Root & Flow: A Daily Mana Movement Practice

Mana Movement is a somatic movement practice that weaves together safety and freedom — releasing stagnation and activating energy and flow in the body.
This practice is an invitation to return to yourself — any time of day, in just a few minutes. Beginning with guided breath and structured movement to settle the nervous system, it then opens into free flow, where your body leads and your inner world finds expression. You will move through your spine, your heart centre, and your arms, building both groundedness and spaciousness. No experience needed — just a willingness to tune inward and follow what feels natural.

Transcript

Hello and welcome to this mana movement practice. Mana movement is a somatic modality which weaves together safety and freedom. So first we are going to build safety in our body and nervous system through guided movements with the breath. And secondly we are going to give some space for free expression, Free flow and expression of what we have inside. It's a very versatile practice and you can do this at any time of the day. I invite you to approach each movement with a lot of softness and ease. No forcing and I really invite you to tune into yourself, Into your body sensations. So once you have familiarized yourself with the movements, I invite you to close your eyes so you can really be focused on these sensations. So let's begin. Please take a comfortable seated position and gently close your eyes. We are going to take a few deep breaths together to release any tensions from the night or from the day. Inhale through the nose and exhale with a sigh through the mouth. Releasing the jaw. Inhale. And just be present to whatever sensations are there at this moment for you. Sensations in your body. The intention can be something like present to my body and to my emotions or it can be something more personal to you. In the next inhale open the arms wide and take a few breaths here and feel the expansion in your chest, The expansion in your heart space. Your shoulders are low. Your chest is open. And with the next exhale bring the arms down and cross your wrists. And from there you are going to pull the energy up from the earth into your spine and open up to the sky. Looking up and exhale release with a sigh. And you can continue this movement at your own pace. Making your inhale and your exhale towards the sky. And with the next exhale you are going to place your hands in front of you and bow down. Letting your head drop at the end. This non-linear pathways of movements in the body. One more time. The next inhale I invite you to gently slide your arms towards your left side. Place your forearms on the floor and on the exhale swing your arms towards the front. Continue a few times at your own pace. And then coming back to center. With the next inhale you are going to roll your spine up again. Coming back. And take a few breaths here to feel the opening of the sides of the body. Feel the spine starting to awaken. And with the next inhale you can open your arms wide again. And this time as we exhale we are going to wrap the arms around us. As if you are hugging yourself. Drop the head. And inhale open again. Exhale hug yourself. Sharply through the mouth. Almost like a fire breath but through the mouth. And the movement is going to be a little bit quicker and faster. And we are going to really release the arms as we open them. So taking some deep inhales through the nose and some deep exhales with the ha sign through the mouth. With the next inhale you are going to go through one side. And exhale going to the other side and completing the circle. And then imagine that this spiral can travel down. Bringing your awareness to each segment of your spine. And then we invite you to change the direction of the spiral. So the other direction. And imagine that the spiral can now travel up, Back up. So your head can really follow the movement of the spine. And feel as if you are a bridge between. Keep on breathing deeply. Inhale as you go forward and exhale as you go back. And from here I invite you to start moving your arms as if they were floating around you. And just following naturally this spiraling movement. So there is really no right or wrong here. Just really do what feels natural to you. Branches of your tree dancing in the wind. So you can drop the direction of the spiral. So this becomes really like an upper body dance. Start really exploring different movements. How can you take up more space around you. Are there any other movements that you haven't tried yet. To the sides, To the back. Follow your body and how does she want to move. Feels good. More seconds for this exploration. Please slow this dance down. Act your intention of the beginning of this practice. And we are going to close the practice with a grounding movement. So with the next inhalation you are going to open your arms wide. But this time you are going to bring the arms all the way up. And look up. And on the exhale you imagine that you are going to push your energy down into your center. So inhaling, Collecting this beautiful energy that you just created around you. And exhale.