Begin on the floor in a comfortable semi-supine position. Allow yourself to be supported by the surface underneath you for a breath or two, releasing into gravity.
Draw both knees up toward the torso, then drop them over to one side. Extend your top arm in the opposite direction from your knees, coming into a luxurious diagonal twist. Look in the direction of your outstretched arm.
Take a moment to soften into this shape and allow gravity to work on you.
Begin to paint large arcs along the floor above your head with your outstretched arm. Stretch through the hand and allow the movement to be pleasurable and expansive, connecting the movement to a continuous breath. Allow your gaze to travel along with your hand.
If it’s comfortable, allow the final arc to travel off the floor through the air, stretching through the chest.
Repeat on the second side. As you move, you might imagine that you are moving your hand through water, grain, or smoke. Allow your imagination to come alive with your breath.
Take a few moments at the end of the exercise to feel your breath at rest, sensing any shift in your awareness of your ribs, shoulders, or neck. Try to take this awareness with you into the next thing you do.