A Mindful Movement Practice

This is a guided mindful movement practice for the mindfulness course you are doing.

This practice is very much like the body scan in that we are bringing gentle awareness to the sensations in our bodies without judgment and letting things be just as they are.

But in this practice the body is moving rather than being still.

When the body is moving we also have the opportunity to sensitively explore the limits of what we can do with our bodies at any given moment.

This practice is not about pushing or forcing our bodies in any way.

Instead it is about taking our gentle attention right into the sensations in the body and learning to listen very carefully to the wisdom of our own bodies.

The body is continually sending us important messages that we often ignore or override with our minds.

These mindful movements can become a model for how you can bring mindfulness to your everyday activities.

Learning to listen to and to honour the wisdom of your body.

As you move through your day the movements we will be doing are not strenuous but if you have any physical problems then asking your doctor or a physiotherapist before you do them.

If any of the movements or postures are difficult or perhaps impossible for you.

Knowing that you can adapt them in various ways to suit your own body.

For instance you could do all of them sitting in a chair or lying in a bed.

Or you could choose to make small or even tiny physical movements or hold a posture or a stretch for a shorter time.

Or you could even remain perfectly still and use your mind to do the practice.

Basically moving your awareness around your body,

Bringing awareness right into those parts where the movements and stretches are and getting a sense of them in that way.

So start by finding a time and a place where you won't be interrupted and where you can stand and also lie down on the floor,

Perhaps on a mat or a blanket.

We'll begin by coming to a standing posture as I give some guidance on how to best approach the movements we will be doing.

So now standing with your feet about a hip's width apart and focusing your awareness on your connection with the floor.

Feeling the soles of your feet connecting to the floor and to the earth underneath it.

Focusing your awareness right inside the sensations of that contact.

And noticing that though we are just standing here the body is never entirely still.

There's always a little bit of movement to keep us balanced and the body somehow knows how to do this without our thinking or making it happen.

Notice the changing sensations in the soles of your feet,

Perhaps slightly more pressure on the toes right now or the heels or the sides of the feet as the body keeps you balanced and upright.

And now guiding your awareness up through your body from the soles of the feet to the ankles to the lower legs,

Gently opening to whatever sensations you experience and letting things just be as they are.

Moving now to the knees,

The thighs,

The pelvic area,

The trunk including the abdomen,

The chest area,

Back,

Shoulders.

Yeah,

And just maybe allowing the shoulders to ease slightly.

And then moving down,

Left arm,

The right arm,

The upper arms,

The elbows,

The forearms,

Wrists,

Hands,

All the way down to the fingertips and the thumb tips.

Yeah,

Letting the arms and hands to hang loosely by your sides at ease,

Taking any tension in the shoulders and letting it drain down the arms,

Down to the ends of the fingers.

And now moving your awareness back,

Up the arms to the neck,

Up the back,

Up to the back of the head,

The scalp,

The face opening and softening to whatever sensations are there.

Allowing your awareness to move to the crown of your head,

Feeling a sense of lifting upward without any effort.

So standing here,

Perhaps with a sense of being a bit like a mountain,

Feeling yourself grounded with your feet,

Very rooted to the earth,

Feeling the weight of you going down,

Feeling stable,

But also being aware of the crown of your head lifting without any strain or effort,

But just rising upwards towards the sky,

Standing with dignity and presence and with a sense of spaciousness around you.

This is called the mountain posture and it's a wonderful position to come back to frequently throughout your day.

Perhaps noticing as you're standing in this position,

How you naturally have a sense of being centered,

A sense of presence,

Dignity and spaciousness.

So at any time throughout your day,

You could just come into the mountain posture,

Coming back to being present,

Coming back to a sense of groundedness,

Dignity and confidence.

So now just standing in your mountain posture here,

Breathing naturally,

Fully,

Easily.

And as I describe how best to approach the movements we will be doing,

You could perhaps just sit down now for a while and be a sitting mountain.

If that's what your body is telling you it needs in this moment,

Throughout the practice,

We will all be bringing moment by moment awareness to our experience of moving in our bodies in a non-judgmental way.

Seeking to do this with full acceptance and not trying to be any different from how you are right now,

But just noticing precisely what your body is telling you as you do each movement.

Noticing an opening with gentle curiosity to the particular sensations that arise with each movement as best you can,

Simply being with the experience of movement without trying to achieve anything or get anywhere.

And it's also very important not to think of this as some kind of competition with yourself or anyone else.

It's important not to try too hard as if it's a matter of achievement of success or failure.

It's just very simply about exploring,

Listening to and honouring your own body and its messages,

Including those about its limits and becoming aware of how the mind responds to the body's messages and boundaries.

In the process of deepening our sensitive awareness of our bodies,

We will sometimes encounter intense sensations.

Those areas where the body is sending its strongest messages about our limits,

The boundaries of what our bodies can do at any given moment.

It is important to explore your limits and to dwell at their boundaries,

Enough to experience them in a gentle but determined way,

But not to go beyond them.

Not trying to force yourself or your body to be different than it is right now.

It is very important that you let your own sensitivity to your body override any instruction I might give.

As you make choices about what stretches and movements are right for you in any given moment or how long to hold any position.

So making wise decisions for yourself and drawing back,

Stretching less or holding a posture for a shorter time.

Using your awareness to explore with gentleness what is possible and right for your body at each moment.

So you might like to experiment with doing the posture,

Sometimes with your eyes open and sometimes with your eyes closed and remembering to be aware of your breath throughout all these movements,

Allowing your breath to flow fully and freely as you move.

So now as you stand in your mountain posture,

Taking a deep breath in and letting it go.

And as you breathe in again,

Letting both arms begin very slowly to come out from your sides,

Rising in tiny increments to eventually come up only to shoulder height.

But doing this very slowly so that you can really focus on the changing sensations in your arms.

As they rise higher,

Tracking the changing sensations in these very small movements,

Listening to the messages your body is continually giving you.

Where do the sensations increase or decrease or change in character?

And noticing your breath,

Any tendency to hold the breath when concentrating?

And if you can,

Just letting the breath flow easily.

And when your arms are shoulder height,

Just pausing there for a moment.

Noticing all the sensations,

Deciding for yourself by listening to your body how long to hold the arms out before very slowly,

Allowing them to move back down to your sides.

And as they move back down again,

Being aware of the changing sensations,

Listening to the messages of your body and breathing freely.

And when your arms are again down by your sides,

Pausing in your mountain posture,

Checking into your body.

What are the outer effects of these movements throughout your body?

Breathing.

And now on an in-breath,

Stretching your left arm out from your side and allowing it to reach out and upwards to the ceiling.

Stretching upwards towards the ceiling as far as feels right for your body.

And you might look up toward the ceiling,

Letting the head and neck join into the stretch,

Feeling all the different sensations of stretch throughout the whole length of your body,

From feet to fingertips.

Breathing freely.

Now bending to the right from the waist so that your left hip sticks out a bit,

Your left arm curves to the right over your head and you can feel the stretch all along your left side.

And sensitively letting the body tell you just how far to stretch.

Not pushing into discomfort,

But not running away from the stretch either.

So bringing awareness to where the sensations become stronger and using the breath to help you gently explore those points.

Breathing out as you soften around the edges of the intensity.

And then settling into being just on the gentle side of discomfort,

Being with your full experience of this stretch.

Breathing in.

And now taking a deep in breath,

Straightening up at the waist and stretching your left arm up toward the ceiling again and just hanging out in this upward stretch for a few moments.

Noticing all the sensations throughout your body,

Listening to and honouring your body's messages.

And from those messages deciding when to slowly lower your left arm,

Perhaps circling the hand at the wrist as it comes slowly down to your side.

And coming back to Mountain.

And checking in with yourself,

Becoming aware of the outer effects of this movement.

Perhaps any differences in the right and left sides of your body.

And now on an in breath,

Stretching your right arm out from your side and allowing it to reach out and stretch upwards towards the ceiling.

And far as feels right for this arm in this moment.

Feeling the sensations of stretch throughout the whole length of your body from feet to fingertips.

Breathing freely.

And now bending to the left from the waist so that your right hip sticks out a bit,

Your right arm curves to the left over your head.

And you can feel the stretch all along your right side now.

Being present with all the sensations throughout your body,

Listening to the wise messages of your body as how far to stretch and how long to hold this posture.

And on an in breath,

Straightening up at the waist and stretching your right arm up towards the ceiling.

And feeling the different sensations in this movement and deciding when to slowly lower your right arm,

Circling the hand at the wrist as it comes slowly down to your side,

Coming back to standing mountain,

To stillness.

Centered breathing.

And being aware of the outer effects of these movements on all parts of your body.

And now standing with your feet about a hip's width apart,

Slowly lifting your right heel off the ground,

Feeling the shift of your weight to your left foot and leg.

Feeling the sensations throughout your body as it shifts and feeling the point of contact with your right toes on the ground.

Now lifting your right toes from the ground and moving your right foot out in front of you so that you're balancing entirely on your left foot.

If it helps,

Allowing your arms to come out from your body in whatever way that assists with the balancing.

Let's see how the body knows how to do this without our thinking and remembering that however much you wobble,

You can always come back to your stable mountain posture again and again,

As often as you need to.

And it's also perfectly fine to hold onto a chair or wall to help your balance.

As you explore the sensations of these movements,

Noticing sensations throughout the body,

The movement and sensations of all the muscles doing their work.

But remembering to breathe and noticing what's going on in your mind.

Perhaps any sense of wanting to be less wobbly or wanting your leg to be held higher.

Just noticing those thoughts and letting them move on as you tune in again to what your body's telling you about how long to hold this posture or when to touch your foot down again.

And then if you like circling your right foot at the ankle first in one direction and then the other.

And if you haven't already,

Now coming back to your stable mountain posture with both feet on the ground,

Noticing the sensations throughout the body from having done this movement.

Breathing.

And now slowly lifting your left foot from the ground and lifting it out in front of you.

Balancing on your right foot.

Exploring all the sensations and how they may be different from the other leg.

And now circling your left foot at the ankle first in one direction and then the other.

Listening to the body.

How long to hold this?

What's your mind saying?

Just letting these thoughts go and listening to your own body.

And if you haven't already done so,

Now coming back to mountain posture and stillness and noticing the effect of having done these movements,

What are the sensations now throughout your body?

And for the next posture,

You'll be lying on your back on the floor and noticing if your mind has already jumped to being on the floor and seeing if you can bring your mind back to just being with your body,

Being mindful of this movement in this very moment,

Taking you onto the floor.

And now lying on your back in the resting position with both legs stretched out,

Just letting your feet flop apart,

Your hips relax your arms,

Resting by your sides,

Feeling your body fully supported by the floor.

Nothing to do.

Just being here.

And on each out breath,

Maybe just letting yourself sink even further into the floor.

Fully letting go.

Your body fully relaxed and fully present.

Now bringing your knees up.

Bent towards the ceiling with your feet flat on the floor and we'll be doing some pelvic rocking.

This is a very good exercise for your back,

But doing it gently and with fine awareness of what your body is telling you.

So starting by becoming aware of the little space between your middle back at about waist level.

The gap between your waist and the floor.

Curling your middle back into the floor so there is no space between your back and the floor.

And at the same time noticing how your pelvis naturally tilts up.

And now reversing that movement by arching your back so that your abdomen rises towards the ceiling and the space opens up again between your back and the floor.

And notice how the pelvis now naturally tilts in the other direction.

So now just gently doing this pelvic rocking at your own pace.

Curling the back into the floor and then arching the back and the abdomen.

Upwards curling the back into the floor.

And then arching the back and the abdomen upwards.

And you might like to coordinate your breathing with this rocking moment.

This movement.

Breathing out as you curl the back into the floor.

Noticing how the chest naturally contracts with this movement.

And then breathing in as you arch the back.

And raise the abdomen upwards.

Noticing how the chest naturally expands with this movement.

And as you continue rocking,

Noticing what's happening in your abdominal muscles and your back.

And perhaps what you're noticing in your thighs.

What is happening with the whole body.

And now on the next breath just coming to stillness in the resting posture.

Stretching both legs out again,

Straight on the floor.

Once by your sides and taking a couple of deep breaths in and out.

Letting go,

Letting the floor hold you.

Just noticing the sensations throughout your body from having done this movement.

Yeah now it's bending your right knee and taking it in both your hands.

Maybe just below the knee or whatever point feels comfortable for you.

And gently beginning to move the knee and the leg around in the hip joint.

Noticing all the sensations involved in this movement.

Gently exploring the movement and the limits of that movement.

Stretching the knee in one direction around the hip socket and then reversing that circle.

Taking your body gently to the place where comfort just begins to be challenged.

Just at the edge of intensity and exploring that edge.

And if this feels right for you now,

Bring your head up towards the knee.

Just going as far as is right for you,

If at all.

Just gently exploring where the intensity,

The edge arises.

Maybe backing off a bit or going a bit further.

Playing with the edge without pushing into discomfort.

Noticing if the mind is telling you that your head or knee should be in a certain way and just letting those thoughts go.

And instead honouring the wisdom of the messages from your body.

And now,

If you haven't already,

Lowering your head to the floor and letting your right leg stretch out on the floor alongside your left leg.

And now repeating this movement with the other leg.

Stretched out straight and bending and holding the left knee.

Exploring with curiosity as you move your left leg at the hip joint.

Gently circling it first in one direction and then the other.

Noticing all the sensations,

Including those telling you the limits of this movement.

Exploring your boundaries but not going beyond them.

And breathing freely.

And again,

If this feels right,

Bringing the head up towards the knee.

Gently exploring that edge.

Breathing in and then out to soften around the edges of the intensity,

Listening to the messages of your body.

Letting your experience be as it is in this moment.

And when it feels right for you,

Lowering your head and your leg coming back to lying in the resting posture on your back with both legs straight out.

Letting go sinking into being held by the floor.

Noticing the sensations throughout your body.

How does it feel to have done these movements?

Breathing freely.

And now bending your right leg at the knee with the right foot flat on the floor.

And raising your left leg up toward the ceiling.

Taking your leg only as far up and as straight as feels right for you and your body at this moment.

And as you do this,

Noticing all the sensations throughout the body.

Perhaps noticing some tightening in muscles that aren't actually involved in this stretch.

Like the face,

The arms or the shoulders.

And if you can,

Just letting them relax and soften as you're breathing.

And noticing any sense of the mind wandering.

Any thoughts that the leg should be higher or straighter than it is.

And seeing if you can just let go of that.

Listening carefully to your body's messages.

Listening carefully about how far to take this stretch.

Becoming sensitively up to your edge and not beyond it into discomfort.

And just hanging out there.

Gently breathing freely.

And if you want to intensify the stretch,

You might like to take hold of your left leg behind the knee and gently pull it closer towards your head.

Being present with all the sensations involved in this movement.

And carefully listening to what the body tells you at each stage.

Would inform your decision about intensifying this stretch.

Does it come from thoughts about achieving or perhaps rather messages your body is giving you about wanting to stretch further?

And now very,

Very slowly lowering your leg.

Being aware of all the changing sensations throughout your body as your leg gets closer and closer to the floor.

And noticing anticipation in the mind.

And noticing sensations of release.

And as you reach the floor,

Coming to the resting posture.

Seeing the right leg stretch out beside the left one.

Letting go.

Just being present to what is here now.

Breathing.

And now bending your left leg at the knee with the left foot flat on the floor and raising your right leg up towards the ceiling.

Again as far and as straight is right for you in this moment.

Exploring and honouring your limits.

And perhaps noticing whether this leg has a different limit from the other leg.

Or maybe a different limit from yesterday.

And bringing your awareness to all the sensations throughout your body.

Getting into and softening around any tightening of muscles that aren't actually involved in this stretch.

Noticing what's going on in the mind.

And letting any judgements pass by.

And just very simply being with your experience.

All of your sensations honouring any edges of intensity that the body tells you about.

And again if you like experimenting with intensifying the stretch by holding the right leg behind the knee and gently putting it closer towards your head.

Carefully listening to the body's messages around this.

And exploring the decision to intensify or not.

And whether that comes from the mind or the body.

Can you tell which?

And now very very slowly lowering your right leg towards the floor.

Breathing freely.

And bringing awareness to all the changing sensations,

All the muscles being used as your leg gets closer and closer.

Noticing the mind,

Noticing sensations release and letting go.

And when the right leg finally reaches the floor.

Coming back to the resting posture.

Noticing the left leg stretch out on the floor beside the right one and coming to stillness.

Breathing.

And noticing all the sensations throughout your body.

Noticing any places of tension as best you can.

Listening to them and softening around them.

And for the next movement we will be coming onto all fours on the floor.

So noticing if your mind,

You're already there.

And seeing if you can come back with mindfulness,

Coordinating mind and body.

Taking yourself from being on your back to being on all fours.

Moving and being fully present as you do this.

And now on all fours starting with your hands about a shoulder's width apart with your knees a hips width apart and letting your hands be directly below the shoulders,

Your knees directly below your hips.

And letting your back and head be level so you look a little bit like a table which is the name for this posture.

And now breathing out,

Letting your head drop down a bit as you curl and arch your back upwards towards the ceiling like an alarmed cat.

And allowing this arching and stretching to happen gently vertebra by vertebra along your spine and neck.

And then as you breathe in raising your head as you let your back and belly sag down towards the floor like a cow.

Again allowing this movement to happen gently vertebra by vertebra along your spine and neck.

So continuing to do these two movements.

The cat and the cow.

And letting your breath determine your speed.

Breathing out,

The head down,

The back arching up like a cat.

Breathing in with the head back up and belly sagging down towards the floor.

And then like a cow breathing out with a cat breathing in with a cow stretching while being sensitively aware of the body's messages.

As you stretch and move feeling what's happening along your back and neck.

And as you do this bringing your awareness to all the sensations involved in this movement throughout your body.

Noticing if the mind is saying anything about these movements.

And then coming back to being with the body.

And now on the next out breath coming back to the table posture with your back and head level breathing.

Yeah and being aware of the effects of having done these movements.

Just shaking out your wrists if any tension is built up there.

Listening to what the body needs.

And now from the table.

The table posture extending your right leg out behind you.

Maybe letting your toes likely rest on the floor to help your balance.

Or deciding to raise the right leg out and up.

Just as far and straight as your body says is right.

And now also if possible for you raising your left arm out in front of you as far and as straight as is right for you.

And looking out along your arm and beyond your fingers.

And lengthening all the way through your body from left fingertips to right toes.

Breathing and balancing.

Feeling the adjustment and the readjustment of muscles as they do their work.

Listening carefully to the messages of the body.

Noticing what your mind is saying about this movement and holding this posture only as long as feels right for your body in this moment.

And now bringing your arm and leg back down to the floor.

And on the next out breath letting your head drop down.

And as you raise your back up towards the ceiling and the cot posture.

Giving your back a stretch.

And now coming back to the table posture.

Noticing the effects in your body of having done these movements.

And if there's any tightness or tension around as best as you can opening a softening toe.

And now reversing the movement.

Extending your left leg out back and your right arm forward.

And again remembering to breathe as you explore the sensations throughout your body in this stretch and balance.

Exploring your limits.

Listening to your body.

Using the breath.

And with the breath softening around any intensity as we hold this position.

And only do this as long as your body tells you.

And now bringing your arm and leg back down to the floor.

And on the next out breath letting your head drop down.

And as you raise your back up towards the ceiling and the cat posture.

Giving your back another stretch.

And now coming back to the level table posture.

Breathing.

Yeah,

Just noticing the effect of having done these movements.

Now coordinating.

Synchronizing mind and body.

And moving yourself mindfully to lying on your back now.

In the resting position with your legs straight out.

Feet just loosely flocked apart.

And your arms resting by your sides.

And taking the time now to notice the effects of all the movements we've just done.

Scanning your awareness through the whole of your body.

Becoming aware of all the sensations and messages it is giving you now.

Bringing awareness to your toes and your feet.

The ankles.

The legs.

Opening,

Softening.

Now the knees.

The thighs.

The pelvic area.

The lower back.

The abdomen.

The chest.

The breath flowing in and out.

Middle back.

The upper back.

Noticing sensations.

Opening,

Softening to any sensations,

Perhaps stress,

Tension in the shoulders.

Then down the arms,

The upper arms,

The elbows,

The arms,

Hands,

Fingertips.

Guiding awareness back up the arms,

The shoulders,

The neck,

Head,

Face.

And if it's okay now,

Opening out awareness to embrace the whole body,

Lying here.

Letting go.

Breathing.

And naturally experiencing the sensations of breath movements throughout the whole body.

And letting your whole body be just as it is in this moment.

No need to change or fix anything.

Touching into an open groundedness of the body,

Which is always with us and which continually gives us wise messages if we pay attention.

And as we come to the end of this practice,

In your own time gently rolling over to your side and coming to sit.

And then gently stand.

And then moving in any way that feels right for you.

Letting your body tell you just how it is.

Just how it wants to move.

Perhaps stretching,

Maybe shaking,

Twisting,

Wiggling,

Jumping,

Whatever.

Feeling awake and aware as you move into your next activity.

Knowing that taking this time to be fully with yourself in this way expands your ability to be more fully awake to all your experience.

And having the intention to bring this level of awakeness into whatever you have left to do today.

As you become familiar with the sequence of movements,

You can experiment with doing them without listening to recording.

Or experiment with bringing other movements and stretches that you know.

Mindful movement is simply another opportunity to practice bringing full awareness to your experience in each moment.