Week 3 Routine

1. Continue to practice diaphragmatic breathing for about five minutes each day.

2. Take about 5-10 minutes to practice the cat stretch routine. Practice about 3-4 repetitions of each of the movements you do. (Note: Make sure you practice each movement slowly, especially on the relaxation phase, hold for 4-5 counts on each hold phase.)

3. Practice the following postures
Mountain Posture (standing posture) for 10 seconds
Tree Posture
Triangle Posture
Sitting forward bend with legs crossed (alternate legs). Then lean back and press down.
Cobra (perform 2 repetitions)
Simple Twist (2 repetitions on each side)
Relaxation (5 min)

During the day try to walk working with "Breathplay". Try to walk using this breath pattern. Inhale for 3 steps and exhale for 4 steps. (You will notice that you will be landing on alternate feet at the end of each exhale.

Try to use the diaphragmatic breath technique. The main point is to make the exhalation 1 count longer than the inhalation so you can lengthen or shorten the pattern as you need. (When I walk I use a 9/10 pattern and when I jog, I use a 3 / 4 pattern.)

Follow this pattern for about 2-3 minutes and return to normal breath pattern. You can use this walking down the hall, walking to your car, etc. 4.

Mindfulness activity: During your meals, try to chew one piece of food for 30 times. Bring your awareness to what you are eating, what is happening to your food, what your thoughts/emotions are, etc. Perform this once at each meal.