Hello and welcome to Journey to Mindfulness.
Welcome to today's practice.
So today we'll explore a mindful movement meditation.
So this is a bit different from what I've offered before,
As we will explore movement as a form of meditation.
I really love this practice because movement can have a profound and soothing impact on the mind.
And really in its purest form this is simply meditation that involves anchoring awareness in the moving body.
So when engaging with this meditation it's really important to be gentle with yourself as you do.
So the intention here is not to push beyond the limits of your body.
You need to look after yourself during the stretches,
Letting the wisdom of your body decide what is okay for you,
How far to go with any stretch and for how long to hold it.
In particular if you have a physical problem with your back or any other part of the body,
Please consult your GP before embarking on even these really simple stretches.
And this is something that I always say before starting my classes.
I'm just here as a guide to guide you through a sequence,
To guide you through some movement.
But I am not in your body.
I don't know what's happening within you.
Only you can know that.
And your body is always your greatest teacher.
So listen to your body first.
Really pay attention to the subtle signals your body is sending you as you move through these exercises.
And if at any point during the practice you need to make adjustments,
You need to move out of the stretch,
Please feel free to do so.
You have complete freedom here.
There is nothing to perform,
To achieve.
So yeah,
Just remain really gentle and kind with yourself and respect your body's abilities.
So let's start our practice.
First stand in your bare feet or socks with your feet hips width distance apart.
The knees are unlocked so that the legs can bend slightly.
And the feet are more or less parallel to each other.
Then on an in breath,
Slowly and mindfully raise your arms out to the sides,
Parallel to the floor.
And then after breathing out,
Continue on the next breath,
Raising them slowly and mindfully until the hands are raised above the head.
While the arms are moving,
See if you can be aware of the sensations in the muscles as they work to lift the arms and then maintain them in the stretch.
Letting the breath move in and out freely at its own pace,
Continue to stretch upward,
Fingertips gently pushing towards the sky,
Feet firmly grounded on the floor.
Take some time to feel the sensations of the stretch in the muscles and joints of your body.
Wherever they are presenting themselves,
From the feet and the legs,
Up through the torso,
The shoulders,
Into the arms,
Hands and fingers.
As you maintain the stretch for a time,
See what is happening to your breathing,
Allowing it to flow freely in and out.
Remain open to any changes in the sensations and feelings in the body with each in-breath and each out-breath,
As you continue to hold the stretch.
If you notice sensations of increasing tension or discomfort,
Open to this as well.
Open to this as well.
At a certain point when you are ready,
Slowly,
Very slowly,
On an out-breath,
Allow the arms to come back down.
Lower them slowly,
Feeling the changing sensations as they come down.
Follow the sensations with close attention until your arms come back to rest,
Hanging from the shoulders.
If your eyes have been open,
You may wish to allow them to close gently at this point.
And after each stretch of this sequence,
Focus the attention on the movement of the breath Focus the attention on the movement of the breath and the sensations and feelings throughout the body as you can stand here,
Perhaps noticing the after-effects of doing the stretch.
And next,
Opening the eyes,
Mindfully stretch one arm and hand up in turn,
As if you were picking fruit from a tree that's just out of reach,
With full awareness of the sensation throughout the body and of the breath,
As you look up beyond the fingers.
Allowing the opposite heel to the outstretched arm to come off the floor as you stretch,
Feel the stretch rise through your body from the outstretched fingers of one hand to the toes of the opposite foot.
When you let go of this stretch,
Allow the heel to come back down to the floor,
Then lower the hand following the fingertips with your eyes if you choose.
And moving the face to center,
Let your eyes close,
Tuning into the after-effects of that stretch.
Now,
Mindfully stretch as if picking up fruit with the other hand.
Stretch your other arm and hand as if you were picking fruit from a tree that's just out of reach,
With full awareness of the sensation throughout the body and of the breath,
As you look up beyond the fingers.
Allowing the opposite heel to the outstretched arm to come off the floor as you stretch,
Feel the stretch rise through your body from the outstretched fingers of one hand to the toes of the opposite foot.
When you let go of this stretch,
Allow the heel to come back down to the floor,
Then lower the hand.
Move your face to the center,
Let your eyes close,
Tuning into the after-effects of that stretch.
Now,
Slowly and mindfully,
Putting your hands on your hips,
Allow the body to bend over as a whole to the left,
With the hips moving a little to the right,
So the body forms a big curve that extends sideways from the feet right through the hips and the torso,
Making a crescent shape.
On an in-breath,
Come back to standing position,
And when you are ready,
On an out-breath,
Come back to standing position,
And when you are ready,
On an out-breath,
Slowly bend over,
Forming a curve in the opposite direction.
It's not important here how much you bend sideways,
But what does matter is the quality of attention that you bring to the movement.
To finish this movement,
On an in-breath,
Come back to standing position,
Let your eyes close if they are not already closed,
And tune into the after-effects of that stretch.
And now start playing with rolling your shoulders while letting your arms dangle passively,
First,
Raising the shoulders upward towards the ears as far as they will go,
And then backwards,
As if you were attempting to draw the shoulder blades together,
Then letting them drop completely.
Next,
Squeeze the shoulders together in front of the body as far as they will go,
As if you were trying to touch them together.
Let the breath here determine the speed of the rotation,
So you are breathing in for half the movement,
And out for the other half.
Continue rolling through these various positions as smoothly and mindfully as you can.
Third,
Let the breath here determine the speed of the rotation,
As smoothly and mindfully as you can.
First in one direction,
And then in the opposite direction.
And finally,
At the end of this sequence of movements,
Remain still for a while and tune into the sensations from your body.
You can remain here,
Sitting in silence for as long as you wish.
I would like to thank you for joining me today.
I hope you enjoyed this practice,
And I will see you next time.
