Exer-Smile
There are so many posture exercises I want to practice every day, but unfortunately, time is a limited resource. So, when exercising, I try to spend my time wisely and in a way that fits my body. I feel best when I hold many postures (for a shorter duration) daily rather than holding a small number for longer durations.
For many years, I limited my posture-holding duration to 10 seconds. I had no convincing argument on why it was for 10 seconds besides that I was taught to think in decimals and that I have been doing it that way for many years. I used head counting (21, 22, 23, and so on).
Later, I discovered that instead of counting, I could efficiently use my ‘breathing clock’ to determine the duration of many of my posture exercises.
Here’s how it works. When I move my body parts and transition from one posture to the next, I exhale. It’s much easier for me to make a uniform and long transition between postures when making an extended, controlled exhale. While holding a posture, I inhale-exhale-inhale. The exhaling is usually deep and slow allowing me to melt into the posture. The consecutive inhaling allows me to expand into the posture. On every inhale, I smile, and when I exhale or hold my breath, I have a neutral facial expression.
A few exceptions exist where I hold a posture during a single long exhale.
