A Pick Me Up for Break Time! The Swing

If teaching is one of the most rewarding of all professions, it can also be one of the most exhausting. Getting to the end of a long day in the classroom can be taxing on brain and body alike. 

Fortunately, there are ways to give yourself a quick, healthy boost in just a fraction of the time allotted for a break. If you find yourself running out of time you could consider teaching this exercise to your students as well. After all, a long day in the classroom takes its toll on them too. In this article we'll look at one extremely simple and effective exercise to get you back into top form. Make a habit of doing it regularly and you might well find a welcome improvement in your overall health and energy levels.

The Swing

If you were to do just one exercise to keep yourself supple and fit, this would probably be it. It takes only a minute or two, but properly done it stretches and tones every muscle in your body.

Stand with your feet about 30-40 cm. (shoulder-width) apart, in what feels like a good posture. While maintaining your posture start by swinging your hips gently clockwise, then counter-clockwise.

Let your upper body move along with your hips. 

After a few swings you will probably find your shoulders moving even more than your hips. That's fine, but remember the swing should come from the hips and stay centered around them.

One crucial point. With the Swing as with any stretch exercise, it's essential to keep breathing. Otherwise you'll get the opposite result of tightening your muscles which can be unpleasant. The general rule is to breath out during the stretch, then breath in as you relax. But as the Swing is always stretching one side and relaxing the other at the same time, the best idea is to breath out as you stretch the side that feels stiffer.  For example, if you have a stiff left shoulder, breathe out as you swing clockwise. Follow the breathing pattern you find more natural. 

Soon your arms will start to take part in the action. Let them swing freely but again make sure it is the hips that are swinging the arms not the other way round. Remembering to stay relaxed, let your body naturally lengthen on the side that is swinging forward: left when you swing clockwise, right when counter-clockwise. After ten or twenty rounds your whole body will feel relaxed and invigorated.

When you have become used to doing the Swing, probably after a week or two, you can make the effect even stronger by allowing your heel to rise on the stretching side as you come to the end of the swing: left heel for clockwise, right heel for counter-clockwise.

Again though, the most important thing—and most effective—is to let it all flow loosely and naturally.

This article courtesy of John Brodie. In addition to teaching EFL at the tertiary level, John Brodie has been practicing chiropractic healing for some 30 years, along with energy work, breathing techniques, NLP and other modalities. For more information visit Eureka