Mindful Movement For Chronic Pain (Esp. Lower Back Pain)

A gentle, zero-impact, floor-based mindful movement practise to help (re)connect with your body whilst exploring and respecting your limits. Ideal for people with physical challenges who want to stretch, strengthen and remain active despite their condition, injury, or illness.

Transcript

This is a 30 minute guided mindful movement practice.

So in this practice,

We're going to bring awareness to the sensations in our body as we move.

We're going to explore but also respect our limits.

And by being with our experience in this way from moment to moment with compassion and kindness,

We're creating a model for bringing mindfulness into many other areas of our life as well.

Anytime you find your body unable to do a particular posture or hold a particular stretch,

That's fine and you have a choice.

You can either do another movement that does feel comfortable and right for you in this moment,

Or you can simply be still and perhaps imagine your body in that position.

And now lying down on your back with your arms by your sides,

Palms facing up if that's comfortable for you.

You can also explore bringing your knees up and letting them rest against each other to relieve pressure and tension in the low back.

Finding a position that's comfortable for you and bringing your attention to the body as a whole.

And then to the point of contact between the body and the floor.

What's here right now?

Any feelings of hardness,

Softness,

Warmth,

Cold,

Pressure,

Tingling?

And now resting your attention on the sensations of breathing.

Feeling the breath coming in and out of the body,

Perhaps at the nostrils.

Cool air going into the body,

Slightly warmer air leaving the nostrils.

And moving your attention down into the belly,

Feeling the rising of the belly with every in-breath and the falling away again with every out-breath.

And as you notice the sensations of breathing,

Also start to feel yourself sinking deeper into the mat with each out-breath.

Allowing any tension in the body to be transferred down into the floor of the mat,

Softening.

And now taking a deep intentional breath and letting it go.

And on your next breath,

Slowly,

Deliberately reaching your arms up above and over your head.

And timing it so they come to rest on the floor just as the in-breath comes to an end.

And now breathing freely,

Stretching your body from the heels at one end right through to the fingertips at the other.

And feeling any sensations that arise as a result of this stretch in the legs,

The torso,

In the arms or anywhere else in the body.

And now on your next out-breath,

Letting the arms come back over your head in one slow movement and let them rest at the side of your body.

Just settling back into stillness and noticing any feelings in the body as a result of doing this stretch.

Now,

Moving the feet up towards your buttocks,

About hip-width apart.

We're going to do some pelvic tilts.

So listening carefully to any sensations in your back,

Particularly in your lower back.

And just being aware of what your body is telling you while we're doing this move.

So you'll notice that in this position,

Your lower back is in contact with the mat,

With the floor.

And you can emphasise this by curving the lower back so it almost pushes further down into the floor.

And then you can reverse it by slightly arching the lower back.

Some space will open up between the base of the spine and the surface that you're lying on.

As you do this,

The tailbone tilts into a stronger contact with the floor.

So now just a few times at your own pace,

Just tilting the pelvis back and forth,

Rolling the back down onto the floor.

Tailbone comes up and then reversing it,

Tailbone goes down,

The lower back comes up off the floor.

Perhaps you can do these movements in rhythm with the breath.

So breathing in as the lower back opens out from the floor and breathing out as the gap between the lower back and the floor closes.

And this can be a very subtle movement that only takes place in the pelvic area,

In the base of the spine.

Or it can be one where other parts of the body are drawn into the movement.

And now bringing the movement to a close and drawing both knees up towards your chest,

Wrapping your arms around your knees or around your thighs,

And just drawing them gently towards your chest.

You can rock a little from side to side.

Maybe moving in a circular motion,

Just being kind and gentle to your lower back.

And then reversing the direction of that circle,

Just being really open to sensations in the body as you move.

And now bringing both your legs back down to the mat,

Floor,

And just lying in stillness,

Letting the floor support you and take the weight and tension from your body.

Just feeling any sensations that are here after doing those movements.

And now taking a very deep breath and letting it go.

And as you next breathe in,

Drawing the right knee towards your chest and taking hold of your knee with both hands.

You could have one hand on the knee and one on the shin.

And just exploring what it feels like to bring your knee closer towards your chest.

Breathing into it as you pull it closer and then softening as you breathe out.

What's the limit of this movement for you?

So taking it right up to the edge and just spending some time here.

If you want to increase the intensity of this stretch,

You can lift your head up and move it towards your knee.

But only if this doesn't cause any discomfort in your neck and upper back.

And now gently with awareness coming out of this posture,

Putting your leg back down,

Right leg back down onto the ground and noticing sensations there,

Noticing any difference between sensations in your right leg and your left leg.

And now bringing your left knee up and holding on to your left knee and shin and bringing it closer to the chest.

As before,

You can lift your head and neck and move your head towards your knee.

If that's comfortable for you,

Just taking a few breaths here.

And now releasing your left leg,

Letting it move back down to the mat,

The mat taking the weight of the left leg.

Just spending a moment feeling what's here.

And now we're going to transition from lying on our backs to getting up onto all fours.

I'm going to do so very slowly and mindfully,

Just noticing each of the small movements within this transition.

And then settling into being on all fours.

Your wrists should be below your shoulders,

Your knees,

Below your hips,

Middle fingers pointing forward and fingers spread wide apart.

And just noticing how this posture is for you.

Just going to do a few back stretches.

So taking a breath in and as you breathe out,

Just tucking your tailbone under and arching your back up,

Lowering your head and bringing your chin towards your chest.

And then breathing in as you flatten your lower back,

Keep your core muscles tight to prevent the back collapsing.

And raise your head as you look forward,

Keeping your neck long and straight.

And then repeat this a few times,

Breathing out as you stretch the back up and breathing in as you come back down to a flat back position.

And now coming back to the tabletop position and just noticing what's present after doing these back stretches.

You can also shake out your wrists if you need to,

If there's any build up of tension there.

And now extending the right foot and leg backwards,

You can have your toes tucked underneath you and on the floor,

Or you can lift your foot up into the air,

Keeping your leg straight.

And then extending the left arm in front of you at shoulder level and looking out over the fingertips.

And just feeling this cross body stretch from the right heel or toe right through to the left fingertips.

Only working within your limits,

Listening to your body,

Discovering what's here,

Where those edges and limits are.

And now on an out breath,

Bring the knee and the hand back to the floor so you're on all fours.

And arch your back up to reverse the stretch we've just done.

And then coming back to the tabletop position and taking your left leg out behind you this time.

You can tuck your toes under on the floor or you can have your foot up in the air.

And then stretch out the right hand in front of you when you're ready,

Looking out over the fingertips,

Breathing freely,

Being present with any sensations,

Thinking about what it takes to balance in this way,

Being with any wobbles you might have.

And then on your next out breath,

Come back down to all fours and arch the back up again just to reverse that stretch.

Then we're slowly going to transition back into lying down on our backs,

The arms alongside our body and our feet falling apart and just feeling what it's like having done those stretches,

Noticing all the different sensations and flux in your body as you lie here.

Now drawing your knees towards the ceiling and your feet flat on the floor,

Close to your buttocks,

Going to take your hands and arms over your head again and just let them rest on the floor above your head.

And when you're ready,

Pushing off from your feet,

So bringing your buttocks up into the air,

Low back,

Middle back,

All come off the floor of the mat and you're resting on your head,

Your neck,

Your shoulders,

Your arms and your feet and the rest of the body is arched.

Staying here,

There's plenty of room to breathe and just experiencing the sensations in this posture as much as possible.

If you notice any of the regions that aren't involved in the stretch,

The face,

The arms,

If you notice any tension in there,

Just releasing that tension and relaxing those parts of the body.

Just working within your own limits,

If you haven't done so already,

Slowly bringing your back down vertebrae by vertebrae,

The top of the back all the way down to the base of the spine and stretching out the legs,

Bringing the arms back over the head so they're alongside the body with the palms up.

Just tuning into any sensations you might feel having done that movement.

And now we're going to do a simple twisting stretch,

So bringing the feet up close to the buttocks again,

But keeping your knees and your legs together this time,

Just breathing in and out a few times.

And now on an out breath,

Just letting the knees fall gently to the left as far as they'll go towards the floor,

Not forcing it,

Keeping your shoulders and the upper back on the floor of the mat,

And then taking the arms out either side of the body at shoulder level and turning your head to look out over your right arm,

Letting gravity do its job,

Perhaps pulling you a little further into the stretch and notice the feelings in the torso and the belly and the chest as you stretch out and the knees sink a little deeper into the stretch.

And now on your next in breath,

Just bringing the knees back up to center,

Bringing the arms alongside your body again and looking towards the ceiling,

Just aligning yourself in this central position.

And now we're going to let our knees fall over to the other side,

Just letting gravity do its work,

Knees falling over towards the right,

Stretching our arms out again at the shoulder level and this time looking out,

Looking out over the left arm and just seeing how it feels to be in this stretch,

Any sensations in the shoulders,

In the abdomen.

And then on the next in breath,

Coming back to center and this time bringing both knees up towards your chest and hugging your knees,

Pulling them close to your chest and just gently rocking side to side,

Massaging the back.

And then releasing your legs and letting them stretch out onto the mat and being open to whatever sensations are here in this moment.

And now bending your left knee so that your left foot is on the floor alongside the right knee and take your deep breath in as you breathe out,

Just taking the right leg straight up into the air with the sole of the foot up towards the ceiling and just going as far as is comfortable for you in this moment.

And just breathing,

Maintaining this posture.

If you notice that parts of your body are tense,

Your shoulders,

Your face might be tense,

Your arms might be pushing on the floor,

Just let them relax,

They're not involved right now.

Notice any sense you have of wanting your leg to be straighter or higher up.

And then you can gently rotate your ankle in one direction,

Feel muscles in the leg if you're involved in doing this.

And then you can change direction,

Rotate your ankle the other way.

If you want to intensify the stretch,

You can take hold of your leg just above the knee and draw the knee towards the upper body.

And now letting the leg come down very slowly,

Noticing the sensations involved in lowering the leg and when it makes contact with the floor,

Notice any feeling of release.

And now with both legs stretched out,

Just noticing any difference between sensations in the right leg or the left leg,

Having just done this stretch.

And now bringing your right knee up,

Your right foot next to your left knee,

And allowing the left foot to come up as far as it will go,

And just settling in here.

Noticing any sense of wanting your leg to be higher or straighter than it is.

Noticing if it has a different limit from the other leg or from the last time you did the practice.

And as best you can,

Just letting go of any judgments that might arise and just being with your experience as you let your back,

Your shoulders,

Your arms,

Your face relax.

And you can always play with moving foot around in one direction and then moving it in the other direction.

If you want to intensify the stretch,

Taking hold of your leg just above the knee and pulling it towards your chest.

And now slowly lowering the left leg and feeling that release when it makes contact with the floor.

Stretching it out alongside the other leg.

And coming to stillness,

Just noticing any sensations,

Your legs or any other part of your body after doing those movements.

And when you're ready,

Roll onto your left side and rest your head on your left arm.

Putting your right hand on the floor in front of you,

In front of your chest.

Legs straight,

Right leg on top of the left and on an in-breath slowly lifting the right leg up.

As if your two legs are two blades at a scissor.

Lifting your right leg up as far as it will go,

Wherever it winds up staying,

Just holding it there and breathing.

Exploring your limits,

How high the leg will lift naturally,

How long you can hold it there.

And if you haven't already done so,

Slowly letting the leg come down,

Experiencing that wave of release.

And just being with any sensations that are here right now.

And slowly rolling onto your other side,

Noticing the movements as you do so.

How does it feel to be switching from the left side to lying on your right side?

Resting your head on your right arm,

Your left hand on the floor in front of you,

Legs straight,

Left leg on top of the right leg.

And when you're ready,

Lifting up the left leg as to wherever it comfortably goes and holding it,

Holding it there.

Feeling sensations in the left thigh,

Relaxing the parts of your body that are not involved in this movement.

And if you haven't done so already,

Bringing your left leg down very gently,

Very slowly.

And roll onto the front of your body,

Lying on one side of your face with your arms alongside your body,

Just settling into stillness.

Each time you breathe in,

You can feel the body pressing against the floor.

And on each exhale,

You can feel it relaxing away from the floor.

Allowing your body to just sink into the floor,

Being open to any sensations resulting from lying this way.

And from the after effects of the movements that we've been doing.

Now bring your chin to the floor,

Not using your hands at all.

As you breathe in,

Just lift up your right leg,

Keeping it straight as you can and noticing any sensations,

Noticing the muscles that are working,

Noticing the breath.

And when you're ready,

Slowly letting the right leg come down,

Relaxing on the side of your face and sinking into the floor.

And now putting your chin back onto the mat,

Pointing your toes and lifting the left leg off the floor.

Keeping those muscles that are not involved in the stretch relaxed.

Breathing freely and letting your leg come down gently and resting your head on the mat on the other side.

And now bringing your chin back to the mat,

Pointing your toes.

And on the next breath,

Lifting up your head,

Your neck and your shoulders,

Keeping your legs and your feet on the floor,

Not using your hand,

Just looking forward.

And moving more deeply into the stretch as you breathe in,

Softening as you breathe out.

Being sensitive to what's right for you until you're ready on an out breath to slowly come down,

Let your head rest on one side of the face or the other and just being fully present with any sensations that are here right now.

And then we're going to come up onto all fours,

Our hands,

Beneath our shoulders,

Knees,

Beneath our hips.

I'm just going to arch our back again,

Reversing the stretches we've just done,

Letting the head come down,

Chin towards the chest.

And on the next out breath,

Stretching up again,

Coming back down to tabletop.

Finally,

Coming back to a starting position,

Lying flat on your back,

Your arms alongside your body,

Palms facing up and just lying here,

Breathing.

Scanning your whole body and feeling any sensations that might be present after having completed the mindful movement practice.

And you can lie here for as long as you want to,

Or you can gently roll onto your side,

Slowly come up to sitting in your own time.

And transitioning mindfully and slowly into the next part of your day or your evening.

Thank you for practicing with me.

Reviews

That was lovely. Soothing voice. I especially appreciated the recognition that we may be doing this in the daytime or evening by your simply wishing we enjoy the rest of our day or evening! It’s the small details that make a big difference. Thank you!

Enjoyed that thank you, didn’t do it all as I can be affected the next day but it felt right for me. Will definitely come back 😊

So appreciate this gental back exercise. Calm voice with clean instructions. I feel more relaxed from my severe back pain. I wounder is there one specifically for upper back pain?

Great. A nice and calming voice with just the right amount of instructions.

Wow! Thank you so much! This was wonderful! I am going to get surgery soon, and my back was really hurting. This really helped. And I can do this at my own pace when I am in the hospital bed. Thank you so much!

Very refreshing, thank you.

Amazing. So much relief xx

Very relaxing and comforting. Thank you for the options at the start, saying to be mindful of our own limits and that it is okay to sit some stretches out if they are too much.
My back feels less tense, but also stronger at the same time. I popped my low back right after and felt instant relief from that as well!