In a recent survey, a respondent asked about head and neck exercises that would be helpful before a meditation sit. These are areas that often carry tension under stress and concentration. The excessive time we spend on the computer contributes to tightness in these parts of the body as well.

I share a few simple exercises below. A video with similar exercises will be placed in the Your Mindfulness Space library.

See if any of these exercises resonate for you. Use all, a few, or supplement with your own favorites.

You can also use them as part of your midday reset.

As with all movement, listen to your body. Move slowly. Do not push through. Do not exacerbate an area that has been injured or recently operated on. Confer with your physician where appropriate. If anything causes dizziness, tingling, sharp pain, or symptoms down the arm, skip it. LiveWellFlow is not a "no pain, no gain" zone.

• Settle into an aligned posture. Drop your shoulders. Breathe in and out slowly. 
• Using light pressure, make slow circles over the jaw/cheek area, temples, and forehead for 30–60 seconds.
• Turn your head slowly to one side, come back to center, then the other side. Exhale as you turn to the side. Inhale as you come back to center. No push or strain here. Do not turn any further than is comfortable. Do 5 in each direction.
• Make slow, easy circles with your shoulders backward, then forward. Do 5 in each direction. 
• End with a 20 to 30 second pause with slow, easy breaths. Proceed with your meditation.