We are living in a world where stress increasingly plays a bigger role in our lives. Mindful Movement is a useful way to combine physical activity with mindful practices and combat stress. Discover the power of Mindful Movement and learn how to use it to bring awareness to the present moment and find balance in your life.
1. Uncovering the Benefits of Mindful Movement
Mindful movement has become a common practice these days and for good reason! There are an abundance of benefits that come with taking time to explore your body’s movement thoughts, sensations, and feelings. Here’s an exploration into why you should give it a go:
- Increased Awareness of Body -When engaging in mindful movement, you create the opportunity to become more aware of your body’s postures, muscular tensions, and other physical sensations. Through this practice, you can can begin to use these physical cues to detect emotions and feelings that are often difficult to translate with words.
- Unwinds & Destresses -Another benefit of mindful movement is that it can be used as a tool to combat stress, allowing us to simply take time to nourish ourselves. With its gentle acknowledgement of our physical and mental states, we can begin to unwind and practice self-love without feeling guilty.
Regular mindful movement also helps to improve overall agility and coordination. Recognising the connection between mind and body is a crucial step in developing ideal motor movements, which is great for any sport enthusiast. Additionally, this practice is useful in the prevention and rehabilitation of injuries. By being conscious of our alignment and positioning during activities, we can reduce the risk of long-term chronic issues.
Finally, the practice of mindful movement can help us to reach a meditative state. By allowing ourselves to focus solely on the body and its movements, we can adjust our breathing to reduce stress and achieve a sense of clarity and stability. We can also identify our personal boundaries for movement, enabling us to work towards our goals without overstressing our bodies.
In short, mindful movement can help us to explore our emotional and physical states that help set us onto the path of good health and wellbeing.
2. Delving Into the Power of the Present Moment
The capacity of the present moment should never be underestimated. Living in the present moment enables us to come into contact with life happening right now. Whether it’s with our work, our interactions with managers, family members or our own inner state of being, the present moment offers immense power and potential.
1. Savoring the Experience
Acknowledging the beauty of the present moment opens us up to life in a unique way. This requires an awareness and appreciation of what’s happening right now. Even if it’s a mundane detail like the shifting of the wind or the sunlight glinting off a car, appreciate and savor the experience.
2. Connecting with Emotions
When we’re living in the present moment, we can take every emotion and use it to deepen our connection with the present. We can use uneasy feelings as a nudge to take action and move towards something better or use glad emotions to guide us into a deeper appreciation for life.
- When we’re feeling sad, we can pause and reach out for help
- When we’re feeling frustrated, we can look for solutions and take inspired action
- When we’re feeling joy, we can be mindful and deepen our connection with life
3. Unlocking Potential
Fully being in the present moment means we’re open to new perspectives and can expand our capacity to think freely and make conscious decisions. It’s by taking the time to pause and engage deeply with what’s in the moment that we can unlock our potential for growth and exploration.
4. Practicing Awareness
This means being mindful of your thoughts, feelings and physical sensations, without judgment or attachment. Pause from time to time and observe what’s unfolding with clarity and interest.
The power of the present moment lies in giving us the capacity to be curiously present to all aspects of our being. Each time we practice tuning in, we’re reconnecting to the raw potential of the moment and engaging with life in an authentic way.
3. Exploring How Exercise Enhances Mindfulness
Mindfulness involves focusing your complete attention on your thoughts, feelings, and what’s going on in the present moment. Exercise, when viewed mindfully, helps increase this feeling of mindfulness. Let’s explore the ways that exercise can help improve your mindful state:
- Allows for Self-Reflection: Exercise alone, away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life, can often give a sense of clarity. As you move through each repetition, spin of a cycle, or stride of a run, the focus can go inward and help to identify patterns, feelings, and mental blocks.
- Creates a Zen-Like State: Exercise releases an array of “feel-good hormones” that can create a natural high. Tap into this state, and use the opportunity to practice mindfulness- meditation in motion. This could be by focusing on your cadence and breath, or simply tuning into how your body is feeling.
- Gives Clarity to Your Thoughts: Exercise can help provide clarity to thoughts, helping you better process and shake off any negativity or distractions. This can help release mental blocks, push out frustration, and better equip yourself to handle stress.
- Provides a Needed Break:The body’s natural response to exercise is that of relaxation, both mentally and physically. Give yourself a break from the stresses of work, school, or other external pressures by utilizing this natural response offered by exercise.
There are several ways to incorporate mindfulness into exercise. Taking a few minutes before or after a workout to tune in and focus on your breathing can yield significant benefit. The key is to find a quiet place, identify your breathing patterns, and be aware of your movements.
Yoga, stretching, and walking can also be great forms of mindful exercise. Find a comfortable pace and focus on your breath and the feelings of your muscles as they work. Exercise can be an extremely powerful form of mindfulness, but it must be practiced regularly to reap the benefits.
Start noticing how focus and mindfulness play a part in your workouts. Try to practice mindful awareness on a regular basis and notice the difference it can make. More than likely, by adding more mindfulness to your exercise, you’ll be amplifying its overall benefit.
4. Setting Your Mindful Movement Goals
Mental clarity and physical fitness both involve goal setting, but you can take it even further with mindful movement. Practicing mindful movement means focusing on what you’re doing and how you’re feeling in the moment. It requires that you slow down instead of rushing and accept your body’s limitations while working towards a goal. When you take on mindful movement, it’s important to think about what you want to achieve and how you’ll get there.
The key is to create achievable goals and to be gentle with yourself. Break up big goals into smaller goals and focus on what’s possible. Also remember that goals don’t have to be big; start small and focus on the journey.
Start by noticing your body. Take note of how it moves and what it’s capable of. Ask yourself what you would like to do more of and what areas you’d like to improve. For example, as much as you’d like to practice yoga each day, the reality may be that you just don’t have the time. Set a goal of yoga two days a week instead. As your practice and capacity develops, you can increase the amount. Don’t forget to be generous and kind with your body, as pushing it too far isn’t helpful.
Remember that mindful movement includes both physical and mental goals. Ask yourself:
- What do I want to achieve?
- How will I reach my goals?
- What should I do on a daily basis to reach my goal?
- What mental and physical ability am I working towards?
Once you have your goals in mind, show yourself some self-compassion each step of the way. Your goals should be realistic and achievable, and yoga should be a stress-free and enjoyable experience. When you’re feeling down, use your mindful movement practice to take a mindful break and get back to enjoying it.
The last step in any mindful movement program is the simple act of taking a few moments of rest. As you close your eyes and linger in the present moment, take in the refreshed energy you’ve gained through the pleasure of mindful movement. With the strength and presence of mind to carry through the rest of your day, you experience the positive side of mindful movement: a deepened awareness of your body and a calmer, more clarified perspective.
