Place your left hand on your left thigh. Gently use your right index and middle finger to pull the fourth finger on your left hand backward. Notice your limit—the place where you need to stop pulling to avoid causing pain or injury.
The purpose of this very simple exercise is for you to practice really listening to your body, stretching gently to your current limit, and backing off a bit when things get too intense.
Now perhaps you can consider doing some other simple stretches. For example, you can stand and stretch both arms up overhead and then lean from your waist in an arc to the right, creating a C shape with your body and feeling the sensations of the stretch… Then repeat the stretch to the other side, leaning to the left… As you stretch, keep breathing naturally and bring your kind and curious attention to the experience of stretching.
For another stretch, stand and clasp your hands together behind your back. Then gently raise your arms up behind you as high as you can while keeping your chest up, feeling the sensations in your chest, shoulders, and arms. Play with stretching just a bit beyond your comfort zone. Notice how your body, mind, and heart feel after doing these simple stretches. (A downloadable stretching and balancing practice can be found at http://www.newharbinger.com/33766.)
With practice, you can learn to gently stretch into discomfort not only in your body but also in other areas of your life. For example, if you have a challenging school assignment or an emotional upset, you can experiment with stretching and easing into your frustration or sadness. Maybe you can try just being with your frustration or sadness for three full breaths.
We will explore this more in the next chapter. For now it may be helpful to know that you can gently stretch into physical, mental, and emotional experiences that are uncomfortable. And just like when you stretch your body, when you stretch your mind and heart, they become stronger, more flexible, and more balanced. And, as with physical stretching, when you are stretching in other areas of your life, it is important to know when to stop stretching, to release, to ask for help.