Wellness

Stretch Break

Take a healthy stretch break

🙆

Neck Rolls

Slowly roll your head in circles

30s

About Stretch Break

A short guided stretch the whole group does together, useful for resetting attention partway through a long workshop or all-hands.

Doing it together is what makes it work. Individuals rarely stretch during a meeting even when invited to, whereas a group doing it collectively removes the awkwardness.

How to run it

  1. 1Announce a short break and lead the group through the movements.
  2. 2Keep the movements gentle and suitable for anyone in ordinary clothes.
  3. 3Keep it to a couple of minutes.
  4. 4Return to the session immediately afterwards.

Running it without awkwardness

  • Participate yourself. A facilitator watching while everyone else stretches makes it uncomfortable.
  • Keep movements small and suitable for anyone regardless of clothing or mobility.
  • Make it clearly optional, and do not comment on who joins in.
  • Use it partway through long sessions, at the point where attention typically dips.
  • Keep it brief. Two minutes resets attention; ten becomes an event nobody asked for.

Frequently asked questions

When should I run a stretch break?

Partway through a long session, at the point where attention typically drops. Roughly the halfway mark of a workshop works well.

What if people do not want to join in?

Keep it explicitly optional and avoid drawing attention to who participates. Some people will sit it out, and that is fine.

How long should it be?

About two minutes. It is an attention reset rather than an exercise session, and extending it makes people impatient to get back.