Looking at the Moon (18 Movements)

Video Transcript

Audio File

Wellness for Educators Podcast · Looking at the Moon (18 Movements)

Instructions

Begin with feet together and one hand resting inside the other, palms up, in front of the body. Draw a deep breath into the abdomen; as you exhale, step out to the left to shoulder-width; spread the hands apart, rotating the palms to face down.
Relax and place both hands at a comfortable distance in front of the abdomen so that the parallel palms face each other and your thumbs point up, as if holding a ball. Make sure that the lower (lumbar) spine isn’t arched, but straight (imagine having a small weight suspended from the tailbone, pulling the back into alignment).
As you inhale, turn to your right and swing your hands, still holding the ball, up with the motion until they rise up over your right shoulder and slightly behind. Come up on the ball of your back foot to ease tension on the knee. The motion of the arms hinges on the shoulders and is relaxed. Only turn and raise the arms as far as is comfortable.
As you exhale, retrace the path your hands took back down to return to the starting position just as your exhale finishes.
Inhale and sweep your hands up to the left this time, gazing at the moon over your shoulder.
Continue this sweeping motion with the hands to either side, coordinated with your breath, for as long as feels good. Keep your eyes on your hands the entire time.
End by coming back to the neutral position.
Close the exercise by inhaling and sweeping the arms up and out from the sides of the body until the hands hover just above the head, palms down. Exhale and slowly draw both hands down and towards the Dantian (the body’s energy storehouse), located one and a half inches below the navel. Align the palms and place both hands, palms-inward, over the Dantian as you take one more deep breath into the abdomen.
Step the left foot in towards the right to finish.

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