Mindful Movement

Eluned Gold from the CMRP leads a Mindful Movement Practice. You will be invited to engage in some gentle movements during this practice.

Transcript

Welcome to the guidance for mindful movement.

Before beginning this practice,

There are a few considerations to be aware of.

You will be guided in some gentle yoga postures,

And the intention is to simply bring awareness to your body's sensations,

And to notice and honour your body's limitations,

Which may be different each time you do this practice.

It is very important not to push beyond your limits,

But rather to explore them gently.

If you know of any limitations to your ability to move in these ways,

Be particularly careful to only do the postures which feel right for you.

You may wish to check with your doctor before beginning the practice if you are unsure that these postures are safe and appropriate for you.

Above all,

Treating yourself gently and kindly,

With an attitude of kindly curiosity,

To explore your limits and not push beyond them.

This is guidance for the mindful movement practices,

For the mindfulness course that you are taking part in.

The guidance will take you through some gentle yoga postures,

Which are all done from the position of lying down on the floor.

If it's not possible for you to be lying on the floor now or at any time,

Then some of these postures may be adapted for doing in a chair.

But also know that you can have benefit from these postures by visualising them as we go through the guidance,

Imagining yourself making these movements.

Remembering the intention for these postures is to bring openness,

Curiosity,

Awareness to the sensations that you experience as we move through these different yoga postures.

Letting go of any judgement that you may be making about yourself,

Any desire for things to be different,

Any competitiveness that arises as we go through these postures.

As best you can,

Simply allowing things to be just as they are,

Moment by moment,

And noticing,

Bringing awareness.

So choosing a time and a place when you can be warm and comfortable and won't be disturbed.

Coming to lie on the floor,

On your back,

On a mat or a folded blanket.

And simply noticing the sensations of settling into this posture.

Letting the body relax into the support of the floor,

Letting the feet flop apart,

Having the arms down by the sides,

And the head comfortably in line with the spine.

So now bringing your attention to the sensations of contact with the floor,

The heels,

The backs of the legs,

The buttocks.

Noticing how the small of the back does not quite make contact with the floor.

Taking your attention into the parts of the back that do have contact with the floor,

The back,

The shoulder blades,

The shoulders,

And the back of the head.

Then choosing to close your eyes if you wish.

Or having them open with a soft,

Unfocused gaze.

Feeling the breath maybe at the nostrils with the cool in breath and the warm out breath.

Or in the chest or belly.

And if you're experiencing a difficulty in settling,

Then you may just bring one hand to your belly to support your awareness of the breath in the body.

So allowing now the body and the breath to simply settle and calm as you lie here,

Preparing to do these yoga postures.

So if you wish,

You can bend the knees and have the feet flat on the floor,

Or you can have the legs outstretched,

Whatever feels right for you.

And then slowly and gently,

Really feeling the sensations,

Allowing the arms to raise up in the air and up over the head.

Taking your time to arrive there.

Recognising the limitations of your own body.

Making adaptations if you need to,

Perhaps bending the elbows.

Just allowing the arms to come to the floor above the head,

If that's okay for you.

And then just allowing the whole body to really stretch out.

From the heels all the way up through the backs of the legs,

The back,

The shoulders,

The arms out to the very tips of the fingers.

Just stretching.

Becoming aware of all of the sensations of stretching.

The effect that this has on the breath.

And choosing for yourself how much to stretch,

How long to hold the stretch.

But perhaps becoming aware of those edges,

Those decisions.

And then when you're ready,

Releasing the stretch and bringing the arms back over the head,

All the way down to come to rest at the sides of the body again.

And simply noticing the effects of having done that stretch.

And now if they're not already bent,

Bending the knees and bringing the feet up towards the buttocks.

Having the feet and knees apart,

About hip width apart.

And taking the arms out at shoulder height,

With the palms flat on the floor.

Now we're just going to rock the pelvis.

So pushing the small of the back down towards the floor,

So that that small gap at the small of the back is decreased and may even disappear.

And then releasing that and tipping the pelvis backwards,

So that you exaggerate that gap between the small of your back and the floor.

Just alternate slowly in this way.

This is quite a small movement.

Simply moving the pelvis backwards and forwards.

Tilting it one way and then the other.

If you're uncertain of this movement,

Placing a hand under the small of your back.

Will soon inform you of whether this movement is correct or not.

Because you'll feel the pressure on your hand as you tilt the pelvis forward.

And then the release of pressure as you tilt the pelvis backwards.

So in your own time,

Just doing this three or four times,

This pelvic tilt.

Tuning into the sensations of doing this.

You may choose to do this with the rhythm of your own breath,

But that's not essential.

And then coming to rest,

To stillness.

And feeling all of the sensations resulting from this movement.

So when you're ready,

Bringing both knees up towards the chest and wrapping your arms around them,

So that you're hugging your knees to your chest.

And just experimenting with pulling them in tight or letting them go a little.

And if you wish,

You can gently rock backwards and forwards,

Giving your back a little massage.

Or moving from side to side and just noticing the effects of that.

Gentle,

Small movements.

Remembering only to do what feels right for you in each moment.

And then hugging the knees close into your chest,

Raising the head so that it moves towards your knees.

It's unlikely that your head will reach your knees,

So this is just a small movement of the head,

Neck and shoulders,

Bringing the head up towards the knees.

And just holding this for a moment or two.

And gently lowering the head back down.

And then doing this again,

Really feeling the weight of the head as you lift it up off the ground.

And then gently let it lower.

Being careful not to let the head bump back down onto the floor,

Making this a controlled and gentle movement.

And then releasing the legs and letting the feet and legs stretch back out again.

And letting the arms come to rest on the floor.

Perhaps choosing at this time to close the eyes and really tuning into the sensations resulting from those movements.

What can you notice in your body now?

Where are the sensations?

Where is there throbbing or tingling or intensity?

And are there parts of your body with no sensation?

Bringing a sense of curiosity.

Letting go of any judging mind.

And then raising the right knee up to the chest and holding the right knee into the chest with both arms wrapped around it.

And raising the head up towards the right knee.

And then releasing the head gently back to the floor,

Releasing the right knee,

Letting it come back to the floor,

Leg outstretched.

And raising the left knee up to the chest and hugging that to your body.

And then if this feels okay,

Gently raising the head towards the left knee.

Being aware of the sensations.

Any tensions,

Any strains.

Any parts of your body that are going,

Oh,

That feels good.

Gently releasing the head back to the floor and allowing the left leg to stretch out once more.

And breathing.

Noticing all of the sensations in the body arising from those movements and the sensations of the breath in the body.

Moving in and out.

So now we're going to move up into kneeling on all fours.

So noticing if the mind has already moved ahead.

And as best you can,

Bringing this alert awareness into all of the movements involved in moving from being lying on your back to moving up into all fours.

Remembering if you have any problems with your back,

It's really kind to roll onto one side before you try and sit up.

So taking some moments now and bringing awareness into this transition of coming into a position of kneeling on all fours.

And we're going to do two postures now called the cat and the cow.

But before we start setting up our posture,

Checking that the knees are directly under the hips,

Hip width apart.

And that the hands are directly under the shoulders,

Shoulder width apart.

And that the head is in line with the spine,

With the face facing down to the floor.

So a stable posture like a table.

And noticing the sensations of this posture.

Seeing if it's possible to simply be with sensations of this posture,

Noticing if the mind is busy at all.

With leaping ahead or remembering.

Coming back to now.

This posture,

This table posture.

Right here,

Right now.

And beginning these two postures by moving the tailbone up towards the front of the body towards the arms.

And this has the effect of arching the back.

So the back arches up.

And this is like a startled cat.

And as you do this,

Allowing the head to drop down to between the arms.

Moving slowly and gently and smoothly into each of these postures.

Remembering that at any time you can stop.

If you need to sit back and give your wrists a rest,

That's fine too.

So coming into the cat posture with the back arched and the head lowered.

And then slowly moving the tailbone back out.

Continuing the movement until the back is dipped.

At the same time raising the head.

Just a little so that you can look out ahead of you.

And breathing.

And then moving the pelvis,

The tailbone back in towards the front of the body again.

Arching the back up.

Then moving the tailbone towards the front of the body again,

Letting the back arch and the head drop down between the arms.

Then beginning now to make this one continuous movement.

Raising the head.

Allowing the back to flatten and then to continue until it becomes dipped.

This is the cow posture.

And you may wish to coordinate your breath with these movements.

Breathing in on one movement and out on the other.

Remembering it's fine to stop and rest at any time you need to.

It's also fine to opt out of any of the postures and just remain lying on the floor visualising the postures.

So coming to rest back when you've finished.

Coming to rest back in the table posture.

Back flat.

Head in line with the spine.

And then if this is okay for you,

From this stable posture,

Raising the right leg out behind you.

Not up in the air but simply in line with the back,

The buttocks.

And noticing all of the sensations arising from this posture.

We're now going to challenge ourselves to balance.

So with the right leg raised behind you.

Lifting the left arm from the floor and raising that out in front of you at shoulder height.

And looking out along the arm and breathing.

And noticing all of the sensations of this balance.

Noticing how the body is in constant movement in order to balance.

Then when you're ready,

Coming back,

Bringing the knee back down to the floor and the hand back down to the floor.

And then swapping sides of the body,

This time raising the left leg up behind you.

And when you're steady and stable and balanced,

Allowing the right arm to come up.

And looking out along to the fingers of the right hand and breathing.

And returning the knee to the floor and the arm to the floor.

Sitting back on your knees and giving your wrists a rest if that's important to you.

And simply noticing the effects of having done these postures,

These movements.

And then when you're ready,

Coming to lie on your back once again.

Again bringing awareness to all of the movements necessary to shift from being on all fours to lying on the floor on your back.

And then again remembering only to do the postures that feel right for you.

Following the wisdom of your own body.

Bending your knees so that the feet are flat on the floor and the knees pointing up to the ceiling.

And then raising the arms up over the head again until they're resting on the floor behind your head.

Then allowing the buttocks and the pelvic region to lift up off the ground so that your weight is now held on your feet and on your shoulders.

The head is tucked into the chest.

Breathing.

Noticing all of the sensations of shifting into this posture.

Holding for as long as feels okay for you.

And when you're ready to come back down,

Imagining that the spine is uncurling from the neck.

So that you gradually bring the torso back to the ground vertebra by vertebra.

Until the buttocks are resting on the ground and you're back in your original position.

Tuning into the sensations of having done this posture.

And then repeating this movement if that feels okay for you.

Slowly lifting the buttocks off the ground.

And allowing the back to come off the ground vertebra by vertebra.

Until your weight is being supported on your feet and your shoulders and your arms above your head.

Holding this posture for as long as feels okay for you and then gradually rolling yourself back down.

Until all of your back is in contact with the floor once again.

And breathing and noticing sensations of this movement.

Now with your knees still bent clasping your hands behind your head.

And with your feet and knees together allowing your legs to roll over to the right side of your body.

They may reach the floor,

They may not.

And at the same time allowing the head to move to the left so that you're looking out along your left shoulder.

And just feeling the sensations arising from this twist.

Diagonal sensations across the body.

And when you're ready coming back to upright,

Moving the legs back to centre and the head back to centre in the same movement.

And then if this feels okay for you allowing the legs to drop down to the opposite side at the same time as you move your head to look out over the other shoulder.

And just resting in this posture for a moment or two.

Feeling all the stretches,

The compressions.

Where are the sensations in your body now?

And then coming back to upright when you feel ready.

Keeping the knees bent and the feet flat on the floor.

Raising the right leg straight up at right angles to your body.

With the foot flexed so that the toes are pointing down towards your body.

And just hanging out here,

Noticing the sensations of having your leg raised in this manner.

And again if this feels okay,

Grasping the leg with both hands,

This may be behind the knee or in the calf or possibly even the ankle or foot.

Just very gently easing the leg towards your body.

Feeling the stretches.

Places of intensity as you do this posture.

And only doing what feels okay for you.

Then releasing your grasp on the leg.

Letting the leg come back to upright.

Maybe just pointing the toes and flexing the foot a couple of times if that feels okay.

Then bending the knee and placing that foot back on the floor.

And letting the other leg come upright at right angles to the body.

Just hanging out and seeing how that feels now.

And then when you're ready,

Grasping this leg either behind the knee or at the calves or ankle.

Very gently easing the leg towards your body.

Noticing the stretch.

Noticing the places where your body says,

That's enough,

No further.

And then breathing into those places.

Seeing if any softening happens.

And then when you're ready,

Releasing the grasp on the leg and bringing both feet back to the floor.

And then if you wish,

Letting the legs stretch out or keeping the knees bent.

Simply being with all of the sensations.

Noticing.

Breathing.

And then when you're ready,

Rolling over onto one side.

And supporting the head on the hand.

So the elbow is on the ground.

The head is supported on the hand.

Your other hand can be on the floor in front of you to support the body.

So you're lying on your side,

Head resting on your hand and one leg on top of the other.

So just raising the one leg up in the air.

So the legs are doing a scissor movement.

And just noticing the sensations of that.

The stretches.

The intensities.

Simply being aware.

What does that feel like?

Where in your body are you noticing that?

And then letting the leg lower back down gently,

Not letting it fall back down.

And maybe repeating the movement again in your own time.

Only going as far as feels right for you.

Tuning into those places of intensity.

Choosing whether to bring the breath to those places and maybe soften around them.

Seeing if there's any change in your capacity for movement as you breathe into these intensities.

And then when you're ready,

Releasing that,

Coming back to lying on the back and then rolling over onto your other side.

Once again,

Supporting the head on the hands,

Having one hand in front of your body.

And this time letting the other leg raise up into the air and exploring the sensations in this part of your body.

Releasing when you feel ready,

Letting the leg lower back down and then maybe just repeating that movement.

Or maybe letting yourself rest.

And now moving to lie on your front with your legs outstretched and your arms down by your side.

So that your face or your chin is on the ground.

And letting yourself breathe and soften into this posture.

Noticing how is this?

Where are the sensations of contact now?

And then when you're ready,

Raising one leg up behind you,

Up into the air,

Only as far as feels okay for you.

Feeling the sensations perhaps in the buttocks or the small of the back.

Or even in the chest as you breathe.

Remembering there's no competition in this,

Only doing what feels right.

Bringing a sense of curiosity,

Openness,

Softness to each of these movements.

Letting the leg lower gently back down now and raising the other leg up behind you in the same manner.

And exploring sensations arising from this movement.

The breath,

Pressure,

Tensions,

Stretches.

How are you right now?

Letting the leg lower back down when you're ready.

Just spending a moment or two lying on your front,

Perhaps resting the head on your arms.

And breathing.

Softening into the sense of contact that you have with the floor.

The feeling of support.

And then having your legs together,

Knees and feet together,

Arms down by your sides.

Allowing the head and the shoulders and the top of the chest to raise off the ground if that's okay for you.

Making sure that you're not putting a strain on the neck and that the lift comes as far as possible from the shoulders and the upper chest.

Noticing how easy you're breathing now as you take up this posture.

Only holding for as long as feels okay for you and very gently letting yourself lower back down.

Perhaps turning the head to one side or the other.

Coming to rest on the ground.

Breathing.

Noticing the sensations of this posture.

And then when you're ready,

Slowly moving back into a position on all fours.

Coming to your table posture first and then letting the back arch up like the startled cat,

Letting the head drop down between the arms.

This time just coming back to the table posture,

To the flat back.

And then repeating the cat posture one more time,

Moving the pelvis in towards the arms,

Letting the back arch up and the head drop down between the arms.

Feeling the sensations of this posture,

This movement.

And coming back to your table.

And then when you're ready,

Moving to be lying on your back once again.

And as we come to the end of the mindful movement practice,

Really allowing yourself to settle into this sense of feeling supported by the floor.

All the points of contact between your body and the floor.

The back of the heels,

The calves,

The buttocks,

The back,

The arms and hands,

And the back of the head.

Noticing how is your body feeling now.

And then bringing your attention to sensations of breath.

Maybe at the nostrils or in the rise and fall of the chest and belly.

Noticing as you lie in stillness now,

If the mind becomes busy,

And as best you can just keeping your attention with the breath and the breath in the body.

And then expanding your awareness around the breath to a whole body awareness.

Lying here,

Supported by the floor.

Still present.

Reviews

Really lovely practice for body awareness and deep mindfulness. only critique is the beginning and ending chimes were very shrill and tough on my sensitive ears.

Really relaxing, perfect before bed, thank you

Thank you 🌺🌺🌺for this wonderful movement 🙏Namaste

Very nice. I'm thinking I might do something like this with one of my next yoga classes. I have some women who struggle with the more challenging poses and I'd like it to be more inclusive.

Great!! Thanks!!