Hello,
And welcome to this session on mindful stretching.
I invite you to take a seat on a comfortable position on some carpet,
Or some grass,
Or a yoga mat.
And just start moving your body a little bit.
Feel what your body feels like right now,
In this moment.
Do you feel any tension,
Or pressure,
Or pain?
Did any part of your body feel stiff,
Or sore,
Or potentially loose and free?
And what I want you to do is,
Put your body into any stretch of your choice.
Nice and gentle.
There shouldn't be any pain.
Just a little bit of stretching tension.
And when you've found that position,
Take a long,
Slow breath,
Deep into your belly.
And settle down into that stretch,
Just a little bit deeper.
I want you to draw your attention to the part of your body that you are stretching right now.
This might be a small area,
It might be a large area,
But just focus your attention on the stretch.
You can move a little,
Small rocks if necessary.
Remember our goal isn't to hurt ourselves,
It's not to force a stretch.
It's to mindfully embrace our body.
I want you to really focus on where you feel the stretch occurring.
Is it localised and stationary?
Or does the part being stretched seem to move up and down the muscle?
Does it feel warm or tingly?
Or a little bit of pressure?
Or some nice,
Comfortable,
Good pain?
What are you feeling in your body right now?
So now I want you to come out of the stretch slowly,
Gently,
Mindfully,
And just really feel what your body feels like now,
Having stretched.
What does that part of your body feel like?
Does it feel relaxed?
Does it feel loose?
Does it feel painful?
How does it feel compared to the rest of your body?
Feel free to go back into that stretch or start a new stretch and just draw your attention to the part of the body that you're stretching right now.
You can use the approach of mindful stretching or the principles that we've discussed here during a yoga session,
But really during any physical activity.
What does your body feel like right now?
Just return your focus back to the physical sensations that your body is giving.
And you'll find that there's a tremendously healing and therapeutic benefit for doing so.
Because what you're doing is connecting your mind and your body back together.
You're embracing your body for what it is as it is.
And you're seeing the areas that might need a little bit of maintenance.
You're putting blood flow into areas that might not receive much blood flow.
You're moving your body.
You're feeling it.
You're stretching it.
You're embracing it.
And on top of that,
You're doing it mindfully.
So your mind's learning to focus on the present moment.
If you're in a stretch and you're focusing on the stretch,
You're not thinking of the future or ruminating on the past.
You're not contemplating a conversation or a work adventure or any of the other challenging aspects of life.
Rather,
You're here in this moment right now.
You are the stretch or you're the act of stretching.
And what this mindful break does is allows your mental state and your body to sort of just recover,
To reset back to default and embrace reality as it is for what it is,
Mindfully.
So I encourage you for the duration of the session,
Feel that stretch out.
And if your mind wanders,
That's OK.
Acknowledge the distraction and gently bring your focus back to the stretch.
You're in a stretch or you're in a stretch.
And what this mindful break does is allows your mental state and your body to just recover,
To reset back to default.
And what this mindful break does is allows your focus to relax and relax and relax.
Great work.
So as we gently leave our stretch,
I want to remind you to bring the benefits of your meditation off the mat and into your everyday life.
There's little point practicing for 5,
10,
20 minutes a day if those 5,
10 or 20 minutes don't translate into benefits in your real life.
So as you're going about the rest of your day,
Just take a couple of moments here and there to feel what you feel like,
To check into your body,
To notice any tension or niggling or relaxation feelings.
And that way,
Your mindfulness and the benefits of will spread.
And that's the whole point.
Happy meditating.
