Mindful movement.
In this practice we're going to be focusing on sensations of the body in movement.
These movements are simple and not taxing in any way.
Even so,
It's important to be guided by the wisdom of your own body,
Doing what feels right for you in each moment,
And allowing yourself to adapt the movements in any way.
If you have any kind of physical problems or restrictions,
Taking some advice from your physician or physiotherapist before doing even these simple movements.
So now coming to stand with the feet hip-width apart,
Back straight,
Shoulders dropped,
And relaxed arms by your sides.
Remembering as we go through these movements,
You're not in competition with yourself or anybody else.
There's no goal,
No place to get to.
Simply paying attention to your body as you move through these simple practices.
So now moving your attention down to your feet,
Feeling the contact between your feet and the floor.
Gently expanding your field of awareness up through the body to the knees,
Checking that the knees are soft and not locked.
Up to the pelvis,
Allowing the back to be straight,
The shoulders relaxed,
And the head comfortably balanced on the body.
Arms by your sides,
Relaxed,
Supported.
Taking up this posture can be a practice in itself.
Try it next time you're feeling a bit unsettled.
Just allowing yourself to pay attention to standing in this way.
Erect,
Dignified,
Like a mountain.
Now turning your attention to the sensations of the breath in your body as you stand here like a mountain.
Feeling the breath moving into and out of your body.
When you feel ready,
Raising the right arm out to the side,
Palm facing downwards.
Doing the movement slowly and smoothly,
Feeling the weight of the arm,
The temperature of the air as your arm moves through it.
And raising the arm up over the head in whatever manner works for you.
Maybe arm straight,
Maybe bent at the elbow.
And when your arm is up as high as it will go,
Turning your head gently to look at your hand up in the air.
And then stretching up as if you were reaching for something that was just out of reach.
Feeling the stretch all down the right side of the body.
Maybe even allowing the left heel to lift off the ground slightly.
Tuning into the sensations of this stretch.
Places in the body where the sensation is rich and intense.
Places in the body where there's little sensation.
And breathing into the places of intensity and richness.
Allowing the breath to bring softness,
Perhaps ease.
And when you're ready,
Returning the heel to the floor,
Allowing the right arm to gently drift down to your side again.
Taking a moment or two to feel the effect in your body of this simple movement.
And when you're ready,
Repeating this with the left arm.
So raising the left arm out to the side,
Palm down.
Up over the head.
Straight or arm bent.
And when your arm is up high,
Turning your face to look at your left hand.
Becoming aware of the sensations in the neck from this very simple and subtle movement.
And then stretching up with the left hand.
Letting the right heel come off the floor.
And breathing into this stretch.
Taking your breath to places of intensity where you can feel the stretch.
And when you're ready,
Allowing the right heel to return to the floor.
And gently letting the left arm drift back down to your sides.
Feeling the air passing across the bare skin as you do so.
And then standing for a moment in this posture.
Feeling the sensations in the body and the breath in the body.
Now moving attention up to the shoulders.
And beginning to practice some shoulder rolls.
Starting by hunching both shoulders up towards the ears.
And then allowing the shoulders to move towards the back of the body as the shoulder blades move towards each other.
And then dropping the shoulders down.
Moving them forwards so that the shoulder blades move apart from one another and the chest is hunched.
Completing the roll by bringing the shoulders back up towards the ears.
And slowly repeating this in your own time.
Shoulders up towards the ears,
To the back,
Down and to the front.
And if you wish you can coordinate the breath with these movements.
So that as your chest is open and your shoulder blades are moving towards one another,
You're breathing in.
As the shoulders move forwards and the chest is constricted,
You're breathing out.
So doing a couple of shoulder rolls in this way.
Breathing in as the shoulders come up to the ears and out to the back and out as the shoulders move down and forwards.
Then coming to rest for a moment or two and reversing the shoulder rolls so that you begin by moving the shoulders forwards.
And then down.
And then back.
And then up towards the ears.
Once again,
Breathing with this movement.
Coming to rest and tuning into the sensations in your body from this movement.
And now a standing balance.
Coming to stand in your mountain pose once again.
Feeling the contact with the floor,
Feeling yourself balanced on both feet,
Steady,
Comfortable,
Relaxed.
Gradually moving the weight now across onto the left leg.
Noticing all the sensations as you do this until you come to the point where if you want to you can raise the right foot off the ground.
So choosing now whether to come into the full balance,
Whether to leave your right toe on the floor to steady yourself.
Feeling the sensations of having all of your weight on one leg.
Maybe raising your arms to help you balance.
And being aware of all of the tiny movements necessary in order to balance.
Just like life,
We're constantly making small adjustments in order to keep ourselves in balance.
Breathing as you stand here balancing on one leg.
And when you're ready,
Returning your weight across to both feet,
Both feet flat on the floor and shifting the weight across to the right leg.
And letting the left leg come off the ground.
If you wish,
Or keeping a toe there for balance.
Arms out to help you.
Breathing,
Feeling the weight down through the right leg.
And when you're ready,
Returning your weight onto both feet,
Standing steady,
Balanced on both legs.
And taking a moment to become aware of the sensations of doing this movement.
And as we come to the end of this movement practice,
Remembering that cultivating awareness of the body and movement means that we can be aware of that body at any point during the day as we go about our daily business.
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