Mindful Movement

This meditation will help you cultivate mindfulness in motion. It is a great way to get in touch with, and heal, your body-mind. It also invites you to foster a deeper connection with your body.

Transcript

Welcome to mindful movement.

This is a practice of moving your body slowly,

Intentionally,

And with great care and attention to what is happening in the present moment.

As you go through each movement,

Pay curious and compassionate attention to the messages and sensations that arise in your body.

Any time you notice stress or tension,

Bring special attention to that part of the body.

Breathe deeply in and out through that part of your body,

Just noticing whether that allows your body to release any of that stress.

If you have any health issues or injuries or if any particular movement causes pain,

Do not force yourself to do it.

Instead,

Modify the movement so that it works for your body or skip it entirely and just practice mindful sitting or standing instead.

Remember,

What's most important is staying present with your body,

Not trying to get any certain kind of stretch or workout.

We'll begin with standing like a mountain.

Standing tall,

Feeling your feet firmly rooted on the ground,

Your head reaching towards the sky,

Stable,

Solid,

Dignified.

We'll hear one sound of the bell,

Breathing in and out deeply and mindfully,

Allowing the breath to fill the entire body.

Breathing in,

I know that I'm breathing in.

Breathing out,

I know that I'm breathing out.

In,

Out.

With the next breath in,

Rolling your shoulders forward and up.

As you breathe out,

Rolling your shoulders backwards and down.

Breathing in,

Rolling your shoulders up.

Breathing out,

Rolling your shoulders down.

Continuing at your own pace and just noticing the sensations in your shoulders.

If there's any stress or tension or if it feels light,

Loose,

And relaxed.

Continuing to breathe mindfully,

Reversing directions,

Rolling your shoulders forward as you breathe.

Rolling my shoulders,

I'm aware that I am rolling my shoulders.

And allowing your shoulders to relax,

Coming back to neutral.

Breathing in,

Breathing out,

Rolling your neck forward and down,

Looking towards the floor.

Breathing in,

Rolling to the right,

So your right ear is close to your right shoulder.

Breathing out,

Rolling forward and down.

Breathing in,

Rolling to the left.

Breathing out,

Continuing to roll your neck.

Gently noticing any sensations in your neck.

Coming back to neutral,

Relaxing and checking in with your body.

Maybe shaking it out a bit,

Just loosening it up.

With the next breath in,

Bringing your arms to the side and up over your head.

So your hands are above your head,

Fingers pointing up.

Breathing out,

Bringing your palms down in front of you,

Palms facing down.

So your arms are by your side again.

Breathing in,

Arms coming around and up over your head.

Big circle.

Breathing out,

Gathering the breath through the middle of your body,

Hands coming down.

Continuing to breathe,

Moving your hands and arms in circles,

Gathering your breath at your own pace.

As best you can,

Staying with the breath,

Staying with the body,

Noticing when your mind wanders,

Noticing where your mind has wandered to,

And bringing it back to the breath and to the body.

Now coming back to neutral,

Relaxing your arms by your side.

Breathing in,

Breathing out,

Bending forward at the waist,

Bending your knees slightly,

Allowing your arms to hang and your head to hang like a ragdoll.

Giving your arms a little shake,

Shaking your head no,

Nodding your head yes.

As best you can,

Bending forward at the waist instead of in the back.

Perhaps finding a little bit of extra length in your spine.

And now just breathing,

Noticing the sensations in your body as you're bending forward.

With the next breath in,

Coming back slowly to standing,

Straightening the waist,

Slowly and gently,

There's no need to rush.

Standing and just noticing how your body feels right now.

Now taking a seat either on the floor or on the chair.

If you're sitting on a floor,

Have your feet out in front of you with your knees bent slightly.

Breathing in,

Breathing out,

Bending forward at the waist,

Reaching towards your feet with your hands.

As best you can,

Bending at the waist instead of in the back.

Finding a little bit of extra length in the spine.

Breathing in,

Breathing out,

Noticing the sensations in your legs,

In your hip,

In your spine,

In your body.

Breathing in,

Bringing your body back upright to a neutral sitting position.

And our last movement will be a twist.

We'll first twist to the left.

So putting your right hand on your left hip,

Moving your left hand behind your back and looking over your left shoulder.

Breathing in,

Finding a little bit more length in your spine.

Breathing out,

Just noticing the sensations in your body as you twist.

And breathing in and out three times.

With the next breath in,

Coming back to neutral.

With the next breath out,

Switching directions and twisting to the right.

Putting your left hand at your right hip,

Your right hand behind your back,

Looking over your right shoulder.

Finding length in the spine and breathing,

Just noticing what sensations are present in your hips,

Spine,

And shoulders.

Breathing in,

I know that I am twisting.

Breathing out,

I smile.

With the next breath in,

Coming back to a neutral position.

Facing forward and now just checking in with your body.

How does your whole body feel right now?

Taking a moment to scan through your entire body from head to toe.

Noticing if there are any areas of tension or stress.

Noticing if your body feels any different or if it feels the same.

Breathing in,

I'm aware of my body.

Breathing out,

I smile to my body with awareness and compassion.

Now taking a moment to thank yourself for practicing mindful movement.

An act of self-compassion for your body and your mind.

We'll end this meditation with one sound of the bell.

A sound of the bell.

Reviews

Gave me clarity for my day. Thank you for this creation.

Love the simple instruction and soothing voice!

This was a wonderful practice. I especially enjoyed it as part of a mindful morning. Thank you.

I Love this meditation. My body and my mind feel so good while doing this wonderful meditation and after doing it. Calm. Peaceful. My body needed this gentle stretching. I used to stretch for 10 minutes with a group at work, but fell out of the habit when I retired from that job, moved states, and had much less structure and a good measure of chaos from the illness that dear ones and their dear one suffered from.
Thank you so much. Listening to this makes me feel like listening to Thich Nhat Hanh makes me feel. Thank you so much for this.

So good. Calming, healing, opening and invigorating. Thank you.

I really enjoyed that. I liked how short it was - very do-able. And the moves were nice and accessible. Thanks.

That was amazing and totally invigorating! Thank you!

Lots of smiles in the end, thank you for this short guided movement, perfect for a quick brain break between work today!

🙏🏽☀️A sweet, mindful start to the morning. This is lovely for when you’re feeling under the weather and want to open the body and calm the mind, but don’t have the energy for a longer, full practice. Gentle voice, perfect guiding cues. Thank you! 🌿🎍☮️💚🕉

Gentle and relaxing, thank you

I love it! A bit more reminders to be mindful of the movements will be great. The idea is excellent to combine simple movements with mindfulness. This is the best style of mindfulness I have tried so far. If you know where i can find more such audios let me know.

Very calming and relaxing.
Thank you

really enjoyed that. very gentle and perfect for early morning wake up into movement. thank you

Perfect for today! Thanks 🙏🏻

I really enjoyed this simple meditation to gently cultivate more awareness of bodily sensations. Thank you 🙏🏻

Great way to start the day! Thank you! ✨

Amazing
Self care is so hard. Small steps add up. This is a good start to my day. Thankyou

Beautiful practice and a lot more inclusive than other mindful movement guidance I've heard. Perfect on its own to unwind (or start the day well), or in conjunction with a longer body scan. Thank you.

I am a beginner so this was perfect for me. Very easy to follow and the pace was exactly right. Calming voice. Enjoy!

Lovely ! Very soothing voice