where we started,
Feet planted in the ground,
Body breathing,
Everything a little bit more open,
A little bit more alive.
I hope you can move into whatever's next feeling refreshed.
Thanks so much.
I look forward to practicing with you again soon.
