MBSR Seated Mindful Movement

The real meditation is how we live our lives, and in our lives, we usually move a lot. The seated mindful movement practice allows us to explore bringing mindfulness into slight movement while sitting on a chair or cushion.

Transcript

Mindful Movement Mindful movement can be practiced standing,

Lying down,

Seated,

Or in a combination of these.

This particular guided mindful movement practice focuses on doing the meditation seated.

Intention.

Rather than taking the mind off something,

Practice in bringing the mind onto something.

In this case,

The sensations of breathing and the body.

Attention.

Stepping out of automatic pilot,

Allowing our attention to explore the breath,

Body sensations,

Thoughts and emotions,

Pausing and exploring our edges.

Attitude.

Curiosity,

Gentleness and kindness.

Cultivating patience and non-striving.

Allowing the practice to unfold in whatever way it may be.

Let's begin the mindful movement by sitting in our usual sitting meditation posture.

Aware of the contact with the chair,

Cushion or ground.

Maybe moving the head.

Finding a point where the head balances over the neck.

Let the heart be over the hips,

The spine erect but not rigid.

And if it feels right,

Closing the eyes.

Feeling the support of the ground beneath.

Moving our awareness into the sensations of the body.

The feeling of the breath as it flows in and out of our body.

We might notice the sensations of clothes or the temperature in the room.

Perhaps asking ourselves,

What is here for me today?

If it feels right,

Placing the hands onto the body.

Maybe the lower belly,

The heart or the upper chest.

Gathering our awareness onto the breath.

Just following the rhythm of the breath with gentle curiosity.

Inhaling,

Expanding,

Exhaling,

Returning.

No need to change or alter the breath.

Just noticing how it is in this moment.

Expanding our awareness now.

Allowing the attention to move with the breath through the body.

What parts of the body are noticeable at this moment?

Are there any areas of tightness,

Tension or comfort?

Maybe pleasant sensations or perhaps unpleasant.

Bringing the attention to the shoulders.

What is there to be recognized right now?

Are the shoulders soft or tense?

Let's invite some movement now.

Maybe doing some gentle shoulder rolls.

Gently bringing the shoulders up to the ears.

Then bringing the shoulder blades together.

To the front and up again.

As slowly as possible.

Starting with the intention to move.

Bringing the attention to the part of the body we want to move.

Doing this with an attitude of curiosity and gentleness.

When we start to practice some slow and gentle mindful movements,

The eyes may stay closed or open.

Whatever feels right at this moment.

Remembering to listen to the messages of the body.

Only moving in a way that feels right for us today.

Now guiding the attention into the arms.

Allowing the arms to rise gently up to shoulder height.

Exhaling and releasing your arms back down.

Repeat a few times.

Moving with the flow of the breath.

Finding the rhythm of the breath with the movement of the arms.

And with the next out breath,

Lowering the arms back down.

Letting the hands rest on our lap.

What can be felt in the arms and hands after this movement?

We are now going to move our arms up towards the sky.

Being mindful of any sensations in the neck,

Shoulders and lower back as we move.

Gently lifting the arms towards the sky.

Perhaps feeling the sensations of the movement coming from the torso as well as the shoulders.

Leaving the arms stretched up for a few breaths.

Stopping and pausing to notice any sensations here.

Pleasant,

Unpleasant or perhaps neutral.

Breathing into the arms and gently expanding a bit more if that's possible today.

On the next exhale,

Allowing the arms to float back down.

Letting the arms rest for a few breaths.

Repeating a few times at your own pace.

Investigating how all parts of the body are connected.

When we move the arms,

In which areas of the body can we feel that movement?

Turning into any bodily sensations,

Thoughts,

Feelings or echoes of emotions that might be here.

Remembering there is no right or wrong.

Simply resting with awareness of what is here for us right now.

As we come back to stillness,

Letting the arms fall by the sides or perhaps let the hands land on the body.

How does it feel in stillness?

Any warmth?

Tingling,

Aching,

Tension?

Change in breath,

Tempo?

Now when we're ready,

Placing the palms on the sides of the hips and in our own time bending to the side as far as comfortable.

Investigating the position,

Its effects on the spine,

The shoulders,

The neck and head.

Coming back to the center and now slowly bending to the other side.

Perhaps bringing awareness to any sensations of bending and stretching.

Repeating a few times at your own pace.

With the next side bent,

Lifting the opposite arm overhead,

Which areas of the body become more prominent?

Did anything change at all?

Repeat a few times,

Perhaps in sync with the breath.

Breathing in,

Bending and reaching up.

Breathing out,

Stretching.

Breathing in,

Exploring.

Breathing out,

Coming back.

Notice if the mind has wandered,

Which is what minds do.

Choosing to come back to the anchor,

To the sense of breath,

To the body sitting here.

Just resting in this moment.

In our own time adjusting the position so we feel stable.

The hands resting on our thighs,

Breathing into the spine lengthening it.

Resting in an attentive,

Dignified posture.

Feeling the breath in the body.

Breathing in,

Breathing out.

Sending the intention of moving to the torso.

Starting to move the torso,

The shoulders,

In the slowest and smallest circles possible.

Feeling into the hips.

How does the body stay balanced?

How does the movement feel?

Being mindful of all the sensations in the body.

Checking in what is here for us right now.

Slowly making the circles slightly bigger.

Noticing changes.

Letting the size of the circles grow.

Experimenting with the size of the circles.

Experimenting with the pace.

Bringing a gentle curiosity,

A playfulness to the movement.

Slowly coming back to stillness.

Noticing how it feels in stillness.

Taking a few deep breaths here.

And when we are ready,

Taking the arms out to a T position.

The palms upwards.

Exhaling as we bring the fingers to the shoulders.

Inhaling as we open to a T.

Exhaling the fingers to the shoulders.

Inhaling,

Opening the arms.

At your own pace.

Inhaling and exhaling.

Practicing becoming mindful of any sensations,

Thoughts or emotions.

Repeating a few times with awareness of the movement and the breath.

How do the shoulders feel?

How do the arms feel?

Tired?

Happy?

Energized?

Heavy?

Light?

No expectations other than to be present here.

Not needing to fix or change the movement.

This is the practice.

What does it feel like to move in time with the breath?

And when the fingertips are touching the tops of the shoulders,

Elbows pointing out to the side,

Let's do some big circles with the elbows.

Letting the circles be as big or as small as we want.

Maybe letting the circles grow in size as the arms keep moving.

And then in the other direction.

Playing around with the size and pace of the movement.

Letting the circles become smaller and smaller now.

And when they have come to stillness,

Then perhaps bringing the elbows together in front of our hearts.

Resting there for a moment.

And then opening them out to the side.

A short pause there before bringing the elbows to the back as much as possible today.

Exploring the edges.

Why is the movement most vivid?

How does that feel?

Maybe repeating the movement a few times if it feels okay,

Before returning to stillness.

Back to the breath.

Back to the body.

Back to the connection with the ground.

Remembering to listen to the sensations of the body.

And only moving in a way that feels right,

Safe and supportive.

Letting the arms hang gently on the sides of the body.

The hands resting wherever it is comfortable.

Sitting in whatever way feels supportive and stable.

Breathing into the now still body.

Exploring the sensations where the movement might still be present.

How do the shoulders feel?

How do the arms feel now?

In which position can the hands rest?

The breath rolling in.

The breath rolling out.

Breathing.

Grounding.

Feeling.

Just observing what is here for us right now.

Letting go of any need to fix or change anything.

Simply exploring the landscape of sensations.

Perhaps the mind has journeyed off to thinking,

Planning or remembering.

That's what minds do.

Notice what brings us back to our anchor.

Feet on the floor.

Sounds in the room.

The sound of my voice.

What brings us back to the body and the breath.

Rest here a while with what is arising.

As we come to the end of our mindful movement practice,

Notice if there are any different sensations to be felt here now.

Is there an echo of emotions here?

Boredom,

Joy,

Frustration,

Disinterest.

Just gently enquiring what is showing up.

As we slowly become aware again of the whole body right now.

Perhaps in stillness.

Perhaps you are moving gently in whatever way feels good.

Take a moment to congratulate yourself for taking this time to be with your body.

Becoming aware and awake to the sensations.

If it feels appropriate,

You may wish to pause here with a soothing hand on the heart,

Chest or belly.

And now,

Beginning to expand your awareness out from the body into the room that you are in.

Noticing any sounds that might be here.

If your eyes are closed,

Slowly and gently allowing a sliver of light to enter.

Beginning to allow your awareness to focus on colours,

Textures,

Shades,

Shadows,

Shapes.

Taking in your surroundings.

Begin to move.

Shake,

Jiggle,

Wiggle.

Stretch your body in whatever way feels good to you right now.

The mindful movement is now complete.

Reviews

Hello beautiful 🦋💎🦋💎🦋Thank you so much for the wonderfully mindful movement 🦋☮️it gives me a lot of pleasure and peace 🗺️have a blessed day 🕉️Namaste

A lower back injury has made standing and walking difficult, so my life has become much too sedentary. This was an excellent way to introduce gentle movement in a seated position. My body felt safe throughout the session and I feel warmth and a soft energy (not words I’ve ever combined before!) after having completed this meditation. Thank you!