Abdominal respiration:

• 1 min. arrive quietly

• 3 min. 4 sec. inhale / 6 sec. outhale

• 1 min. normal breathing

Goal: Lower your heart rate and come to rest consciously.

Back position. Perform the following breathing cycle four times without pausing: Four short breaths followed by one long breath. Make sure you breathe through your nose and combine the inhalation with the exhalation (circular rhythm). Take the first four breaths calmly and evenly, inhale deeply into your chest on the fifth breath and exhale in a relaxed manner.

No equipment required (optional in the hall: one soft mat per participant)

Lie on your back. Inhale slowly and count to five. Pause briefly and count to eight as you exhale. Perform this breathing cycle five times in succession.

Back position. Slowly count to 20. Breathe out for all odd numbers with your eyes closed and breathe in for the even numbers with your eyes open. From the number 16 onwards, imagine that your eyes are getting heavier and heavier and open them less wide. At 20, keep your eyes closed after exhaling and remain in a resting position for a while (three to five minutes)

No equipment required (optional in the hall: one soft mat per participant)

Breathe consciously while lying comfortably on your back or sitting with your eyes closed. Focus your attention on the centre of your abdomen - approx. one centimetre below your navel. Slowly inhale deeply into the centre of the abdomen (push the abdominal wall outwards) and exhale slowly (let the abdominal wall fall inwards). Two to three minutes in the practice phase, as an application only a few breaths long.

No equipment required (optional in the hall: one soft mat per participant)

Autogenic training: The external stimulus (i.e. the formulations) triggers an internal process. This can happen through external or self-suggestions. Don't want anything - don't expect anything - don't do anything, just feel into yourself and let it happen.

How to do it: To get in the mood, take a sitting or lying position in a quiet place, breathe in and out calmly and close your eyes slowly. The trainer or each participant then says the following phrases in their mind:

• "I am completely calm." (3-6x)
• "My right arm is very heavy." (3-6x)
• "I am very calm." (3-6x)
• "My left arm is very heavy." (3-6x)
• "I am very calm." (3-6x)
• "Both legs are very heavy." (3-6x)

To undo, count slowly from 4 to 0 and open your eyes.

Per day:
1 soft mat (small)

Autogenic training: The external stimulus (i.e. the formulations) triggers an internal process. This can happen through external or self-suggestions. Don't want anything - don't expect anything - don't do anything, just feel into yourself and let it happen.

How to do it: To get in the mood, take a sitting or lying position in a quiet place, breathe in and out calmly and close your eyes slowly. The trainer or each participant then says the following phrases in their mind:

• "I am completely calm." (3-6x)
• "My right arm is warm to the touch." (3-6x)
• "I am completely calm." (3-6x)
• "My left arm is warm to the touch." (3-6x)
• "I am completely calm." (3-6x)
• "Both legs are warm to the touch." (3-6x)

Per day:
1 soft mat (small)

Lying or sitting:

1. 1 min. calm breathing

2. attention to the feet

3. legs

4. hip/abdomen

5. back

6. shoulders

7. arms/Hands

8. neck

9. face

10. 1 min. Perceive the whole body

No special breathing technique required – just breathe calmly and consciously.

4-4-4-4

• Inhale 4 sec.

• Hold 4 sec.

• Exhale 4 sec.

• Hold 4 sec.

Repeat for 5 minutes – great after an intense workout or a stressful day.

The participants lie on their backs with their eyes closed (on a soft surface, e.g. a soft mat in the hall or dry grass in the field) and relax to appropriately calm music (or a relaxation story).

Variant:
Instead of calm music, an information CD (teaching exercise: e.g. training methodology) is played, whereby the basic idea of relaxation is somewhat lost.

Per participant:
1 soft mat

Music (quiet)

To generate heat, the palms of the hands are rubbed together quickly. Then place the warmed palms over the closed eyes. The pleasant warmth should relax the eye muscles. Alternatively, the thumb and index finger of one hand can be placed on each eye to massage them gently using circular movements.

1 (office) chair

The participants lie on their backs on the mat.

Position

• Legs stretched out or raised

• Arms relaxed at your sides

• Palms facing upwards

• Close your eyes if you wish

Implementation

The teacher guides the group through three to five slow breaths:

• Breathe in through your nose for four seconds.

• Exhale calmly for six to eight seconds.

• Consciously relax your jaw, shoulders and hands.

• Be aware of the parts of your body in contact with the floor.

The participants then slowly sit up straight.

Final questions

• Does your body feel more relaxed than it did at the start?

• Which area has benefited most from the mobilisation exercises?

• Which two or three exercises could you do on your own after the next walk?

Closing message

“Recovery doesn’t just start when you go to sleep. Even a gentle cool-down, controlled mobility exercises, plenty of fluids, a suitable meal and a restful night’s sleep can help you get back to full performance more quickly after intense exertion.”

Per participant:
1 soft mat

Moving from large movements to specific mobilisation:

Example Compass

Approx. 45 seconds of work / 15 seconds of rest for each set:

• Shoulder circles

• Arm circles

• Trunk rotation

• Cat-Cow

• Pelvic circles

• Lunge with rotation

• Knee circles

• Ankle mobilisation

• Leg swings forwards/backwards

• Sideways leg swings

After that, do another 2–3 exercises that the group finds particularly enjoyable.

A good guiding principle:

Not: ‘How far will I get?’

But rather: “How does the movement feel?”

The partner performs various loosening exercises by hand on the lying participant (swinging and shaking the limbs and making circular movements with them). Vary the speed and range of movement. Then change roles.

Participants lying on their back:

• Loosen leg left/right (swing/shake)
• Circular movements with leg left/right
• Bend and stretch leg left/right
• Loosen arm left/right in upright, horizontal and vertical position (swing/shake)

Participants lying on their stomach:

• Loosen leg left/right (swing/shake out)

No material required

The partner performs various loosening exercises (swinging and shaking the limbs and making circular movements with them) on the lying participant using the aid (e.g. power hose/skipping rope). Vary the speed and range of movement. Then change roles.

Participants lying on their back:

• Loosen leg left/right (swing/shake)
• Circular movements with leg left/right
• Loosen arm left/right in upright, horizontal and vertical position (swing/shake)

Participants lying on their stomach:

• Loosen leg left/right (swing/shake out)

Per group:
1 skipping rope / ribbon

The participants perform various loosening exercises (swinging and shaking the limbs and performing circular movements with them). Vary the speed and range of movement.

• Leg loosening left/right (swinging/shaking)
• Circular movements with leg left/right
• Bending and stretching leg left/right
• Arm loosening left/right in upright, horizontal and vertical position (swinging/shaking)

No material required

Stand facing each other in pairs, grasp hands and perform loose pushing and pulling movements. Circular movements can also be integrated in both directions or the arms can be moved up and down alternately.

No material required

• Inhale 4 sec.

• Exhale 6–8 sec.

• no breathing pauses

Repeat for 5-7 minutes – focus deliberately on prolonged exhalation.

The participants perform massages on their partner using an aid (e.g. tennis ball or throwing object). During the circular movements with the ball, the circumference (small-large) and the pressure (no pressure on joints) are varied.

Participant in supine position, massage by partner of:

• Front thigh muscles
• Abdominal muscles
• Chest muscles
• Arms
  

Participant in prone position, massage by partner of:

• Calf muscles
• Back thigh muscles
• Buttock muscles
• Back muscles
• Arms

Per group:
1 tennis ball
1 soft mat

Set clear rules:

• Always coordinate the pressure with your partner.

• Do not cause pain.

• Do not apply pressure directly to the spine, joints or bones.

• Use slow, gentle movements.

• Communication: ‘more / less / more comfortable / stop’.

Procedure

10 mins. Person A is having a massage

For example:

• Calves

• Front of thighs

• Back of thighs

• Buttocks

• Back/shoulder area

Then change:

10 mins. Person B is having a massage

Massage techniques

• Stroking

• Kneading

• Circular movements with the palms

• Gentle pressure with the thumbs

• Light ‘shaking’ of the muscles

If you have the equipment to hand, you could also use tennis balls or massage balls – but this isn’t essential.

Optional per group:
1–2 tennis balls or massage balls

Progressive muscle relaxation: Reducing muscle tension by systematically tensing and relaxing different muscle groups.

The participants spread out in the hall and lie on the floor (or on a small soft mat). At the instructor's command, they consciously tense a predetermined muscle group for 10-15 seconds and then release the tension again. After a 20-30 second break, the exercise is repeated 2-3 times for each muscle group.

Tighten and release the following muscle groups several times:

• Calf muscles left/right
• Thigh muscles left/right
• Buttock muscles
• Belly muscles
• Chest muscles
• Arm muscles (biceps) left/right
• Arm muscles (forearm) left/right

Note: This relaxation method requires good body awareness. Suggestions and templates can be found on the internet, among other places.

Per Tn:
1 soft mat (possibly)

Progressive muscle relaxation: Reducing muscle tension by systematically tensing and relaxing different muscle groups.

How to do it: Lie on your back and just pay attention to your breathing for a few minutes (breathe in and out calmly 20 times). Then tense the whole body as tightly as possible (5 to 7 seconds). Feel the relaxation and muscle sensation for the next 20 seconds or so.

Per day:
1 soft mat (small)

Progressive muscle relaxation: Reduce muscle tension by systematically tensing and relaxing different muscle groups.

Lay on your back and just pay attention to your breathing for a few minutes (breathe in and out calmly 20 times). Then tense individual body parts as tightly as possible (5 to 7 seconds). For the next 20 seconds or so, feel the relaxation and muscle sensation.

• Dominant hand and arm ("clench fist and press arm against support");
• Non-dominant hand and arm ("clench fist and press arm against support");
• Head and face ("grimace, squint eyes, wrinkle nose, press head against support");
• Upper body, stomach and buttocks ("consciously tense, clench buttocks tightly");
• Dominant foot and dominant leg ("clench feet slightly, lift whole leg off the floor at the same time");
• Non-dominant foot and leg ("clench feet slightly, lift whole leg off the floor at the same time").

Variant:
Power of imagination. The sequence is the same as the exercise above. However, you only imagine the tension (without performing it).

Per day:
1 soft mat (small)

Starting position:
Position the ball next to the armpit and slightly under the collarbone with a block. Grasp the block with both hands by the sides or the notches.

Execution:
Apply pressure to the block (and therefore the ball) with your hand and work the entire pectoral muscle with circular movements. If a point in the chest muscles is particularly painful, the ball can be pressed into this point for several seconds to relieve tension. Then switch sides.

1 massage ball

Starting position:
Place one foot on the ball in a standing position.

Execution:
Place your body weight over the foot and move the ball back and forth on the sole of the foot using circular movements. If a point on the sole of the foot is particularly painful, the ball can be pressed into this point for several seconds to relieve tension. Then switch sides.

1 massage ball