Begin in a lunge position, with the right knee forward. Move the left arm overhead in large circles, feeling for movement through the whole side body. Make sure you’re connecting breath to the movement here. Stay playful and imaginative: perhaps your arm is painting the walls and ceiling, or maybe you’re moving through an underwater […]
Category: Practice & Play
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Hula Hoops
Stand upright, sensing moment by moment for a dynamic, active alignment in your bones. Begin to spin an imaginary hula hoop around your middle. Allow your whole spine to respond, and notice that if you release your head, it will move in opposition to the hips. You might imagine that you have multiple hula hoops […]
Stand upright, sensing moment by moment for a dynamic, active alignment in your bones. Stretch the arms overhead on an inhalation, feeling for a pleasurable stretch through the torso. On the exhale, simply release your effort and return to neutral. Try several different angles for your stretch. After a few repetitions, add a generous bend […]
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Stargazing
Stand upright, sensing moment by moment for a dynamic, active alignment in your bones. Cradle the back of the skull in the palms, with the thumbs extending downward alongside the neck-spine and the elbows spread wide. Gently lean back into this “pillow,” allowing your gaze to travel upward and your jaw to release open. Stay […]
Stand upright, sensing moment by moment for a dynamic, active alignment in your bones. Touching the wall for balance, shift your weight to the leg farthest from the wall. Begin to swing the leg closest to the wall forward and back from the hip joint, allowing the free arm to swing in the same direction […]
Stand upright, sensing moment by moment for a dynamic, active alignment in your bones. Allow the chin to fall toward the chest. Slowly, breath by breath and vertebra by vertebra, allow the spine to follow the crown of the head downward into a forward fold. Make sure that the joints of the legs are bending […]
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Seated Breath Opening
This is a quick stretch for your breath that’s relatively unobtrusive and suited for public spaces like waiting rooms. Begin in an upright seated position with your feet planted squarely on the floor and your spine released into length. Folding from the hip joints, drape your torso over your thighs and take several generous breaths […]
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Breath Deepening
Begin on the floor in a comfortable supine position. Allow yourself to be supported by the surface underneath you for a breath or two, releasing into gravity. If it’s available to you, close your eyes to increase your access to inner sensations. Begin to lengthen and deepen the breath, breathing in through the nose and […]
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Constructive Rest
Begin on the floor in a comfortable semi-supine position with the head slightly elevated on a hard surface such as a medium-sized book. Allow yourself to be supported by the surface underneath you for several breaths, releasing into gravity. Breath by breath throughout this exercise, allow for the possibility of lengthening, expansion, and decompression along […]
This is one version of a classic first step in a Fitzmaurice “destructuring” sequence. Begin in a comfortable position on your back. Allow yourself to feel the support of the floor, releasing into gravity. Slowly begin to draw the front of your body in toward itself. The knees will float up towards the torso, the […]