Description of the Method
These exercises are typically used in the beginning of the session. The participants are standing in a circle, facing the centre. The guide explains what they are going to do and why it’s important to warm up the body before starting body-related activities (to prevent any injuries, to take care of yourself, to feel good). The participants are, then, asked to follow the sequence of movement the guide is modelling.
The group clap their hands three times at the same time and, right after that, they warm up their hands rubbing them together really fast. They are told to push down their shoulders “as far away as possible from their ears” to prevent the shoulder muscles from contracting too much. After a few seconds, they start to massage their neck (with warm hands). The same sequence is repeated three times massaging the neck, the left shoulder, and the right shoulder.
The group rub their hands for the last time and they proceed to massage their faces: first the forehead from the centre to outside, then the cheeks (from the centre to outside) and then the rest of the face, being particularly careful near the eyes. The massage needs to follow the face expression lines and it always starts from the centre of the face to the outside.
The participants are asked to relax their face, doing “the sleepy face”, and then to contract the muscles, doing the “really smiley face”. This is repeated 3 times.
They are asked to “count” their teeth with the tip of their tongue (pressing it on each tooth).
The participants are standing up in a circle. They are asked to walk freely in the space and to come back in the circle at the clap of hand. They will now be in different positions.
They start to move one foot doing rounds: the foot touches the ground first with the point, then with the right side then with the heel and the other side. After some rounds, they change direction and perform some more rounds. These movements are then reproduced with the other foot.
After this, they lift their foot and produce circular movement with their ankle. Then, the circular movement is produced with the knee and, if possible, with the hip. All of these movements need to be performed first with one leg and then with the other.
Then the upper body becomes the centre of attention and their fingers and hands start to move: closing and opening of the hands, moving their fingers, etc.
They start to move the wrists circularly, in both directions. After a few minutes, they are asked to move the elbows too in a circular way.
At the end, they produce circles with the shoulders moving all the arms. First to the front and then to the back.
At this point, some movement needs to be performed to warm up the back muscles.
The participants stand in a neutral position (arms near the body, straight legs as wide as the distance between the shoulders). They start to turn slowly left and right with their back, as they have to look behind them. They are told to try to not involve the hips in their movement. The movement becomes progressively bigger and, in a few minutes, everyone reaches the maximum possible turn. After reaching the biggest movement possible, they start to reduce it until they go back to a neutral position.
Things to Keep in Mind
Remind to: Listen to your body's needs, pain, and rigidity
Only perform the movements you can do, considering your body characteristics. Remind the group to always listen to their own body, respect their physical limits, and avoid movements that can injure them.
Our Conclusion from Testing
In our opinion, based on experience in using it, this method can be useful for: Warm up the body at the beginning of the session in order to avoid accidents “Warm up” the relational climate of the group, especially when working with people that are not used to work together
To use also individually: possibility to create a variation for specific circumstances: for example, movements that can be done sitting at the desk, when in the office or other places without the possibility to really move in the space.
