This is Larissa Hall Carlson with some mindful movements for a more comfortable meditation practice.
Though these are gentle,
If you're working with any injuries or tender spots,
Make sure to adjust and modify the movements to ensure your own safety and comfort.
Take a comfortable,
Steady seat on a chair.
Keep leaning against the chair back during these warm-ups.
Keep both feet on the floor,
Knees directly over ankles.
Let's start with the shoulders.
Beginning shoulder rolls.
Roll the shoulders forward and up,
Back and down.
Continue finding a comfortable rhythm.
Smooth out the breath.
Bring up tension and tightness in the shoulders and the base of the neck.
Reverse direction.
And as you mindfully roll the shoulders and deepen the breath,
Notice if one shoulder feels more open than the other.
And release.
Feel the effects.
And moving now to the neck.
Sit up tall.
Gently lower the chin towards the chest for half neck circles.
Inhale the right ear over towards the right shoulder.
And exhale down to center.
Inhale the left ear over towards the left shoulder.
And exhale down to center.
Continue at your own pace,
Coordinating the breath with the movement as you stretch the neck from side to side.
Gradually inviting more suppleness in the neck.
Try to keep the face relaxed.
Exploring sensation.
And when you've completed your next stretch over towards the left,
Carefully return the head and neck back to center.
Take a few breaths to pause and feel.
Next we'll loosen up the ankles.
Keep the spine long and gently engage the abdominal muscles for core stability.
Rest the hands on the lap.
Keep the toes on the ground,
But lift and lower the heels.
Gradually increasing circulation down in the feet and the ankles.
Deep in and smooth out the breath as you lift and lower the heels.
And release.
And we'll work one foot at a time now.
Just lift the right foot and roll the ankle several times.
Keep the abdominal muscles engaged and deepen your breath.
Stimulating the secretion of synovial fluid.
Loosening up any tension or tightness down in the ankle.
Reverse direction.
Continue to sit up nice and tall.
Protecting the back,
Keeping the core strong as you loosen the ankle.
And gradually lower the right foot down to the floor.
Take a moment just to compare sensation between the right and the left side.
Maybe one side feels more tingly or more warm,
More open.
And switch over to the left.
Lifting up the left foot,
Begin to rotate the left ankle and deepen the breath.
Noticing how the left side feels today.
Invite warmth to build.
Reverse direction.
Keep the breath nice and smooth,
Core strong.
And gently release the left foot down to the floor.
Soften everything.
Pause and feel.
Finally,
We'll loosen the wrists.
Interlace the fingers and bring the forearms together.
Tuck the chin slightly,
Loosen up the jaw and relax the eyes.
Begin to circle the wrists in one direction.
Letting the forearms rub up against one another.
Just like in the ankles here,
We're stimulating the synovial membrane,
Helping to secrete synovial fluid.
Loosening up connective tissue and releasing any tension we find here in the wrist joint.
And change direction.
Keep the breath nice and smooth.
You might be feeling some warmth building in the arms.
And release the hands back down to the lap.
Or if it would feel good,
Stretch the arms up overhead for a few breaths.
Loosening,
Opening,
Reaching and stretching.
And release.
Take a few moments to pause here.
Let the awareness flow throughout the whole body,
Feeling the effects of these gentle movements to the joints.
Throw in a nice big breath and let out an easy sigh.
Re-adjust your seat and prepare for meditation.
