Mindful Movement To Shake Off Stress & Anxiety

There is a reason we’ve been told physical exercise is so good for us—the increased production of our brain’s feel-good neurotransmitters, also known as endorphins, contributes to our overall sense of wellbeing. But you don’t need to work up a massive sweat—any kind of movement can be helpful as we center our attention on the present moment in how our body feels as we move and stretch.

Our body’s internal systems and autonomic processes will take care of the rest. In this track, we will start with some free-form movement, and then progress into some gentle stretches utilizing the 6 directions of the spine.

Music by Bensound. License code 6TH0RCZNGBU9HIIG.

Transcript

Hi friends,

My name is Verity.

I'm so happy you're joining me today in a short but sweet moment of mindful movement.

If you do find it hard to sit down and meditate in pure stillness,

You are not alone.

It's a completely normal reaction of the stress response in our bodies.

Often we need to find a bit of movement first before our nervous system will be primed enough to move into a state of calm,

Spacious stillness.

So for right now,

Ideally just find a spot that's pretty quiet,

Maybe a little private.

And wherever you are,

Let's just take a moment to stand up and get ourselves ready.

If you're not able to stand,

You are certainly welcome to do this seated.

So we're going to shake out some of the pent up energy,

Anxiety and stress that we might be holding in our mind and body just before we come into some of the more intentional movement.

So let's start by physically jumping on the spot and shaking out the body.

You can jump up and down.

You can shake or shimmy through your shoulders,

Your wrists,

Kick your feet and your ankles around.

You might flick your fingers out a couple of times.

Just make it your own.

There's absolutely no way to fail at this.

Check in with that personal flair of yours that's likely been hiding under the surface and just let it all loose,

Shake it out,

Let it roll.

And then when you're ready,

Let's slow it down a little and we're going to give our spine a nice six directional flow.

So just taking a pause,

You might just come to stand still for a moment.

If you can incorporate all six directions of our movement here,

You're really offering your entire spine this wonderful,

Well-rounded motion that incorporates your neck,

Shoulders,

Chest,

Core and hips.

So firstly,

Let's inhale and sweep the hands up high above your head.

Take hold of the right wrist and as you're ready to exhale,

Take a side bend to the left.

Let's just settle into a few breaths here.

Then on your next inhale,

Take the hands up above your head and switch wrists.

As you exhale,

Take it to the right hand side for that side bend and enjoy the extension of your entire side body for a few steady breaths.

On the next inhale,

Return the arms up above you.

Take the palms and draw your hands down in front of your heart center.

Take the back of your right hand around to your lower back.

So you're going to stretch that right arm behind your back and try to place the back of the right hand on your lower back.

Then wrap your left hand across the front of your body.

You might reach the ribs on the right hand side of your body or maybe down at your right hip.

So we're taking that left hand right across your body and holding either the hip or the ribs around the side of the body somewhere.

So left hand to the right side of the body and then right hand is behind your back.

From here,

Just gently use the left hand to pull and rotate your abdomen and chest to the right hand side for a twist.

Take a few breaths here.

On the next inhale,

Return to the center and swap sides.

So take the back of your left hand around to your lower back and then wrap your right hand across the front of your body.

You might reach to the ribs on the left hand side of the body or maybe down at your left hip.

It doesn't really matter where,

We're just going to use that right hand to gently pull and rotate your abdomen and chest towards the left hand side for a twist.

Take a few breaths here.

On the next inhale,

Gently unravel back to center.

See if you can interlace your fingers in front of you and then push the palms of your interlaced hands out in front.

Soften your knees and round the spine so you have a domed back body.

Bring your chin to your chest.

You might notice a stretch at the back of your neck or between your shoulder blades.

So just enjoy that rounding on the back of the body,

Curling through the front of the body and take a few breaths here.

On your next inhale,

Gently unravel back to center and now see if you can bring your hands behind your lower back and interlace your fingers there.

Roll your shoulders back and down away from your ears and then gently pull or push your hands away from your body behind you to intensify the stretch through your shoulders and your arms.

If it's too hard to interlace your fingers at your lower back,

You can bring your hands to your hips instead and roll the shoulder blades together,

Drawing back and down away from your ears.

Feel a stretch over the chest and make sure you have the neck and head in a position that supports comfort and space.

Take a few breaths.

Option to stay as you are or to gently fold your body forward so the chest drapes towards your thighs.

You can keep a softness in the knees and your hands may be interlaced at your lower back or coming a little away from the lower back and stretching the shoulders.

As you inhale next,

Gently unravel and bring the hands down by your sides.

Soften your gaze or close your eyes and just notice how you feel in your body and your mind.

You may like to sit or lie down quietly for a few minutes from here if you feel like that would support you to remain in a state of calm and ease.

Otherwise,

You can move gently back into your day or your evening,

My friends.

This is the end of our mindful movement meditation.

Thanks so much for joining me.