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We begin with the position of lying on the back. Always start by relaxing the whole body. Make yourself comfortable, placing your arms beside the body with palms turning upwards and your legs slightly apart. Now, feel your whole body. Sense it from your feet to your head and from your head to your feet. Feel your entire spine, which is carried and supported by the floor. Pay special attention to your neck and shoulders, keeping them very relaxed. Let your neck be long and stretched. Pull your chin very softly and slightly towards your throat. Now we will begin with the full yogic breath. This breath is very important for your health and is an excellent preparation for āsanas. Place your right hand on your abdomen, about at the level of your navel. As you inhale, feel the uplifting of your abdomen; as you exhale, feel its lowering. Now, place your left hand on your chest, where you can also feel this fine movement—the lifting of the chest on the inhale and the lowering and relaxation of the chest on the exhale. Feel the expansion of your abdomen and then your chest while inhaling. Feel the relaxing of your chest and then your abdomen while exhaling. Sense the fine movement of the full yogic breath; it is like a wave coming and going. Your whole body, mind, and soul will come into harmony. Now, place your arms back beside your body, keeping your awareness on your breath. As yesterday, we will also do a stretching today, but a little differently. We will stretch one side after the other. While inhaling, raise your right arm over your head onto the floor and stretch your whole right side. While exhaling, bring your arm back and relax your right leg. Do this three times on each side. As you stretch your side, try to put your lower back slightly toward the floor to protect it. So, while lifting your arm, press your lower back downwards, and on the exhale, come back again. This one-sided stretching will release tensions that have collected in you during the day through one-sided positions. Keep your lower back down and your neck stretched and long. After doing this on both sides three times, let your arms rest beside your body again. Feel the effect of the stretching. You may feel especially that your breath expands more in your chest. You may also feel the harmony you have created in your body through this movement. Now, lift your arms beside your body at the height of your shoulders, palms turning upwards. We will now make a twisting of the spine. If you have acute problems with your spine, please do this movement very, very carefully, which means in a very small range. You can complete the movement in your mind. Place your right heel between the big and second toes of your left foot. Your neck should still be long, meaning your chin should be near your throat. Now, with the full yogic breath, while exhaling, turn your feet to the left side and your head to the right side. While inhaling, come back to the center. The movement is always the same: the legs towards the left side and the head towards the right side. Continue for some time. The reason your arms are at shoulder height is so your shoulders stay on the floor as much as possible. Feel the stretching of your right side as you twist your spine. Through this movement, you can relax your neck. Try to move your neck as much to the side as possible. Now, bring your legs back beside each other and your head to the middle. Feel the effect of this āsana, which you have just done on one side. Now change sides. Place your left heel between the big and second toes of your right foot. Take a deep inhale, and while exhaling, turn your legs to the right side and your head to the left side as far as possible, but without causing any pain. While inhaling, come back. Continue for some time. Feel the twisting of your spine again. Your pelvis moves while your shoulders stay on the floor as far as possible. Keep your knees straight to avoid harming them. Then, bring your legs back, place your arms beside your body, and for some time, feel the effect of this āsana on your whole spine, back muscles, and neck. Feel your right and left side. Due to this torsion on one side, you can again feel a release of one-sided tensions. Most people, due to their one-sided daily positions, can get free from these tensions. Pavan Muktāsana is a variation of bringing the knee to the chest. This āsana will help if you have problems with the hips, but take care when pulling your knee towards your body—it should not cause pain, so perform the movement carefully. While inhaling, bend your leg and hold your knee with both hands. While exhaling, pull your knee towards your chest. While inhaling, stretch your leg and slowly place it back on the floor. If you have problems with your lower back, do not stretch your leg before putting it down; instead, place the leg back with the knee bent. Otherwise, repeat this āsana with your right leg for some time: inhale to bend, hold the knee, exhale to pull it to your chest, inhale to stretch the leg, and slowly lower it. You can now change, bending your right leg one time and your left leg the next, alternating legs. It is important that when you pull your knee towards your chest, your shoulders should be relaxed on your chest—do not pull your shoulders towards your ears—and your neck should be long. This movement supports good, deep breathing and aids digestion. When you lower the stretched leg, you also strengthen your abdominal muscles. When you pull your knee towards your chest and keep your shoulders down, you strengthen the shoulder and shoulder blade area. Try to keep your chin towards the throat. The muscles of your lower back will be stretched. Now, stop the movement. Place both legs on the floor. Always try to lie in a straight line so your spine is aligned. Simply be present. Now we will practice Pavan Muktāsana with bending of the head. What we did previously stretched the lower back and neck, and strengthened the shoulders and shoulder blades. Continuing with Pavan Muktāsana and lifting the head strengthens the muscles on the front side of the neck and the throat muscles. This is important for releasing tensions in the neck area. Inhale, bend your right leg, hold your knee, and while exhaling, lift your forehead to the knee. Watch that your shoulders do not lift up but stay on your chest. While inhaling, put your head back, stretch your leg upwards, and while exhaling, slowly lower your leg back down. If you have problems, lower the leg with the knee bent. Now, inhale, bend your left leg, hold the knee, and while exhaling, bring your forehead to the knee. Ensure your shoulders do not lift. Inhale to put your head back, and exhale to slowly lower the straight leg to the floor. Continue with each leg for four more times. This is Pavan Muktāsana, which will harmonize the work of the muscles in your throat and neck. Your neck is stretched as you lift your head, and your throat is strengthened. Try to keep your facial muscles relaxed. Your shoulders get the right position on your chest, and you should also pull your shoulder blades a little backward. While lifting your head, you engage your abdominal muscles, strengthening them. Try to keep the stretched leg on the floor. If this is not possible, it indicates your hip joints and lower back are not flexible enough. Afterwards, place both legs on the floor again. Your arms are beside the body, palms turning upwards. Again, feel the benefit of this āsana. Feel your back's contact with the floor, your shoulder blades, your whole spine, and your ribs. Try to keep your neck long. If you have neck problems and cannot relax your head while lying on your back, you can use a small pillow to support your neck and head. Feel the full yogic breath, expanding the abdomen and chest while inhaling, relaxing and lowering them while exhaling. You can support this feeling by placing your right hand on your abdomen near the navel and your left hand on your chest. Then, place your arms back beside the body. Keep your awareness on your breath. Now, turn to lie on your stomach. Here is an āsana for your neck. Interlock your fingers behind your pelvis, behind your sacrum. Your arms should be stretched, with elbows straight. In this position, if you have neck problems, place your forehead on the floor, not your chin, so your neck remains long. Your legs are slightly apart. While inhaling, pull your hips towards the floor and lift your neck, shoulders, and back. While exhaling, come back down. Your legs should stay on the ground, and you should look towards the floor to keep your neck long. Only do this if you have no back problems. Protect your lower back by pulling your hips towards the floor, which activates your abdominal muscles; do not let them be completely passive. Come back and relax while lying on your abdomen. Place your arms beside your body. Take a deep inhale and exhale. Now, feel your breath in your back. Just as you can expand your abdomen and chest while inhaling and relax them while exhaling, you can also do this with your back. You can expand your back very wide when inhaling and relax your whole back while exhaling. Feel the expansion of your back and relax it through this breathing. Now, place your hands beside your shoulders with elbows turning upwards. Push your body back so your pelvis comes to your heels, sitting on them in the position of Vajrāsana. Your back is straight, your spine is straight, and your head and neck are in one line with your back, with shoulders relaxed. Vajrāsana gives you much strength, and in this āsana you can keep your spine straight. Now we will practice Marjari, the cat. Many āsanas are named after animals because yogis watched animals and nature and learned from them. Many of you know the movement of a cat when it wants to relax its back. We will try to imitate this. While inhaling, put your arms straight forward in line with your shoulders and come onto your knees. While exhaling, place your hands on the floor underneath your shoulders. With normal breathing, look towards your navel and make your back as round as possible. While inhaling, slowly move your spine in the other direction, arching it downwards, and look upwards. Continue with this movement. When moving your back into a round position, watch especially your lower back, ensuring it is very round, and let your neck hang relaxed downwards. When moving into the extension, watch especially your neck and chest area, ensuring you really extend them. This āsana makes your spine flexible, relaxing and strengthening the muscles beside the spine. It strengthens your abdominal and chest muscles in the front and relaxes your abdomen when it is hanging down. After an exhale, come back onto your knees. While inhaling, keep your spine straight as you return to Vajrāsana. Feel your spine, your whole body, and your breath. We will do it once more. First, try to straighten your back and neck. In this position, feel the full yogic breath in your chest and abdomen. Inhale and put your arms in front at shoulder height, coming onto your knees. Exhale, place your hands on the floor, and begin the movement of bending and extending the spine. Especially in the position of extension when you lift your head, try to lift from the part between the lower cervical spine and the chest, not from the upper neck. Do not shorten your neck; keep it long as you lift your head. To make your lower back very round, you also need your pelvic muscles. When looking towards your navel, relax your neck. When you lift up, try to keep your neck straight and very long; this is very important. After exhaling, come onto your knees while inhaling and return to Vajrāsana. Feel the effect of this āsana. Feel your shoulders relaxed on your chest. Feel your chest very relaxed. Feel your spine, especially your neck, long, relaxed, and free. Relax your facial muscles. Tensions in the face cause tension in the neck, as they are closely connected, so really try to relax your face. Feel the full yogic breath. If you have problems staying in this position for longer, you can place a small roll made from a blanket or cushion under your feet. Our next āsana is in a standing position. It is called "Expanding of the Chest." Place your legs slightly apart. Feel the contact of your feet with the floor. Lift your arms forward until they are straight at shoulder height. Bend your elbows so your fingers point upwards, and close your hands into fists with the thumb inside. Press your forearms together so you feel tension in the chest muscles. Your elbows should always be at shoulder height. Try to avoid lordosis in your lower back. While inhaling, move your arms sideways and as far back as possible. While exhaling, bring your arms forward again. Continue with this movement. As your arms move sideways, watch that your shoulders do not pull up towards your ears and that your elbows stay at shoulder height. Avoid falling into lordosis when moving your arms back; activate your abdominal muscles against the backward movement to prevent this. You can feel your chest being stretched. You can feel it strengthening the muscles of your shoulders and shoulder blades. Your neck has a rope-like feeling pulling it slightly upwards. Keep your shoulders down. Then, relax your arms again. Relax your shoulders, hands, and fingers. Bring your legs together so you can stand comfortably. Again, feel the effect of this āsana, especially on your neck, chest, and shoulders. Also, bring your awareness to your full yogic breath. Now we have two more standing āsanas. The first is swimming. Place your legs slightly apart, just enough to be comfortable. Lift your arms sideways to shoulder height. Move your thumbs towards your shoulders, and watch that you are not standing in lordosis; activate your abdominal muscles. While exhaling, stretch your arms forward, then turn your palms outwards. While inhaling, move your arms in a very wide arc sideways and as far behind as possible. Bring your palms back to your shoulders and continue. Exhaling, stretch your arms and turn the palms outwards. Inhaling, bring them forward again. Try to keep your elbows and arms always at shoulder height. Do not move your shoulders towards your ears. Again, it is important when moving your arms sideways and backwards that you do not fall into lordosis; activate your abdominal muscles to protect your spine. Relax your arms again. You can likely feel the activation of your shoulder muscles. This turning of the arms is important for activating all the muscles responsible for stabilizing your shoulders. Now we will do the movement in the other direction, as if swimming backwards. Start with your arms beside you, elbows stretched. While exhaling, move your arms in front. While inhaling, move your thumbs towards your shoulders and stretch them again. Feel the activation of your muscles as you turn your palms. Try to keep your elbows always at shoulder height; do not lower the arms. Relax your arms and shoulders again. Feel your shoulders, your neck, and your breath. We come to our last āsana in this part for the neck and shoulders: side bending. Yesterday we had the āsana with torsion of the spine, which relaxes the small muscles beside the spine. Now we are doing side bending, which, as said before, keeps your body in harmony between the right and left side. During the day, almost everybody holds one-sided positions for longer periods, causing muscular tension. Side bending harmonizes the two sides of the body. While inhaling, interlock your fingers behind your neck and move your elbows backwards. While exhaling, bend to your right side. Feel the stretch on your left side. Inhaling, come back to the middle. Exhaling, bend to your left side. The bending should be purely sideways; do not move forward. Feel the stretched side—the upper side is stretched. Your elbows should always stay back. Try to keep your weight equally on both feet; do not shift your weight to the side you are bending towards. Feel the stretching of the muscles on the sides of your body. This also stretches and relaxes your kidneys, lungs, and digestive system, keeping them in harmony. Come back to the middle and place your arms beside your body. For a short time, feel the effect of this movement on your body and breath. Perhaps you can now feel your breath also spreading sideways. Feel your whole body in the standing position. Now, if you like, you can end this session of āsanas by lying on your back and relaxing your whole body. This is now the end of this session. I hope you could gain much benefit for your shoulders and neck especially, but for your whole body, mind, and soul. This is one of the steps from our book, Yoga in Daily Life, which we have just practiced. It would be good to practice this every day. You will need at least half an hour. It would be good to include relaxation, āsanas, and this full yogic breathing. I thank you very much for being with us and practicing together. Thank you.