MBSR Mindful Movement Standing Practice
This 45-minute track, in the tradition of Jon Kabat-Zinn's Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction course (MBSR), introduces mindful movement in the form of simple, accessible yoga connecting the mind, body, movement, and breath. This standing sequence is intended to be accessible for those with typical physical ranges of movement but can be adapted for physical limitations. It is intended for practice standing on a flat surface such as a mat on the floor with adequate space to extend the arms in any direction.
Transcript
Welcome to this 45-minute formal practice of standing mindful movement,
Also known as yoga.
In mindful movement,
We're connecting the mind and the body with movement and the breath.
In mindful movement,
We're honoring our body with kind and careful attention to what we are experiencing as we experience it.
Each of us is responsible for our own body,
Making decisions moment by moment about each movement,
Pose,
Or posture that we take.
If at any point you find your body resisting or approaching a limit in response to a suggested movement or position,
I invite you to pull back or return to the standing pose,
Noticing your breath.
Or perhaps you might visualize in your mind your body's movement in that direction or in that position.
Without judgment,
Simply seeing yourself move in your mind's eye.
If at any point you find your mind resisting a suggested movement or position because it's new or feels slightly awkward,
I invite you to explore the movement or the pose with a sense of curiosity,
Noticing how your body feels as it gently moves in or toward the suggested position,
Recognizing always you have the choice to move toward that position or not,
And whatever choice you make is right.
The practice of mindful movement is in the present moment,
This moment.
In mindful movement,
We're not comparing ourselves with other people,
And we're not competing with our memories of what we ourselves may have done before or ideas about what we might be able to do in the future.
Mindful movement is a practice for you now,
In this moment.
Whether you're already standing or not,
Taking a moment now to notice how you are grounded and connected to the floor or the surface below you,
Noticing points of connection.
If you're seated,
Noticing the grounding of the seat bones,
Contact points of the legs,
The connections of the feet to the floor.
I'll invite you now to set an intention to stand and noticing all the various sensations that occur as you adjust yourself and what's around you as you come to the standing pose,
If that's what works for you today.
And now as you have come to standing,
Noticing the placement of the feet,
Perhaps shifting the weight slightly side to side,
Noticing the connections to the surface,
And then perhaps coming to stillness.
Noticing the toes spread wide,
The feet firmly planted,
Securing,
The connection from the feet to the ankles,
Up the legs to the knees,
Soft,
Not locked,
To the hips open,
The tailbone slightly tucked,
The ribs are relaxed.
Inviting our attention to the shoulders.
If it's comfortable,
Taking the shoulders up towards the ears with an inhale,
Exhaling back and down,
Releasing the shoulder blades toward the floor.
Noticing the chest open,
The arms to the sides,
Perhaps allowing the palms to face toward the front.
The head is centered,
The neck upright,
Chin slightly tucked,
And the crown of the head toward the sky.
The image of a mountain.
Noticing what is present.
Without a story.
Simply standing.
Simply being.
Aware of the breath in this mountain pose.
Preparing for the first stretch.
Inviting our arms out to the sides,
Slowly raising the arms and with a full inhalation,
Perhaps up to a Y if that's comfortable today.
Perhaps lifting overhead if that is comfortable today.
The eyes are gazing forward and we're breathing.
Noticing the stretching along the sides of the body and if it feels right.
Inhaling now with the last of this stretch and releasing with an out breath,
The arms gently floating down.
Slowly,
Inch by inch,
Towards the side body with an awareness,
An appreciation of the gravity.
Noticing the sensation from the shoulders through the tips of the fingers.
Back into mountain pose.
And here in our mountain,
Noticing any changes in sensation or no changes after this gentle overhead stretch.
From our standing position,
Very gently and slowly raising the arms out to the T position,
Straight out to the sides.
And then letting them push out from there.
With an inhale,
Then exhale,
Lift the fingertips up,
Raising the fingertips pointing towards the ceiling.
Pressing the palms out to the sides as if you were holding a wall apart.
Noticing sensations in the hands,
The wrists,
The forearms.
Inhale in deeply.
And then very slowly with the exhale,
Letting the arms come back to the side of the body.
Hanging gently down.
Releasing all the tension,
All the effort from the arms.
And now from our standing pose,
Preparing for our next stretching pose,
Remembering to stay within range of comfort.
Imagine yourself standing beneath a fruit tree.
Gently looking up to the right,
See the fruit just above you within your reach.
Gently,
Slowly inhale the right arm up out to the side,
To the T,
To the Y.
And if comfortable,
Straight overhead,
Reaching up for the fruit just within range.
Inhale,
Lifting your left heel up,
Extending your stretch,
And noticing the sensations along the entire right side of the body.
The foot,
Through the leg,
Through the sides,
All the way through to the fingertips.
And breathing.
Inhale,
Tall.
Slowly exhale,
Releasing the left heel to the floor,
Floating the right arm down to the side,
One inch at a time,
To the point of where it comes in contact with the side body,
And releasing.
Inhale,
Looking up over the left shoulder.
See the fruit above you.
Slowly inhale the left arm up,
One inch at a time,
Out to the T,
Up to the Y,
And if comfortable today,
Overhead,
Stretching and reaching while you breathe.
Inhale,
Lift the right heel off the floor,
And notice the sensation of stretching along the left side,
Along the leg,
The side body,
Through the arm to the fingertips.
Inhale with a stretch,
And then exhale,
Slowly releasing the right heel to the floor,
Floating the left arm ever so gently,
One inch at a time,
Back to the side body,
Until it comes in contact.
Release the tension from both arms,
And notice how it feels after this stretch.
For our next stretch,
We'll raise both arms out to the sides,
Inhaling the arms up as far as comfortable,
Bringing them up over the head,
And stretching tall.
Letting our right hip move to the right,
Inhale and exhale both arms gently to the left,
Looking up,
Seeing the ceiling.
Noticing within our comfortable range,
Movement in this crescent curve shape.
Slowly inhale the arms back up to the overhead,
Exhale releasing the hip to the left,
Bringing the arms to the right,
Crescent shape stretch.
Noticing the sensations in the body.
Inhaling back up straight,
Stretching all the way,
Slowly exhaling the arms back down the sides,
One inch at a time,
Until they come in contact with the side body,
And then releasing the effort.
Here in our mountain pose,
Noticing how the body feels after that kind of extension,
That kind of breath,
That kind of movement,
Shoulder rolls.
Gently inhaling the shoulders up to the ears with a full inhalation,
Exhaling the shoulders back,
Shoulder blades coming together,
The ribs quiet,
The tailbone tucked,
And releasing the shoulders back down.
Repeating that shoulder roll,
Inhaling the shoulders up,
Exhaling the shoulders back,
And down.
Noticing the sensations,
Being certain not to push ourselves beyond the comfortable limit.
And now changing directions for our shoulder rolls.
Inhaling the shoulders up,
Full inhale breath,
Towards the ears,
Exhaling the shoulders forward,
And down.
Inhaling the shoulders up towards the ears a second time,
Noticing the sensations,
Exhaling the shoulders forward,
And down.
With our arms by our sides,
Explore how it feels in the shoulders,
In the neck.
Do you feel different after completing a shoulder roll?
Our next mind hole movement will be neck rolls.
In neck rolls,
We are respecting any limitations we have within our neck,
And not pushing any limits or edges,
But simply exploring natural and comfortable movements.
Inhale,
And with an exhale,
Slowly bring your chin towards your chest,
Releasing the chin down,
Not pressing or stretching or pushing,
Just noticing how far the head naturally comes down.
With an inhale,
Bring the right ear towards the right shoulder,
Noticing the stretch in the left side of the neck.
Even as the right side extends as the right ear comes towards the shoulder,
It's a comfortable movement.
No pushing,
No edges,
Just breathing.
And then with an inhale and a breath movement,
Bring the chin back towards the chest,
Slowly,
Carefully,
And then bringing the left ear towards the left shoulder,
Noticing the stretch and extension in the right side of the neck as we bring our head towards the left.
And then naturally,
With a breath,
Bringing our chin back towards the center,
Head down,
And then very slowly bringing our chin back up,
Eyes gazing forward,
And noticing the effect of a neck roll.
Our next pose will be a balancing pose.
With balancing poses,
It's perfectly okay to be standing next to something solid,
Like a wall or a chair that doesn't move,
Something that you could place a hand on to give yourself a sense of balance if you should need it.
Feel free to do that.
From this position,
Your mountain pose.
Very slowly,
Inhale the arms up,
Away from the sides,
Out to the T position.
Now begin shifting the balance of your weight to your right foot.
With your breath,
Inhale,
Exhale,
Moving the balance of weight over to the right foot,
Noticing the effect of shifting your balance from two feet to one foot.
With the firm foundation of the right foot,
Gently extend the left foot out to the side,
Allowing the toe or the ball of the foot to remain in contact with the floor.
This may be the position that you maintain.
If it feels right today,
Lift the left leg up just ever so slightly off of the floor and find the moment of balance in this pose.
Notice your breath.
Allowing our foot to touch the floor or our hands to touch a solid object,
If that's what we need today.
Inhaling the left foot back towards the floor and then bringing the left foot back towards the right foot.
Shifting our balance back to both feet,
Inhale and exhale,
Slowly releasing the arms back to the side.
And from our mountain pose,
Slowly once again,
Inhaling the arms up,
Out to the T and extending them out as far as comfortable,
Keeping the tailbone tucked underneath,
The ribs relaxed.
Inhale the weight to the left foot,
So the body's balance is resting on the left leg.
Inhale the right leg out to the side,
Keeping the toe or the ball of the foot in contact with the floor.
Noticing the sensation of balance on the left leg.
And if it's comfortable for you today,
Lifting the right leg off the floor,
Finding the balance on the left leg.
Noticing.
Inhaling,
Allowing the right foot to come back to the floor and then bringing the right foot back to the left foot.
Shifting the balance from the left to both feet.
Inhale fully and slowly exhale,
Releasing the arms back to the sides,
Back to our standing mountain pose.
Notice the effect on the body of shifting balance and holding a pose.
Now from our standing mountain pose,
We approach the next pose a gentle twist.
Bringing your hands to your hips,
Relaxing the shoulders.
Inhale and without turning your body,
Gently turn your head towards the right side.
Looking to the right,
Perhaps looking over the right shoulder.
Not stressing or pressing the stretch,
Simply looking and gazing within the range of comfort.
Noticing the looking over the right shoulder.
Now inhaling our eyes back to center and our face pointed forward.
Exhale,
Slowly turning the head towards the left.
Chin towards the left shoulder.
Eyes looking back behind the left shoulder.
Without pressing too hard,
Simply noticing the effect.
Turning the head to the left.
Inhaling back to center.
And repeating to the right side.
Turning from the neck,
Turning the head to the right.
Chin towards the right shoulder but looking level.
Eyes looking behind.
Slowly inhaling back to center.
And once again,
Turning the head towards the left.
Chin over the left shoulder as comfortably as it can be.
And looking back behind.
Inhaling back to center.
The second twist will turn from the ankles.
Inhale fully.
Exhale,
Beginning to turn the entire body towards the right.
From the ankles up to the knees,
Up to the hips.
To the shoulders,
To the head.
Without pressing beyond comfort.
Perhaps seeing behind us.
Inhaling back towards the front.
The ankles and the knees and the hips to the chest.
Inhaling and then fully beginning to turn towards the left.
From the ankles up through the knees,
Through the hips,
Through the chest.
Turning the head,
Looking behind over the left side.
Without pressing too hard.
And inhaling back to center.
Repeating the turn to the right.
Inhale and exhale,
Turning from the ankles,
The knees,
The hips,
The shoulders,
The head.
Looking back over the right.
Inhaling back to center.
And exhaling,
Turning to the left.
From the ankles,
The knees,
The hips,
The chest,
The shoulders,
The head.
Looking back over the left.
And then inhaling back to center.
Releasing the hands from the hips,
Letting the arms hang to the side.
And noticing the effect of the gentle twist.
In our next few mindful moments,
We'll continue to notice and be aware of what's happening with our body as we move.
Exploring comfortable ranges of movement.
And avoiding any kind of pressing or pushing too hard or anything that's uncomfortable.
Our next pose is a forward fold.
From our standing mountain pose,
Inhale fully.
And then with the exhale,
Slowly from the waist,
Begin to bring the chest forward towards the floor.
Allowing the hands to slide down the fronts of the legs.
Perhaps putting a gentle bend into the knees.
Allowing the hands to come toward the floor.
No need to try to touch the floor.
Inhaling,
Pulling the belly button in.
And exhaling,
Dropping the head towards the floor in this forward fold.
The legs aren't required to be straight.
You can begin to straighten them a little bit,
Lifting the seat bones up to the ceiling.
Inhaling,
The belly button into the spine,
Making room for your forward fold.
And exhaling,
Letting the hands come slightly closer to the feet towards the floor.
Hanging the head without any effort.
Being able to shake it.
Yes.
Shake it.
No.
And then inhaling with a slight bend to the knee.
Exhale very slowly.
Begin to straighten up.
Straightening the legs.
Straightening the back one vertebra at a time.
Very slowly raising the chest.
Raising the shoulders.
And the head coming up last.
Back into our mountain pose.
Noticing the effect of the forward fold.
And preparing for our next pose.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Come forward from the hips.
Releasing the hands down the legs,
But keeping the head out towards the front.
Dropping the arms to the floor.
Slight bend in the knees.
And now inhaling the right arm up,
Straight out ahead as you're looking towards the floor.
The left arm hangs loosely.
The right arm stretches forward out to the front.
Inhaling.
Exhale.
Release the right arm to where its fingertips point towards the floor.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Raise the left arm up.
Pressing the arm out straight.
As straight as it can be today.
Noticing the right arm hanging down towards the floor.
The left arm pressing out.
Inhale fully.
Exhale slowly releasing the left arm back towards toward the floor.
Fingertips towards the floor.
Inhale with a slight bend to the knees.
Exhale very slowly coming up from the knees through the hips.
The back one vertebra at a time.
And the head coming up last.
Returning to our standing mountain pose.
Standing here in our mountain pose.
Noticing the effect of the poses that we've just completed.
Here as we're standing.
Noticing our feet on the floor.
Our tailbone slightly tucked as it has been.
Our shoulders relaxed down positions.
Taking this moment simply to check in.
As we prepare for our next mindful movement.
Chair pose.
From our standing mountain pose.
We'll inhale our arms out to the front.
Palms facing down.
Fingertips forward with an inhale.
And then with an exhale begin to bend the knees and bring the seat down and back as if sitting in a chair.
Finding a position that's comfortable for you.
Where your balance is maintained.
Noticing the effort in the legs.
In the arms.
Noticing the balancing points in the feet.
The weight on the heels or in the balls of the feet.
Simply noticing what it takes to be in this chair pose in this moment.
And breathing.
And then together inhaling straightening the legs up.
And with an exhale gently lowering the arms back to the sides.
Ever so slowly.
Staying in connection until the arms touch the side body.
And then releasing the tension from the arms.
Noticing the effort of our chair pose.
Our next mindful movement is another balancing pose.
And in this pose you may choose to be close to a wall or a piece of furniture that doesn't move.
If that's what you'd like to have today as a touch point for balance.
But it's not required.
From your standing mountain pose.
See a spot perhaps on the floor in front of you or an object that doesn't move.
About three,
Five feet away.
And let that be the place where your eyes rest their attention.
That place that keeps your focus as we move through this mindful movement of tree pose.
To begin our tree pose bring our hands to heart center.
Our thumbs pressed against the center of our chest.
And this may be our tree pose for today.
If it's comfortable however.
With your left leg let your left knee point to the left side.
Bring your left heel up above your ankle.
As your left toes and ball of the foot support you on the floor.
Notice how your weight shifted balance to the right foot.
But your left foot continues in support.
This may also be your tree pose for today.
Notice the balance.
Notice the movement.
If it's in your practice today.
Allowing the left foot to come up above the ankle to the left calf.
Noticing the balance shift.
Noticing the movement.
Noticing the adjustments that the right foot makes to support the full body weight.
Maintaining eye contact with your focal point.
And this may be your tree pose.
If it's comfortable and in your practice today.
You can bring your foot above your right knee into your right thigh.
So the left foot is above the knee or below the knee.
But not on the knee.
And the left knee continues to point out to the left side.
Notice.
If today is the day for your tree to grow branches.
You may bring your hands apart.
Perhaps putting the arms up in a Y.
Or extending them up above you towards the ceiling.
Keeping your eyes on your focus point.
Perhaps even allowing the hands to touch above the head.
With a breath.
After an inhale with an exhale.
Allowing the hands to come back to heart center.
And releasing the left foot back to the floor.
And releasing the arms back to the sides in the mountain pose.
And for the right side.
Allowing the hands back to heart center.
The right knee points to the right side.
The ball of the right foot to the floor.
Right heel above the left ankle.
And if it works for you.
Allowing the foot to come above the ankle to the calf.
And if that works for you.
Allowing the foot to come above the knee to the inner thigh.
But to a place that's comfortable that works for you today.
And if today is the day your tree has branches.
Allowing the arms to branch.
In any direction or way that feels right for you today.
With a deep inhale.
Exhale the hands back to heart center.
And then with an inhale and an exhale.
Releasing the right foot back to the floor.
Redistributing the weight equally.
Releasing the arms.
Fingertips pointed to the floor.
Back into your mountain pose.
Noticing the effect.
On your entire self.
Of your tree pose today.
In our next series of mindful movements.
We'll come to the floor.
So kindly and gently.
Move from the position of the standing mountain pose.
To a space on the floor or a mat.
Where you can sit comfortably.
With enough space to extend your legs out in front of you.
Here in the seated position.
Bringing the soles of the feet together.
In front of you.
Bringing the heels in towards the pelvis.
And sitting forward of the seat bones.
Letting the hands be on the feet.
Notice the points of contact on the floor.
Or the sides of the feet.
The seat bones.
Sitting up as straight.
As you comfortably can.
With your hands.
Gently holding to your feet.
Taking a deep inhalation here.
And then fully exhaling.
Becoming centered in this position.
Noticing if the knees perhaps.
Can release.
And fall just.
Ever so slightly closer to the floor.
No need to be held up.
Simply allowing the legs.
To fall apart.
And preparing for our first extension stretch.
Inhale.
And extend the right leg out in front.
Toes pointed up.
And gently bring the left foot to the inside.
Of the right leg.
Notice the change in the seat bones.
Noticing the change in the contact points.
Now the heel.
The back of the calf.
The length of the right leg.
And from this position.
Inhaling the arms up over the head.
As much as is comfortable today.
Stretching the arms up.
Lengthening the spine.
Looking forward.
Inhale the arms up just slightly more.
Exhale let them come down.
Allow the right foot to come back to the left foot.
Soles touching.
As the left leg extends out in front.
The toes point up.
And allowing the right foot to connect to the inside of the left leg.
Notice the points of contact.
Now they've changed.
To the left heel.
The left calf.
And with a full inhalation.
Bring the arms up as far as comfortable over the head.
And stretch.
Noticing the extension of the side bodies.
Of the length of the arms.
Firmly rooted with the seat bones.
Noticing the distance from seat bones to fingertips.
In this extension.
Inhale slightly longer.
And then exhale allowing the hands to come back down.
And inviting the left foot to come back to the right foot.
Soles of the feet together.
Inhale.
Exhale extend the right leg back out.
Toes pointed up.
Once again inhaling the arms up.
Stretching towards the ceiling.
And exhaling allowing the hands to come forward.
To the knee.
Perhaps to the shin.
And finding extension.
Without bending the back.
Slightly coming forward from the hips.
With the chest forward.
The head up straight and tall.
Notice what happens with a deep inhalation.
And then a deep exhalation.
Inhaling allowing the hands to release.
Exhaling pulling the right foot back to the left.
Breathing.
Inhaling.
And exhaling the left leg forward again.
The right foot inside the left leg.
Inhale the arms up.
Exhale the left leg forward.
The right foot inside the left leg.
Inhale the arms up.
Full stretch.
And with an exhale allowing the hands to come to the knee.
Or to the shin.
Whatever is comfortable today.
Keeping the back straight.
The head up.
Noticing getting tall with the inhale.
And slightly forward with the exhale.
Inhale releasing the hands from the legs.
And exhale bringing the left foot back to the right.
Inhale and exhale the right leg forward once again.
The right toes pointed up.
Preparing for our forward fold.
Inhale the arms up.
Stretching tall.
Reaching towards the ceiling.
And exhaling folding forward.
Bringing the chest towards the knee.
Without straining.
Without efforting.
Allowing the hands to be on the shins or the knee.
Or the ankle if that works today.
Whatever works for you to reach.
In comfort.
With stretching.
Notice the inhale lengthening.
And the exhale folding.
Noticing where in the body you feel sensations.
If any sensations are intense.
Backing away.
Just a little.
Inhale releasing the hands.
Straightening the back.
And exhaling bringing the right foot back to the left foot.
Inhaling.
Exhaling the left foot out.
Bringing the right foot to the inside of the thigh.
Once again inhaling the arms up.
Stretching as much as you can today.
And then exhaling folding forward.
Bringing the chest towards the leg.
The left leg.
The arms reach forward.
Gently holding the knee or the shin.
Or the ankle or the toes.
Whatever is accessible for you today.
Noticing the sensations in the body.
With this forward fold.
Noticing the lengthening with the inhalation.
And the folding with the exhalation.
And where sensations change.
Or stay the same.
Inhaling the hands.
Releasing the leg.
And exhaling the left foot back to the right foot.
Back to our seated position.
And preparing now for our final pose.
Of this mindful movement sequence.
Corpse pose.
So checking around to make sure you can lie comfortably flat.
Inhale then exhale your body flat.
Very gently one vertebra at a time.
Coming to lying flat on your back.
Legs extended.
Feet naturally falling out to the side.
Notice the points of contact with the mat or the floor.
Notice the heels.
The calves.
The length of the legs.
The seat bones.
The lower back.
The upper back.
The shoulders.
The arms.
Notice the weight of the head.
On the mat or the floor.
Noticing sensations that are still present.
Sensations arising or fading.
Notice the body breathing.
Here in this corpse pose.
Releasing any spots of tension and simply being here.
In this corpse pose.
Now.
And now when you are ready.
Bringing some awareness to your fingers and your toes.
With some gentle movement.
Perhaps gently moving your ankles or your hands.
Now inhaling your arms up above your head and giving you the stretch that's here for you now.
Bring your knees into your chest.
Wrap your arms around the knees.
Consider giving yourself a hug for the practice that you've given yourself here.
Gently and kindly bring yourself up to seated.
Notice the benefit of your mindful movement practice.
And when you are prepared you can open your eyes and move on to your day.
