Don't worry if your hand posture looks different from mine. Don't worry about how you place your thumb on the back of the neck. Place your thumb wherever it is comfortable -- experiment.

You don't have to press down hard, use a light pressure.

** Hold this position for one minute. There's no need to press down hard, just keep a light pressure on the strings. Relax your hand for one minute before you continue. No more than 5 to 10 minutes a day at first.

You might be surprised at how much tension you feel in your fingers, hand, arm, and even your shoulder. This is tension that will turn to relaxation, just by doing these exercises. Relax your hand for a minute before you go onto the next hold.

Next, move this hold over one string to the 2nd string. Hold this for one minute. (Index on the 5th fret of the 2nd-highest string.)

Next, move this hold over one string to the 3rd string. Hold this for one minute. (Index on the 5th fret of the 3rd-highest string.)

Try this four-finger hold on all strings, and on all frets. You will feel a slightly different tension at each position, so the idea is to try this on all frets on all strings.