To do something good to the body quickly Exercise

Everyone knows that: The shoulders are cramped, the head is tight, but the work is piling up. What you need now: simple exercises that will make you physically and mentally fit in a short time.

Exercise for the jaw

Often mental stress in the partnership or in the job are the cause of a jammed jaw. Even nocturnal teeth grinding (makes every fifth), called bruxism, leads to jaw pain.

That's it
Check your jaw: Are you currently tense? Then practicing makes the jaw muscles supple again.

That's how it's done
Sit down comfortably. Clench your jaw and feel your temples with your fingertips. Loosen the bite again and begin to massage the temples in a circle. Then place the fingers in the middle of the cheekbone. Clench the jaw again and feel the muscles of the jaw. Now massage the affected cheeks with gentle pressure for at least two minutes. Helps even with a slight headache.

Exercise for the neck

In everyday life, we rarely keep the neck straight: We sit with outstretched neck on the PC, work in the kitchen with a bowed head. As a result, the neck muscles have to work more to keep the head against gravity.

That's it
Resist. This strengthens the neck muscles and relieves them at the same time.

That's how it's done
Stand upright, straighten your neck and look ahead. Now fold both hands at the back of the head and gently push your head against the resistance of your hands. Build up the pressure slowly. Head and hands should produce an equally strong pressure. Make sure the head does not tilt forwards or backwards. Hold the tension for two breaths, then release for three breaths. 2 to 3 times in a row.

Exercise for the shoulder

Problems in this area radiate on the neck and affect the entire posture. Causes of tension can be one-sided stress, permanent overload, a malposition or under-demand.

That's it
The change of tensing and releasing creates an intense feeling of relaxation.

That's how it's done
Stand upright, your arms hanging loose, look ahead. Take a deep breath and slowly pull both shoulders towards the ears. Hold your breath for a moment and pull your shoulders upwards. You can feel possible tension in the shoulder area. With the exhale, let your shoulders sink again. The release can be amplified if you utter a sound like "hä". Repeat 10 times.

Exercise for the ribcage

He plays a central role in erecting the upper body. In addition, it reflects our mood: Fearful draw in the chest, self-conscious stretch him forward.

That's it
By stretching the chest muscles, the chest is widened. This promotes the respiratory flow, gives noticeably more energy. It also relieves the spine.

That's how it's done
Stand up straight with your legs wide open. Put your arms behind your body and interlock your fingers. Now stretch your arms and push down. Pull your shoulders back and squeeze the shoulder blades together. The result: The thorax opens. Hold tension for 2-3 breaths, then release. Get the exercise again 2 to 4 times.

Exercise for the back

Little exercise, weak muscles, stress and static sitting positions - the main reasons for back pain. In doing so we could avoid these complaints, e.g. by frequent changes of sitting, standing and walking.

That's it
With the pelvic tip you promote the mobility of your lumbar spine. This is particularly stressed by sitting for a long time. Good for women who often have "in the cross".

That's how it's done
Sit upright on the front third of a chair and place your legs hip-width. Support your hands on the sides of your hips. Concentrate now only on the lower back and your pelvis. Try to breathe evenly into the abdomen. When inhaling it bulges outwards, when exhaling it is flat. When inhaling, tilt the pelvis forward and backward when exhaling. Carefully and slowly execute the tilting movements up to 5 times in each direction. Variation: practicing while standing still requires more muscle.

Exercise for the hands

No body part is as closely linked to the brain as the hands. Finger exercises alone increase the circulation of two-thirds of the brain. Memory and short-term memory can be significantly improved by a simple workout.

That's it
The play with an imaginary resistance increases the mobility of the fingers and strengthens the hand. At the same time, they exercise smooth, flowing movements, even in high tension to lead.

That's how it's done
Angle your arm loosely in front of your body and look at your hand with concentration. Bale your fingers slowly into a fist. Imagine, your hand would be a flower bud. Simulate the flowering of this bud by slowly opening your fingers against an imagined resistance. Finally spread your fingers. Then close your hand against a resistance. Repeat 2 times per hand.

Exercise for the legs

Lack of exercise weakens the calf muscles and damages the venous valves. This leads to a poorer circulation of the whole body. Prevent in time.

That's it
Counteracts shortened and tense calf muscles. Good for high heel fans.

That's how it's done
Make a lunge, the front knee is slightly bent, the back leg stretched. Slowly push the heel of your extended leg into the floor until you feel a sense of stretch. Hold this position for 15-20 seconds. Do not bob, but stand still. Then loosen both legs briefly and repeat the exercise with the other leg.

Exercise for the feet

As a kind of foundation of the body, they perform at their best every day. Alone while walking the multiple of our body weight on the heels.

That's it
Toe claw is the best method against circulatory problems in the feet.

That's how it's done
Sit on a chair barefoot. Get one foot off the ground and claw your toes tightly together. Hold tension for 2-3 seconds, then release. As a balance, pull toes up and spread. Four repetitions with each foot.

The inventor of the exercise program Prof. dr. Norbert Fessler works at the Institute for Physical Education and Sport at the University of Education Karlsruhe.

VITAL: How did you come up with the idea for your program?
Norbert Fessler: Through my stressful professional life. Because my spare time is short, I was looking for something to relax that can easily be incorporated into the daily routine and for which I need no equipment. Based on my experiences with relaxation programs, I quickly realized that even short practice sessions were "extremely effective" with me and have greatly reduced the stress.

What criteria did you use to select the exercises?
In an extensive research I have filtered with my team everyday, body-based exercises with a relaxing effect. From this, we formed nine self-learning programs that involve all areas of the body with a total of 67 exercises. Measurements have proven that just a few minutes of this workout are enough to relax the body and get the mind going again.

Their program is called "SeKa". What does the abbreviation mean?
Self-Instructive Body Mindfulness Program. This means that everyone can influence their bodily functions, such as the breathing itself. Concentrated bodywork also works directly into the head, calms the nerves and makes you fit.