Relaxation activities

Stretching your muscles can help to decrease tension. Stretching exercises are very convenient since you can do them anywhere and anytime.

This exercise will take:  10 minutes.

This is how you do it:

• Stand up, or do this exercise in your chair.
• Take a deep breath, all the way down to the bottom of your stomach, and slowly let it out.
• As you exhale, feel the tension drain from your body.
• Take one more breath and hold it for a moment… and let it out slowly.
• With each breath you are becoming more and more relaxed.
• Now, gently reach your arms out to the sides as though you were trying to touch the walls.
• Relax your shoulders and stretch yourself a little.
• Gently reach your arms out in front of you.
• Feel the muscles in your back and shoulders loosen up.
• Stretch out in front a little further.
• And now reach up as high as you can.
• Push up your arms towards the sky, as if you were trying to reach the sun.
• Again, reach your arms out to the sides as though you were trying to touch the walls, as though you were trying to push them outwards.
• Reach out in front of you.
• Feel your muscles in your back and shoulders become looser and less tense.
• Reach towards the sky one more time.
• Reach as high as you can.
• Try to touch the sun.
• Lower your arms to your sides.
• Now, roll your shoulders back.
• Feel the tension drain from your body.
• Roll your shoulders back again. One more time roll your shoulders. Now roll them forward. Forward again. One more time forward.
• Now shrug your shoulders, lifting them up and then pushing them down. Shrug your shoulders again. Shrug them one more time.
• Now another deep and refreshing breath and exhale all of the tension in your body.
• Take one more breath…and exhale letting go of any remaining tension.