Hi,
I'm Jenny Mayo and thank you for joining me for this short,
Joyful,
Free movement practice.
If it's helpful and inspiring,
You might think of it as joyful,
Free-flowing dance,
But if that's at all intimidating or perhaps inauthentic feeling to you,
I encourage you to see it as simply returning to a style of movement that our bodies were made to do and have been doing for millennia,
A style of movement that our current lifestyle doesn't embrace or isn't very conducive to.
You might think of the way small children move when they hear music,
They just go with no self-judgment,
No rules or instructions,
All freedom and joy.
Movement and in particular movement synchronized to music releases endorphins,
Boosting our joy,
But this practice also importantly shifts us out of our overactive minds and roots us back in our bodies and the joy of movement and physical exploration and expression.
I encourage you to choose a favorite song or two or three to put on in the background that really inspires you to move,
Something that will last the duration of our under 10 minute practice.
You could even put on a whole playlist if you have more time and find a place where you really have room to move,
Ideally where you have some privacy and can really release any judgment internal or external,
Any expectations,
Any pressure.
This is a safe,
Beautiful space just for you to explore and to find joy.
Go ahead and hit the play button on your favorite tunes now.
You might take a moment just to adjust the levels so that you can hear both this recording and your song.
We'll start standing with our feet hips distance apart,
Although if you prefer to start seated on all fours somewhere else,
Listening to that intuition,
Just begin to root in your body and your breath.
You feel your lungs widening,
Welcoming in the air,
Maybe sensing a smile expanding across your chest,
Across your heart center,
Maybe even across your face,
Just noticing what you feel as the music plays and begins to wind up and you can't wait any longer,
Beginning with some small exploratory movements.
Maybe the head rolls right and left,
Where you sway,
Maybe the arms circle or swim out.
See if you can let go of any urge to think out what comes next or how you might look.
This is a practice in releasing that mental driving,
Really letting the body drive,
Making your movements bigger over time,
Shifting the movement to different parts of the body,
Whatever might want to move,
Being how it feels to change levels,
To rise up,
To roll down,
Maybe even get on the floor,
To really take up space and explore your space.
Seeing if you can really find some flow,
Some relationship between the music and your movement and your breath.
Is there any part of your body that you haven't moved yet and how can you help it creatively express itself,
Your shoulders,
Your arms,
Your wrist,
Your ribs,
Hips,
Knees,
Ankles,
Anything.
What new movements can you invite in to help bring the joy out and up?
You find something that feels good,
Maybe just staying there for a moment,
Noticing where the joy is in your body,
Letting your body and the music guide you wherever it wants to go next.
You're welcome to continue moving as long as you like and have time for whenever you're ready to wrap up the practice,
Just slowing your movements over time,
Finding a few breaths and stillness,
Checking back in.
How do you feel?
What do you feel?
What joy were you able to find and where did you find it and what movements,
What parts of your body is breathing into this for a moment and whether you're continuing or wrapping up now,
I thank you so much for moving with me.
I wish you more joyful movement and if you like this practice,
It's also included as part of my four weeks to more joy insight timer course,
Encourage you to check out the other practices that I have included in that program as well.
Thank you and take care.
