Open heart

For the exercise, stand upright in a hip-width position. The arms hang relaxed at the sides of the body. Imagine that you are grounding yourself with the soles of your feet. You consciously feel the connection to the earth.

With an inhale, extend your knees through and raise your arms up in front of your body to shoulder height. Once at the top, open your arms to the side. This creates a feeling of wideness in the chest. This is exactly what we want to achieve. Space for the organs in your upper body and at the same time relaxed shoulders. Therefore, during the movement, be careful not to raise your shoulders to your ears.

With the exhale reverse the movement. You close your arms and then let them sink back to the starting position. Meanwhile, slightly bend your knees.

Is this also a qigong exercise?

This movement also exists in Qi Gong. There it also has the function of strengthening the energy of the heart. In general, this exercise brings movement to the chest.

Does this exercise help with breathing problems?

This exercise corrects a common poor posture in which the shoulders collapse forward, restricting the lungs. By lifting the arms and opening them to the side, there is a stretching of the chest muscles. This is very important so that the lungs have room to breathe.

The arms are lifted upwards above the horizontal.

The arms are pushed back in the upper position with too much effort, so that the back tilts into a hollow cross

The arms are not opened wide enough.

If possible, always exercise in front of a mirror.

Record yourself with your smartphone and then check this video for errors.

Make it a habit to do this exercise first thing in the morning after you get up.

What can you do if the exercise is too difficult?

This exercise is very simple if you do not have a shoulder problem and does not cause any problems. If you have shoulder problems, you just don't bring your arms as far apart, but lift them only to the noticeable barrier.