Mindful Movement

This 45-minute mindful movement practice 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 mindful movement practice allowing yourself the opportunity to practice in a way that affords you full experience of being able to drop in.

So creating a space in your environment right now that allows you to be able to drop in.

We're going to start standing in this practice.

So finding yourself in a standing position and allowing yourself to,

If it's comfortable for you,

Close the eyes,

To turn the attention inward.

Beginning now to just observe the body as it's standing.

Tuning in and feeling the feet as they make contact with the floor.

Moving up from the feet into the legs.

Maybe allowing just a subtle and slight bend in the knees so that the back is held in a neutral position.

Maybe even notice by bending the knees that the pelvis begins to tilt just slightly.

Just coming into a neutral stance that really allows,

Again,

Just the full connection and support of the body standing.

And moving up the body into the torso.

Maybe notice of the position of the torso,

Letting it settle in,

And then maybe moving up to the shoulders,

Noticing the placement of the shoulders.

If they can be somewhat over the hips,

It might be helpful to bring the shoulders up towards the ears and then just roll them back down and letting them fall naturally towards the floor.

Just loosely resting next to the sides of the body.

Then moving up the neck into the head,

Just allowing the chin to maybe be tucked slightly down and head to be extending up towards the ceiling,

Towards the sky,

As though there might be a string at the top of the head.

Just feeling an elongation or pulling up of the entire spine towards the ceiling.

And feeling this grounded,

Rooted posture,

This posture that's called Mountain,

Feeling the solidity and the connection and the activity of the body to allow the body to be engaged in standing.

And bringing the awareness now to the breath,

Feeling and sensing the experience of breathing in this standing posture.

Allowing the inhale to move into the body,

Filling the body,

And the exhale to move out of the body,

Releasing and letting go.

It might be helpful to just set an intention for your practice as you move through this movement series.

Allowing yourself to just note whatever comes into awareness for your intention for practice that might be to cultivate kindness,

Openness,

Curiosity,

Whatever it is,

Holding that.

And remembering that mindful movement practice is about the intention to practice and not about the form.

The form is secondary and that any practice,

You're honoring what's right for you in each moment and choosing that.

And if at any point any posture becomes too challenging or just doesn't feel what's right for you in the moment,

You can choose to practice in the mind's eye.

That's perfectly fine.

So now on an inhale,

Bringing the arms up out to the sides and up to extend above the head.

Holding the hands above the head in this extended position and just noticing the body now,

Tuning into the sensations.

Feeling maybe a lengthening,

A stretch,

An extension on the side bodies.

Just feeling what it's like to breathe here.

And then on your next exhale,

Allowing the arms to come back down to the sides of the body,

Seeing if you can just take your time,

Letting the arms come back down,

Movement by movement,

Aware of each moment of sensation of movement.

Feeling the body now,

Feeling maybe a release or a letting go in the arms as they are resting next to the body.

And now bringing the arms up again on an inhale and this time just bringing them up into T position.

And so feeling the activity of the muscles to engage,

Holding the arms in this way.

Might even check in and notice other sensations in the body that began to occur as the strength of the arms and the torso is activated to hold the arms in this way and just continuing to observe sensations.

You'd like to just experience this posture maybe a little bit deeper,

Seeing if you can reach out with the hands in each direction so as though you're reaching for something that's just outside of your reach with the hands so that you feel an extension and a lengthening on both the right and the left arms.

Noticing sometimes as we begin to effort a little more,

Our minds begin to become more active and if that begins to happen,

Seeing if you can just bring your awareness back to feeling and noticing sensation,

Aware of the breath,

The quality of the breath.

And then on your next exhale,

Bringing the arms back down to rest gently next to the body.

And now shifting the weight into the left foot,

So not needing to do much of anything other than just moving the weight towards being more rooted into the left foot.

And on an inhale,

Raising the right hand up above the head to extend towards the ceiling.

And notice how in doing this,

The right heel might just gently come off the floor and beginning to feel and experience this stretch as the arm is reaching towards the ceiling,

Noticing the sensations possibly in the length on the right side body.

Just tuning into whatever sensations you notice,

Tingling warmth,

Checking in with the quality of the breath.

And then on your next exhale,

Letting the arm come back down next to the body and the weight to shift back into middle between the right and left foot.

And now shifting the weight into the right foot,

Just noticing what that subtle shift does to the body,

What sensations you begin to feel maybe in the leg muscles.

And then on an inhale,

Raising the left arm up towards the ceiling to extend up and reach towards the ceiling and maybe noticing the left heel gently coming up off the ground.

Noticing that sometimes when we move into effortful postures,

We may have a tendency to want to do more or a tendency to not want to do more.

And just notice if that occurs,

Come back to just the sensations in the body and seeing what your body is capable of right now.

Letting the mind and the attention be completely aware of just sensation.

And then on your next exhale,

Allowing the left arm to come back down next to the body and the weight to move back into middle between the right and left foot.

I'm checking in right now,

Seeing what the body feels like in this moment.

Aware of the sensations,

Aware of the breath.

And now on your next inhale,

Bringing both arms up to extend above the head.

Again,

Feeling this length and this extension up towards the ceiling.

And on your next exhale,

Allowing the arms to just move over towards the right so that an extension and a length begins to happen on the left side body and a subtle contraction happens on the right.

And just allowing the arms to dictate the movement over,

No need to effort beyond what's called for in this moment.

But just feeling the holding of the torso,

The lengthening of the body,

The sensations involved in experiencing activation in the muscles to hold the body in this way.

And then on your next inhale,

Bringing the body back up to center,

Hands above the head still,

And then on your next exhale,

Allowing the hands to move over towards the left so that the right side of the body begins to extend and lengthen.

The left side of the body feels a subtle and gentle contraction.

And then on your next inhale,

Bringing the body back up,

Hands up to center,

And then exhaling,

Allowing the arms to come back down next to the body.

And then on your next inhale,

Bringing the body back up to center,

Hands up to center,

And then on your next inhale,

Allowing the arms to come back down next to the body.

Checking in with the body here and now,

Seeing what you notice now.

Maybe the state of the mind is a little different.

It's occurring in the body after having done these few postures,

These movements.

Just observing.

We're now going to move into doing a few shoulder rolls.

And again,

Giving care and consideration for what's right for your body in this moment,

Remembering that any practice can be done in the mind's eye.

Also,

Drawing the attention to the shoulders and beginning to pull the shoulders forward as though they're moving out to something in front of you.

So you can feel an extension and a lengthening in the upper back and a subtle and a slight contraction in the chest and the front of the body.

Just feeling what it's like to move and pull the shoulders forward in this way.

And then now shifting from holding the shoulders in this way and bringing them down towards the floor.

So as though you have weights at the bottoms of your hands,

Holding onto your hands and just allowing the shoulders to feel and be pressed down towards the ground.

Feeling the length and stretch on maybe the tops of the shoulders or the neck.

And now shifting from this position and moving the shoulders back.

So moving them as though they're moving towards something behind you and feeling the subtle gentle contraction on the upper back and an expansion and a lengthening on the front of the body.

And then now shifting and moving the shoulders up towards the ears or towards the ceiling and seeing if you can just allow the shoulders to be involved in this action.

And maybe feeling a tightening constriction just a little on the neck and upper shoulders but a lengthening in the shoulders in the back.

And then now moving through each one of these postures at your own pace.

So moving the shoulders forward and then down and then back and then up so that you're creating a circular motion.

And just seeing if you can stay with what it's like to be present to just the sensations of moving the shoulders in this way.

Maybe being curious about linking the breath to the sensations.

And then when you're ready,

Coming to neutral position and then moving the shoulders in the opposite direction.

So going counter to the direction that you were going before so that you can feel and experience the rotation of the shoulders in the opposite direction and then just noticing what comes up.

Mind may want to pull away,

Attention may be drawn to other experience,

Thought,

Emotion,

Just come back,

Stay present to just feeling the shoulders move in this way.

Just being curious about breath with sensation.

And then when you're ready,

Allowing the shoulders to come back into a neutral position.

Just checking in with the body.

What do you notice right now?

Might be sensations of warmth,

Release,

Tingling.

Just give yourself full permission to pay attention to the body.

Pay attention to the way the body feels right now.

Openness,

Curiosity,

Non-judgment.

And the next posture we're going to move into is some neck rolls.

So again,

Consideration to what's called for you in this moment.

So begin by allowing the chin to move towards the chest so that you begin to feel a length or a stretch on the back side of the neck.

Just feeling that length,

That extension and a subtle contraction on the front of the neck as you allow the chin to just move towards the chest gently.

And then now allowing the right ear to gently move over towards the right shoulder so that you begin to feel a lengthening on the left side of the neck,

Gentle contraction on the right.

Feeling what it's like here to experience the sensations of the neck being held in this way and maybe noticing what the breath is like here.

And now moving the chin up towards the ceiling so that in moving the head back,

Moving the neck back,

Just the chin is the focus point to allow a length to begin to happen on the front side of the neck and a gentle and subtle contraction on the back of the neck.

But this is protecting the movement of the neck and to hold the neck in this position by just allowing yourself to feel and sense what it's like to extend the chin up towards the ceiling.

Now shifting and allowing the left ear to come over the left shoulder so that an extension begins to happen on the right side of the neck,

Contraction and subtle movement on the left.

Just feeling what it's like to hold the neck,

The body in this way.

And then now beginning to move through each one of the four of those positions by allowing the neck to become moving in a fluid and rolling motion.

Chin to come down to the chest,

Right ear over right shoulder,

Chin to reach towards the ceiling and left ear to come over left shoulder and just continuing in this circular motion at your own pace,

At your own rhythm,

Just feeling and experiencing moving the body in this way.

Again,

Just attending to whatever sensations make themselves known.

Maybe being curious about linking breath to movement,

Playing with that,

Seeing what that's like.

And when you've come full circle and the chin is on the chest,

Pausing for a moment and choosing to now move the neck in the opposite direction.

So left ear over left shoulder,

Chin up towards ceiling,

Right ear over right shoulder and chin back down again at the chest.

Just moving the neck in this opposite way now from where we were just a few moments ago and just tuning in to what the body feels like now with this movement just as it is.

And when you're ready,

Allowing yourself to come back into a neutral position with the neck and just checking in,

Seeing now what the body is feeling and experiencing in this moment,

Checking in with sensations in the head,

The neck,

Shoulders,

Torso,

Legs,

Feet.

And so we're now going to move into a balanced posture and just observing right now what comes up as you hear the word balance.

Seeing if there's judgment or anticipation,

Expectation,

Seeing if you can let go of that and just drop in to being present to what the body is experiencing in each moment.

And so shifting the weight now onto the left foot and bringing the arms up into T position,

Extended out from the body.

And this may be enough for you here,

But if you'd like to experience the posture and move into more balance,

Exploring what that feels like,

Allowing yourself to firmly ground and plant your weight into the left foot and begin to raise the right foot up off the ground.

Just exploring what range of motion,

What height is possible for you as you begin to hold the body in this way,

Experiencing the balance in the body and the muscles active to hold the body as you balance.

Staying connected to those experiences,

Noticing what the breath is doing with those experiences of sensation.

And then on your next exhale,

Letting the right foot come back down to the floor and hands to come back down next to the body.

And now shifting the weight into the right foot,

Bringing the arms up again into T position to extend out from the body.

And again,

This may be what's right for you in this moment and just playing with what it's like to feel and hold balance here.

If you'd like to experience the posture just a bit more and play with balance,

Beginning to lift now the left leg up off the ground.

Again exploring range of height and movement as you move the leg up,

Noticing if you're wanting to effort more,

What that feels like,

What happens to the mind.

Come back to just being present to sensation,

Aware of the activity of the muscles,

Activity of the regions in the body that are engaged to hold the body in this balance posture.

And then on your next exhale,

Letting go and bringing the left foot back down to the floor and arms to come back down next to the body.

Now moving into a bit of a twist.

So taking the care and attention to notice the placement of the feet and that they are about hip width apart.

And bringing the hands now up to the waist and beginning to twist the torso but leaving the hips facing forward so that the lower body isn't really engaged in movement.

We're just allowing a twist to come from the upper body.

And so twisting by leaving the hips forward to the right,

Beginning to look out over the right shoulder,

Just seeing maybe what the range of motion is for moving the torso to the right in this way and looking out over the right shoulder.

And then on your next exhale,

Bringing the body back to center and then inhaling,

Moving the body now to the left.

Again,

Just allowing the upper torso to twist,

Hips to remain forward,

Seeing what it's like to experience breath here,

To experience dropping into sensation.

And then on your next exhale,

Bringing the body back to center.

Now we're going to move this twist just a bit more and again,

Checking in with your body.

You can just continue to twist from the torso if that's what's right for you or on this next one,

Allowing yourself to now twist the body to the right but this time to allow the hips to go with you.

Feet to still remain forward but taking the torso,

The hips and fully expressing yourself to twist the body to the right,

Looking out over the right shoulder,

Maybe even noticing what it's like to engage the eyes and looking out over to the right,

Feeling the sensations of the entire body as they're engaged and holding the body in a twisting motion to the right.

And on your next exhale,

Bringing the body back to center and then inhaling and twisting the body now to the left so that the torso and the hips are twisting,

Feet to remain forward,

Looking out over the left shoulder,

Fully aware of all sensations in the body,

Aware of what it's like to breathe,

Holding the body in this position.

And on your next exhale,

Bringing the body back to center and allowing the arms to come and rest next to the body.

So we're going to move now into a forward fold.

And again,

Consideration to any needs the body might have right now.

So checking in what's called for.

And if it's comfortable for you right now,

Allowing yourself to begin to allow the body to fold forward so that the hands begin to reach down towards the feet,

Head to drop down towards the floor and just letting gravity take over and allow the body to feel and experience a forward fold,

Noticing the sensations that are experienced in the back,

Lengthening.

You may even notice sensations that are a bit challenging or feel difficult.

And this practice is not about efforting more than what's called for.

It's just to simply notice those and honor what's called for in the moment to attend to those sensations just as they are.

And you can continue to stay here for a few moments if that's what's called for.

If you'd like to play with range of motion in this posture,

You can choose to allow the right arm to come up,

Still remaining in this forward fold,

But feeling what it's like to extend the right arm out away from the body as you hold the body in this position.

Head comes up just slightly as you extend the right hand out in front of the body.

And then on your next exhale,

Letting that arm come back down,

Head to drop down.

And choosing if you'd like now to raise the left arm up out in front of the body.

Had to look up just slightly.

Feeling the length,

The extension,

Sensations here.

And then on an exhale,

Bringing that arm back down again,

Allowing the head to rest now downward towards the feet.

And then on your next exhale,

Allowing the body to roll back up one vertebrae at a time,

Seeing if you can be aware of each of the subtle movements that it takes to engage the body to bring it back up into a standing posture.

Just sensing and feeling now what the body having come up to standing again feels like.

And so moving into the next posture,

Allowing yourself to begin to bend the knees and bring the arms up out to extend out in front of the body,

We're going to just do a little squat.

So noticing with the bent knees,

The subtle tuck of the pelvis,

And that again,

That with the hands extended in front of the body may be enough and what's called for right now.

And if you'd like to,

Allowing yourself to begin to bend the knees a little further so that the buttocks begins to sink down,

Extend out a bit so that you feel the engagement and the experience of the muscles of the legs beginning to hold the body.

Seeing that there might be experience of contraction in the abdomen,

Effort that has to occur in the back.

Just exploring again what sensations are occurring right now in the body as you engage in this posture.

And then when you're ready,

Allowing the bend to come back up into a neutral and standing position.

We're going to now make a transition from standing to coming to seated on the floor.

And so in whatever way works for you in this moment,

Finding your way from standing to seated,

Seeing if you can continue to make each movement part of your continual practice aware of any sensations,

Any muscle activity,

Any movement to come into seated on the ground.

And then once on the ground,

Bringing the soles of the feet together in front of the body,

Allowing the hands to gently wrap around the feet or around the shins,

Whatever is accessible to you.

And just going to play with what it's like to hold the body in this position,

Feeling that by holding the feet,

Lengthening or an extension begins to happen in the back,

In the torso and neck,

Head.

And then gently,

If it feels what's called for in this moment,

Seeing if you can actively begin to maybe press the elbows or the arms into the legs so that there's a bit of movement beginning to happen with the legs descending towards the ground.

Just noticing what comes up as you begin to do that.

What sensations do you begin to experience in the body?

Noticing what happens to the breath,

Seeing if you can playfully link the breath to this movement of subtle pressure into the legs.

And then when you're ready,

Releasing that and releasing the hands.

And now extending the left foot out in front of the body,

Leaving the right foot still bent and nestling it up next to the left leg so that the left leg is extended,

Foot is a bit flexed and the right leg is bent up against the thigh of the left leg.

Then on an inhale,

Bringing the arms up above the head and then gently falling forward towards the left leg,

Allowing the arms to come down to meet the leg or the foot,

Whatever is accessible in this moment.

And just feeling the experience of this stretch,

This posture,

The sensations in the body,

The sensations of the breath with this posture.

Then slowly,

One vertebrae at a time,

Bringing the body back up to sitting upright.

And now switching legs.

So extending the right foot out in front,

The left bent to come up and press against the right leg.

Once you feel you have yourself situated with the right leg extended and left leg bent and nestled up against the right,

On an inhale,

Bringing the arms up.

And then on your exhale,

Just allowing the body to fold forward.

And again,

You can just allow the hands to come to the shin or to the foot,

Whatever is possible for your body in this moment.

And just noticing and feeling the experience of the body right now as you allow the sensations to be felt,

You allow the breath to be experienced as you notice sensations.

And then allowing yourself to bring the body back up into sitting position.

And now finding your way to coming down to the floor to lying on your back.

Getting into our last pose,

Corpse pose.

Hands,

Arms extended out away a bit from the body,

Palms towards the ceiling.

Legs gently resting apart from one another.

Feet maybe falling towards the floor a bit,

Just feeling the body settling into this resting posture,

Letting the support of the ground hold the body,

Feeling and experiencing the connections of support,

The sensations that are present there.

Feeling the breath now as it is.

Taking a moment now to just check back in with the intention for practice.

Allowing yourself a sense of awareness to that intention right now with your body as it is.

Integrating the effects of your willingness to practice,

Your willingness to be with yourself moment to moment.

Taking a moment to give thanks or gratitude to yourself for being willing to practice in this way,

For being willing to show up for each moment.

Propagating it,

Knowing it,

Being present to it just as it is.

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