POSTURE EXERCISES

Standing:
Stay in balans, weight devided over the whole foot
Feet right under the hips
Feet not too far apart from each other or too close.
Knees loose: feel the difference between loose and locked
Pelvis right and loose, buttocks and belly loose
Chest right up, not overstreched
Shoulders hanging relaxed
Neck and throat loose
Head right up, top of the head as highest point,

Exercises:
Balance on the feet: forward/backward and left/right to find the middle
Skiing

Dog on the shelf (neck loose)..

Feel the head loose of the body (free)

Sitting:

Chair (right altitude) with a flat meeting

Sitting on the front of the chair for an active attitude
Sitting on both buttocks, top of the head as highest point
Both feet flat on the floor

Exercises:
Sitting in front of the chair,
Balancing on one and the other buttock (you have 2!)
Straighten back, leaning a little bit forward, as if goingto stand up.
hands on tights and shake the elbows
..
Exercices to avoid tension in general:
Feel the earth: make with one feet a circle in the sand and make it plane
Do as if you wash your whole body en dry it with a towel

Zen, Yoga, sport (swimming)

Roll the head REALLY slowly to one side and then the other side, to warm up the neck

Rolling the back, with hands and head hanging => feel the weight and the release of
muscles.

With flexible knees, stretch arms in circles together. Feel the flow of the movement.

Roll the shoulders: bring the shoulders forward, then up, backward and down, few times.
Doing the same in the other direction

Tense the shoulders in three steps then, release all at once.

Lift your arms parallel to the floor and do little circles. Then, slowly bring them back,
hanging.

With your whole body, draw circles (feet stable on floor), big to tiny ones => get your
balanced and grounded point.

Stretch your back forward and backward from big to smaller movements as well, to feel
the good balance in standing.

For the feet: walk around only on the hills, then only on the toes. Get more aware of the
contact.

stretch your arms horizontal of your body and stretch the hand vertical, the fingers
pointing to the sky, perpendicular to your arms. You can also turn your arms for the
fingers pointing to the floor. This position can be a bit painfull, but it stretch really well and
make your hands warmer.

While playing:
Playing standing on one leg (exchange)

Playing while bending the knees

Playing thinking there is a big balloon with air behind your neck

Walking during playing

Singing while playing (throat!)

Literature:
B. Green/T. Galway The inner game of music
B. Conable - What every musician needs to know about the body
K Werner - Efforless mastery (about performance anxiety)
A Samama- Muscle control for Musicians, a serie of exercises for daily practice