Mindful Movement

This 40-minute mindful movement meditation gives you the opportunity to become aware of the body in motion; learning how to meet the unfolding expressions of the body with kindness, letting go and acceptance this practice gives you an opportunity to re-inhabit your body with kind and clear awareness.

Transcript

Welcome to this guided mindful movement practice.

Taking a moment to find a place on the floor where you can allow the body to just rest,

Laying flat on the back.

Beginning as you make your way to the floor and allow the body to settle in,

Making contact with the floor,

To begin to feel the various points of the body that are making connection with the floor.

Seeing if you can let go of the comings and goings of the mind.

Just now,

In this moment,

Drop into feeling and sensing the body connecting the various points of pressure,

The support from the floor.

Taking time to note all the points of contact from the top of the head down through the back,

The arms,

The legs,

And the feet.

And allowing yourself to,

As you become aware of the points of contact and sensations of support in the body,

Allow yourself to tune into the breath.

Beginning to feel the movement of the breath as it moves into the body and out of the body.

Noticing the inhale as it moves in,

Expanding,

Filling the body.

And the exhale as it moves out,

Allowing the body to let go and relax just a bit.

And in this period of movement practice,

Just a few suggestions about considerations as you practice.

So as you meet each moment and allow yourself to tune into the movements within the moment,

Giving yourself permission to be kind to yourself,

Be compassionate with whatever your body is capable of in the moment.

There's no wrong way to practice.

This mindful movement practice is simply about turning the attention inward to the body,

To the sensations of movement in the body and the breath.

And from that place,

Allowing yourself to explore the presence of the mind,

The presence of the body,

And of the heart as you engage in the movements.

Even if at any point in any particular practice does not feel right for you in the moment to engage in,

The postures can be engaged in in the mind's eye.

Again,

This is honoring and giving permission to where your body is in each moment and being okay with it just as it is.

And so now allowing the arms to move up towards the ceiling and allowing them to come up over the head and gently rest on the floor so that the backs of the hands are touching the floor.

And begin to just tune into the way the body feels right now with an extension or a lengthening from the torso or the arms.

Just seeing if you can notice what sensations are present right now.

You might notice tingling,

You might notice a lengthening,

You might even notice if the breath has changed in any way as you allow yourself to feel the body being held in this position.

Again allowing yourself to bring the hands up from the floor to the ceiling again and back down next to the body and see if you can just tune into each of the subtle movements that take place to engage the muscles to allow them to move in this way to bring them back down next to the floor.

Just seeing where the body is now.

What sensations do you notice now?

And then again going through the same movement,

Allowing the arms to come up towards the ceiling on an inhale and allowing on an exhale the arms to gently be placed over the head and lying on the floor.

And just exploring what it's like to feel any sensations here.

Being curious and open to what you notice about the body.

And then now allowing the arms to come back up again towards the ceiling and then bringing them down next to the body.

You might notice that as we're settling into practice the mind may wander,

Maybe being pulled to various activity,

Thoughts about future events or past events and seeing if you can just notice if that happens and allow the attention to come back and stay in touch and in the moment with just the sensations of the body.

Now bringing the feet flat to the floor so the knees are pointed towards the ceiling and allowing the arms to move out into a T position.

So we're going to move into just a few pelvic tilts.

So giving any consideration and pause to concerns you may have for low back and deciding for yourself if moving in and out of these next few movements is right for you in this moment.

Now if you choose,

Allowing the low back to press just gently into the floor so that you begin to feel a subtle tuck of the pelvis and the small of the back pressing gently into the floor and just seeing what that sensation feels like.

Noticing what muscles have to engage to allow that to happen,

What that feels like.

And now allowing the low back to arch so that the small of the back is being raised up off the floor so that you can feel just a small space between the back and the floor.

This is being pushed back again so that just a subtle arc is being made in the small of the back.

And staying in touch with what the sensations are,

What those experiences are like.

And now moving between pressing the small of the back to the floor and then allowing the shift of the small of the back to arch and moving back and forth at your own pace,

Rhythm that feels comfortable for your body.

Just to explore a range of movement in motion with the pelvis and the small of the back and just feeling what it's like to allow that area of the body to begin to experience movement.

Noticing your attention on the sensations being felt as the small of the back pushes into the floor and as the small of the back raises up away from the floor.

Checking in and seeing where your breath is.

Noticing if the rhythm of the breath or the quality of the breath has changed in any way.

Just even being curious about linking the breath to the movement.

Now allowing the back to come into a neutral position.

Taking another moment to check in.

See what the body is experiencing in sensation right now.

Sometimes as we can practice,

Various thoughts or even emotions might enter into our field of awareness and if that happens in this practice,

In this moment,

Just simply observing those experiences as they are,

Giving yourself permission to let go and then just come back to the sensations being noticed and experienced in the body.

Warmth,

Tingling,

Pulsating,

Whatever's there.

Now allowing yourself to bring the knees up towards the chest and taking the hands and if it's accessible to you in this moment,

Allowing the hands to wrap around the knees.

Leaving the head and the back on the floor.

Just allowing yourself to experience the feel in this moment of holding the knees in this way and the experience of the length or stretch that might be happening on the back or in the hips.

Seeing what you notice.

Allowing yourself to feel the sensations,

To experience breath with the sensations just as they are.

Now you can choose to stay here in this position or it's comfortable for you and you'd like to explore a little further range of movement,

Allowing the head to lift up off the ground and come up towards the knees.

Again just feeling what it's like to add that subtle movement in to this posture and what you might notice about the way the body is responding in sensation or even notice if the mind begins to wander.

Activity of concern or judgment begins to rise and again if that happens,

Just simply noticing that and returning the attention to the sensations in the body,

The breath in the body and what's right for you in this moment.

And then on your next exhale,

Letting go,

Bringing the head back down to the floor if you had it lifted and now allowing the arms to release from the knees and the legs to extend out down onto the floor and arms next to the body.

Taking a moment right now to sense and feel sensations in the body.

Tuning in to what it feels like to engage in such simple yet active postures that create sensations,

That create opportunities for us to attend to the body with curiosity,

Openness and compassion.

Now bringing the right knee up to the chest and taking the hands and wrapping them around the right knee.

So bringing that knee towards the chest and honoring what's right for your body,

What's right for this moment,

Just seeing what it's like to explore holding the right knee,

Allowing the left leg to remain extended on the floor and just feeling the sensations in the legs,

The hips,

In the back.

What do you notice right now?

In choosing to stay in this posture,

If that's comfortable for you right now and if you'd like to further explore a range of movement in this posture,

Seeing if you can raise the head off the floor and bring it up towards the right knee so that you might feel an extension or a length on the neck and the upper back.

Tuning in,

Noticing if there's a change in the quality of breathing as you begin to engage in this posture.

And on your next exhale,

Allowing if you have the head up to bring it back to the floor.

Then gently releasing the arms from the right knee and allowing the right leg to extend down onto the floor.

And now allowing the left knee to come up towards the chest and taking the hands and wrapping them around the left knee,

Leaving the right leg extended on the floor.

And beginning,

If it's right for you in this moment,

Just allow the left knee to be gently pulled towards the chest.

And just exploring in this moment,

Being curious and open to letting yourself experience right now whatever sensations are present.

Noticing sometimes we have a tendency to want to push ourselves farther or sometimes the opposite to not want to push ourselves and seeing if that begins to happen,

If you can just let go of the need to push too far or not enough and just drop into what's possible if you stay present to just sensations and breath in the body to explore movement.

And then again,

If you'd like to explore this posture a bit deeper,

Allowing the head to raise up off the ground towards the left knee and just tuning into what that feels like.

And aware of the breath,

Changes in the breath,

Not needing to force or control it in any way,

Just being present to the sensations in the body or the breath as it's being experienced in movement and in posture.

And now if you have the head up towards the left knee,

Allowing it to come back down,

Resting on the floor and letting go of the hands to the left knee and allowing the left leg to extend back onto the floor.

Checking in with the body right now,

Allowing yourself to stay in tune with the sensations in the body,

Not needing to be overly concerned or worried about what the body can or can't do,

Just choosing to be present right now.

We have the opportunity in any moment to choose to be present.

Right now in this practice,

Seeing if you can just attend to sensations as they are right now in the body and as you experience breath with sensations in the body right now.

Now making a transition from lying on the floor to coming over onto hands and knees.

And so taking your time to find whatever way is best for you to come from lying on the floor to hands and knees and seeing if you can stay aware of the sensations in movement as you make this transition and activate the body to come over onto hands and knees.

Still allowing the practice to be just that,

Practice aware of each moment as we tune in and give permission to ourselves to attend to sensations.

Feeling the placement of the hands,

Feeling the placement of the knees as you come over onto hands and knees.

Taking a moment to notice the placement of the hands,

Seeing if they can be just gently placed underneath the shoulders and the knees about hip width apart.

Allowing the back to be in a neutral tabletop position.

We're going to move through a few postures that are called cat-cow and linking the breath into these postures.

And again,

Any practice,

Any movement can be done in the mind's eye giving consideration to what's right for you in this moment.

And knowing what's right in each moment may change,

Does change.

And so honoring what's right for you right now.

And so on an inhale,

Allowing the head to rise up towards the ceiling and the belly to drop down towards the floor.

Feeling to feel what it's like to just hold the body here,

Allowing the back to sway down towards the floor,

The belly to extend towards the floor,

The chest to open and chin to lift towards the ceiling.

And what it's like to just hold the body here,

Continuing to be aware of the breath.

Then on your next exhale,

Allowing the back to round,

Head beginning to drop down towards the floor so that the back comes up into an arced position,

Arcing towards the ceiling.

And just letting the head drop down,

Letting go of the neck.

Feeling here what it's like to hold the body in this movement of cat.

Now on your next inhale,

Moving into cow position,

Allowing the head to arc up towards the ceiling,

Belly to drop down to the floor,

And then on your next exhale,

Moving into cat,

Allowing the back to reach up towards the ceiling,

Head to drop down.

And at your own pace,

Your own rhythm of breath,

Moving between cat and cow,

Inhaling as you move into the cow posture and exhaling as you move into cat.

Continuing to stay aware of sensations in the body as you move through these two postures.

Using a lengthening or an expansion on the spine,

The neck,

And on the front of the body,

The chest and the abdomen.

And now allowing the body to come back into a neutral position.

And we're going to now move into a balanced posture.

So noticing sometimes when we hear certain words,

Our mind begins to interpret,

Analyze,

Or judge what might be possible or what might be coming.

Seeing if you can let go of that.

Just stay in tune with what's possible in each moment if you are just attending to sensation.

And so allowing yourself to raise the right arm up off the floor so that it extends out in front of the body.

Now allowing the left leg to extend up back behind the body so that the right arm is extended in front,

The left leg is extended to the back.

And balancing.

Tuning in and just seeing what it's like as you hold this posture,

What it's like to breathe here.

What sensations do you notice?

What effort,

What muscles are engaged to hold the body in this position?

And now on your next exhale,

Seeing if you can bring the arm and the leg down to the floor together.

Seeing what it's like now to hold the body up with the hands and the knees in this neutral tabletop position.

Maybe seeing if there's a difference on one side of the body than the other.

Maybe one side or different muscles feel more warm or have sensation of tingling.

Just tuning into what's present.

Now raising the left arm out in front of the body and bringing the right leg to extend out behind the body.

And again,

Noticing what happens when you move into this posture,

The balance.

Tuning into just staying aware of sensations,

Effort and muscles,

Quality of the breath.

Which may move to judging or to wanting it to be different.

Seeing if you can let go of that and just be present to sensation and breath.

And on your next exhale,

Letting go,

Bringing the arm and the leg back down to the floor.

So,

Making another transition from hands and knees back to the floor to come lying down onto the back.

And noticing and being mindful,

Aware of each of the movements of the body that it engages in to bring the body from hands and knees to lying on the back on the floor.

We're now going to move into bridge posture.

And so again,

Taking consideration to any concerns or care that should be given to the back or to what's right for the body in this moment.

Allowing yourself to take the arms up towards the ceiling and then allowing them to come up over the head and lie flat on the floor above the head.

And now bringing the feet flat to the floor so that the knees are extending towards the ceiling.

Just noticing what it's like to bring the body into this position.

Feeling the arms lengthening above the head,

The back making contact with the floor,

Feet supporting the legs held in this position.

And now allowing a subtle tuck of the pelvis so that the small of the back begins to press into the floor.

You can choose to stay here if that's what feels right for your body in this moment.

If you'd like to choose to move into bridge,

Allowing the buttocks to raise off the floor,

Hips to move towards the ceiling,

Raising and extending the lower body towards the ceiling so that the length of the back begins to be felt and extended by the legs being engaged and holding the body in this position.

Seeing what it's like to breathe here.

Just again tuning into the breath,

Tuning into sensations,

Observing the body as it is in this moment.

Being curious and open to staying present to just feeling the body held in this way.

And on your next exhale,

Bringing the body slowly back down,

Allowing the vertebrae to make contact with the floor one at a time.

Just feeling and experiencing the sensation of the body making contact,

Coming back down to the floor and being supported by the floor.

Now bringing the arms up underneath the head so that the hands are holding the head,

Supporting the neck and the head up off of the floor just a bit.

We're going to do a few spinal twists.

So allowing the knees to begin to move over towards the right side of the body so that they begin to descend towards the floor,

The left leg and knee lying on top of the right as the right begins to make its way towards the floor.

Again,

Just exploring where your body is right now and what's possible.

Allowing the head to remain supported neutral.

Just feeling this subtle twist and a lengthening on the left side of the body and a subtle contraction on the right side as you allow the body to experience this posture.

And again,

Just tuning into what sensations do you notice.

How is the breath in this moment?

And now on your next inhale,

Bringing the knees back up towards the ceiling into neutral position and then on an exhale,

Allowing the legs to gently fall now towards the left so that the left knee begins to descend towards the floor and the right knee and leg are gently laying on top of the left knee and leg.

Now tuning into the extension and the lengthening that is occurring on the right side of the body and the subtle contraction that's occurring on the left.

And again,

Just allowing yourself to observe the body,

The sensations,

The breath,

Letting go of the mind if it pulls you away and just returning to the body and the sensations being expressed in the movement and the breath.

And now on your next inhale,

Bringing the knees back up towards the ceiling so that the feet are flat on the floor again.

Now releasing the hands from behind the neck and head and bringing them down next to the body.

And bringing the right leg up to extend into the air,

The right foot reaching towards the ceiling,

Left foot to remain on the ground,

Left knee extending towards the ceiling.

And seeing what it's like to extend the leg and hold the body in this position.

Exploring maybe what it's like to rotate the ankle or to point and flex the right foot.

And again,

Just staying present to whatever sensations you notice,

Length,

Tingling,

Warmth,

Pulsating.

And now staying here if this is where your body needs to be in this moment and you want to continue to explore the movement here.

You'd like to allow the stretch and the posture to be experienced a little deeper,

Bringing the hands up to hold onto either behind the thigh or at the calf and beginning to bring the leg closer and in towards the chest.

Again,

Leaving the head and the back on the floor,

Just exploring what it's like to feel the length and the extension of the right leg as it moves in towards the chest,

What that feels like.

Again,

Attending to the breath and what you might notice in change in quality of breath.

And then if you'd like to maybe explore a little movement farther,

Seeing what it's like for you to raise the head up off the floor and bring it up towards the right leg.

Again,

Just seeing what the body is capable of,

Exploring movement,

Letting go of judgment or needing this to be done in any particular way.

It's just about the practice of attending to the body,

Attending to movement sensations.

Then on your next exhale,

If you have the head up,

Allowing it to come back down towards the floor.

And then if you had hold of the leg,

Allowing the arm to release and bringing the right foot down to the floor,

Again to the right knee is now in line with the left knee and left foot.

Taking a moment to maybe notice and observe the differences in the right and the left side of the body.

And now bringing the left leg up,

Extending it towards the ceiling and the left foot extending up towards the ceiling.

And again,

Exploring range of movement and motion here,

Maybe moving the ankle or pointing and flexing the foot in whatever way feels right for you.

And just again,

Staying present to sensations in the body.

Aware of the breath.

And now bringing the hands up to the left leg if you choose and grabbing on the thigh or at the calf and beginning to pull it towards the chest gently.

Again,

Noticing sometimes we have tendency to want to over-effort or under-effort.

And this practice is about tuning into what's best for your body in this moment,

Aware of the sensations and what's possible in the body in this moment,

And using the breath to tune into staying present to that.

And then again,

If you choose to and you'd like to experience this posture just a bit deeper,

Allowing the head to raise off the floor and come up to meet the right,

The left leg.

Using a length or an extension on the neck and the upper back.

And then on an exhale,

Letting go of the head,

Allowing it to come back down to the floor and releasing the hands from the left leg and allowing the left foot to come back down to the floor,

Knee extending towards the ceiling,

Hands to be laying next to the body.

So just tuning in right now and seeing where the body is.

Are there particular points in the body that feel warmer or cooler?

Are there particular points in the body that are experiencing more of a tingling or pulsating?

Or maybe there are parts of the body that just are not as alive with sensation and seeing and noticing what that feels like.

And now transitioning from lying on the back and coming over to lie on the side of the body,

The right side of the body.

And so again,

In the same way we've been making transitions,

Seeing if you can make the movement practice from these positions,

From the back to the right side,

Seamless.

Continuing to be aware of the sensations of the body and the movement of the body necessary to bring yourself on to the right side.

And so allowing the right arm to come up under the head to support the head so that it can gently rest.

And the left arm to come and rest in front of the body.

And so just feeling the support underneath you and the body on the right side and sensations of contact that allow the body to be held in this way.

And on your next inhale,

Allowing the left leg to raise up towards the ceiling.

So again,

Just exploring what range of movement and motion is right for you.

Maybe pointing and flexing the foot or rotating the foot in circle.

Maybe exploring what it's like to raise the leg a bit higher or maybe to back off.

Again,

Just staying present to feeling the body moving,

Feeling the body being held and exerting extension or length or contraction as you hold this posture.

Noticing the breath.

And then on your next exhale,

Allowing the left leg to come back down and meet the right slowly.

Again,

Seeing if you can follow each of the subtle movements,

The expression of sensation as it occurs to allow the leg to come back.

You want to be resting on top of the right.

Seeing what that release feels like when you come and bring the leg back down to feel the support of the right leg underneath the left.

And now making another transition in whatever way feels comfortable and right for you,

Allowing yourself to move on to the left side of the body.

And so that the left hand is supporting the head,

The right hand in front of the stomach on the floor and the right leg to be resting gently on top of the left.

And so now allowing the right leg to move up towards the ceiling,

Extending the leg out and up.

Maybe again exploring range of motion here with circling the ankle or pointing and flexing the foot.

Just seeing what it's like to hold the right leg in this way.

And maybe exploring raising it a bit higher or backing off.

Just again being curious,

Being open to feeling and sensing what it's like to experience the body in this posture with this movement.

And then on your next exhale letting the right leg slowly,

Mindfully descend,

Come back down and to rest on top of the left.

Now making another transition from lying on the side of the body,

Bringing the body now so that you are lying on the stomach and chest on the floor.

Hands to rest next to the body,

Just gently at the sides.

And allowing the left cheek to rest on the floor so that the gaze is out over the right.

Just feeling what it's like to feel this part of the body making contact and having support from the floor.

Tuning in and feeling the sensations here in the body.

Feeling what it's like to experience the breath,

The expansion and the contraction.

Noticing if the quality,

The density,

The length of the breath has changed by lying in this posture.

And now lifting the head up and turning the head to the left and allowing the right cheek to lay on the floor.

There may be a subtle difference in expression of length or extension or sensation.

Just being aware of that,

No need to judge it.

Just observing.

Being aware of any sensations in the body,

Points of contact or support,

Lengthening,

Extension,

Experience of the breath.

Just being present to the body,

Being held,

Being felt in this posture.

And then when you're ready,

Transitioning from lying on the stomach and coming over to now lying on the back.

Arms to just rest comfortably out,

Just slightly away from the body,

Hands,

Palms turned up towards the ceiling,

Legs,

Feet,

Feet gently extended out,

Allowing the feet to just let gravity work to support maybe a slight letting go of the feet towards the floor.

Now feeling this last posture arriving back to where we started this practice in this posture.

Noticing now the expression of sensation in the body,

Noticing now the quality of the mind,

Any experience of emotion that may be present.

Just seeing what qualities,

What experience you're having right now.

Letting go,

Just be present to feeling the experience and the effects the body is having now after having paid attention to it in this way during this period of practice.

Taking a moment to give gratitude and thanks to the willingness,

The compassion,

The openness to being present to your body and to moving in this way.

Give back now.

Reviews

😌What a powerful & uplifting meditation💯Wow