Mindful Movement

Mindful Movement

I tend to enjoy moving the body quickly or not at all. So, I loved playing volleyball, partly because the pace of the game gives my body a sense of energy and release, and I love lying and resting in the sunshine, which often brings a feeling of letting go and relaxation.

The more I practiced meditation, however, the more I began to explore this “Mindful Movement.”

What is Mindful Movement?

The principles of mindful movement are the same as any other mindfulness practice. We aim to bring our full attention to the present moment to experience the here and now. We bring our awareness to our movement and focus on our breath or the way our body feels as it moves. When our mind wanders, we bring our attention back to the practice, to our breath, to our body.

Types of Mindful Movement

1. Breathing exercises are different from when we observe our breath at rest during seated meditation. Instead, we connect with our body by purposefully elongating our breaths to calm our parasympathetic nervous system, or shorten our breaths for short periods of time to refresh and refocus.
2. A walking meditation can be a simple and effective way to explore mindful movement. The biggest difference between a walking meditation and going for a walk as we usually would is that when we’re practicing meditation, we aren’t aiming to go anywhere. Instead, we walk slowly and try to bring our full awareness to the act of walking. That can look like focusing on our breath, or feeling the ground beneath our feet as one step turns into the next. When our mind wanders, we bring it back to the sensations of the moment.
3. Stretching and yoga can help us release tension, stiffness, and heavy emotions. When our bodies don’t move, they don’t feel good, and neither do our minds. Taking a moment to let go of the day’s distractions, getting away from the desk or couch, and engaging in gentle movement can help us boost our energy, focus, and resilience.

What Mindful Movement Teaches Us:

The more I engaged with mindful movement practices, the more I felt it was showing me my habitual style of engagement. Instead of avoiding the unpleasant feelings that arose when I slowed down, I was now paying attention to them, seeing how they affected me, and choosing to stay with them

The Benefits of Mindful Movement

Mindful movement helps us nourish our body by stretching, strengthening and toning, or even just by paying attention and bringing awareness to how our body feels. But we can also use movement to elevate our emotional wellness. 

When we move our body and adjust the postures in which we hold our body, we also shift the activity of our autonomic nervous system which influences reactions like our heart rate, blood pressure, and fight-or-flight response. This means that mindful movement can give us access to shift our emotions and moods from the outside-in. 

How Tuning Into Your Body Can Make You More Resilient

Resilience experts wrote about how mind-body awareness can be a source of power and assurance in moments of self-doubt. And it can start with something as simple as the way we sit or stand. A study in the European Journal of Social Psychology found that when we hold our body in an upright, open position with our head held high, we tend to feel more confident. That means that in moments when we feel nervous or shy, taking a more confident posture can help us counteract those feelings and embody that power.

Practicing yoga can also increase self-esteem. A study found that working in open and expansive postures can increase “the subjective sense of being energetic, empowered and in control.” Doing open-postured yoga for even two minutes can have an uplifting effect on how we feel. Plus, making time in our day to move our body can i crease focus and our ability to coordinate our goals.

How to Make Movement Mindful

Mindful movement can be a great way to switch up your mindfulness practice if you want to try an alternative to seated meditation. It can also be an access point to mindful practice for people who don’t like to sit still. You can bring mindfulness to any workout or walk simply by being with your body as you move. Leave the headphones at home and try to bring your awareness to what you’re doing as you do it. If distracting thoughts arise, redirect your attention to your breath or your body. You might even find that you enjoy your workout more when you bring mindfulness to your practice.

Mindful Movement Meditation

Any activity can work for mindful meditation, and you can find anchors for your attention in the motions: Maybe it’s the point when your right hand enters the water while you swim, or the contact of your feet on the pavement as you run. Weight lifters might use the up-and-down repetition of a barbell. Or, you could stick with the one anchor that is always available to you: your breath. Notice as it quickens or slows, and return to it whenever you find your mind drifting to a thought about that text message you forgot to answer, or the milk you accidentally left on the countertop.

Harmonizing your mind and body is powerful. You’re making strides—figuratively and literally—for your physical and mental health. With that reward potential, a sweaty mindfulness session might be easier to put permanently on the calendar.

8 Ways to Bring Mindfulness to Your Exercise Routine

1. Pause and consider your purpose.Remember why you want to meditate. Is it to train your mind to focus and sustain attention? To learn to navigate emotions? Consider your intention for exercise, too. Is it to live longer or have more energy? This twofold motivation can help get you up and out, and keep you going.
2. Unplug. To meditate during exercise, don’t listen to your favorite playlist, talk on the phone, read a magazine, or watch TV. Be fully present where you are: in the woods, on the sidewalk, or on the treadmill.
3. Tap in to body sensations. Bring your attention to your physical experience. Are there any parts of your body that are working extra hard? Does your body feel different today than it did yesterday?
4. Use your breath as a cue to challenge yourself more or ease up as necessary.Your inhale or exhale can be an anchor of attention while exercising. If your mind wanders, noticing a new “For Sale” sign in the neighborhood while you run or recalling an email you forgot to return, just notice the thought and reconnect with your breath. Observe the tempo of your breath as you work harder and as you cool down.
5. Play with different anchors of attention. Experiment with attentional focal points other than your breath: each full rotation of your bike pedals, the up and down of a lunge. You can switch anchors as you vary your exercise, but stay focused on the rhythm of your anchor, returning to it when your mind wanders.
6. Note your surroundings. There are two aspects of directing attention—focused attention and open awareness—and you can practice both while exercising. To tap in to the latter, check out what’s around you. How is the air? Temperature? What are you hearing?
7. Renew your resolve—burning hamstrings and all. One of the attitudes of mindfulness is acceptance—not wishing the present moment to be different than it is. Exercising is a brilliant time to practice this. Do you notice any resistance to the workout experience—perhaps wishing you were almost done, or that your quads would stop quaking? Commit to your workout time, remember your reasons for being there, and try to stay present from start to finish.
8. Exercise kindness. Notice the quality of your thinking during workouts: Can you appreciate your current ability, speed, and endurance just as they are? If you work out in an in-person or virtual group, can you let go of the “comparing mind” and instead thank yourself for showing up for this healthy activity?

Guided Mindful Movement Practices

A 3-Minute Mindful Movement Practice to Nourish Your Spine

This simple practice offers four exercises to stretch and strengthen the spine. Doing this quick practice throughout the day can refresh your energy and focus. Moving from your spine gets your blood flowing, warms you up, and creates a conscious connection to your breath.

1. Separate your feet hip-width and bring your hands together in front of your chest, interlocking your fingers.
2. Take a deep breath in, then as you exhale, press your interlocked palms forward, opening your back.
3. Inhale and reach your interlocked palms up, straight above your head, stretching your interlocked palms to the sky. Watching the sensations as you stretch.
4. Exhale, release your interlocked fingers and fan your arms down and behind your back.
5. Interlock your fingers behind your back.
6. Deepen your the inhale, look up and lift your heart toward the sky, bending your back slightly while stretching the back and front of your chest.
7. Exhale, bend your knees and bend forward, lifting pointing your hands while interlocked behind you towards the sky, and your face towards the ground.
8. Inhale and come up to stand, releasing your fingers and fanning your arms up towards the sky, pressing your palms together.
9. Exhale and bring your hands together, palms touching, at your heart.
10. Repeat steps 1 through 9. But this time, at step 9, bring your hands behind your head instead of to your heart.
11. Open your elbows wide, and breathe in.
12. Exhale, lean to the right, bending at the torso, and reaching your left arm overhead and right arm towards the ground.
13. Inhale and come back to center, with your hands behind your head.
14. Exhale, lean to the left, bending at the torso, and reaching your right arm overhead and left arm towards the ground.
15. Inhale, bring your arms back to center, reaching to the sky above your head, pressing your palms together.
16. Exhale, twist your torso to the right, lowering your arms to your sides.
17. Inhale, face center and reach your arms up to the sky over your head, pressing your palms together.
18. Exhale, twist your torso to the left, lowering your arms to your sides.
19. Inhale, face center and reach your arms up to the sky over your head pressing your palms.
20. Release your arms by your sides. Close your eyes. Watch how you feel mentally and physically.

A 10-Minute Mindful Movement Practice to Ease into Sleep

There have been some studies looking into whether mindfulness and other meditative movements like those found in yoga, tai chi, and qi gong, can improve sleep quality. According to one review of studies taking a few minutes to settle your mind and body before bed can help you fall asleep faster as well as help you get more restful sleep.

There’s still a need for more high-quality research. It has been proven that thousands studies on meditative movement and sleep outcomes found only 14 studies worthy of being included in the review. Of those 14, the results showed that mindful movement interventions led to significantly better sleep quality.