MEDITATION IN MOVEMENT

Many people imagine meditation as boring, quiet, and still. Admittedly some meditation practices seem that way, but there are forms of meditation that are almost the opposite. One type of meditation that contradicts this view is Movement Meditation.

What is Movement Meditation?

Movement Meditation is when we move through various postures or movements with a mindful and slow pace. The key to Movement Meditation is being mindful when we move. If our movements lack mindfulness, then we are just simply moving.

Movement Meditation is great for connecting our mind and body. It’s especially helpful for those of us who struggle with our identity and feel that we don’t belong in the world.

Being mindful while you move may be weird at first, but with practice, everyone soon gets used to it. We should begin by thinking about how our body feels. Do any muscles hurt? What feels good? Can we feel our breath? These sort of questions helps us draw awareness to ourselves in a mindful way.

We can also draw attention to how things interact with our bodies. Feel the floor. Is it hard or soft? Hot or cold? These questions help us feel grounded and increase our understanding of our relationship with the world.

Movement Meditation In Practice

Once we become comfortable with being attuned to our body and world, we can begin to do Movement Meditations. These meditations take a lot of practice and work to execute perfectly, so we need to be kind to ourselves and forgive the occasional mistakes.

We begin our Movement Meditations by sitting comfortably and paying attention to our breath. Once we are comfortable, place both hands on the body, and feel our hands move with each breath.

From here, we can do any movement we like. One easy and popular movement is simply standing up. While doing so, we need to feel how our muscles move and support our weight. ?

Once standing up, we need to our feet firmly on the ground. Then we need to activate our legs and core while placing our weight on all four corners of our feet. This stance will feel awkward at first but becomes natural in a short while.

Next, we must reach up with one hand like we are picking fruit. While doing so we should notice how our shoulders extend as our elbow straightens. Notice any tension and how the blood flows up our arm. Now we repeat with our other arm.

Once we are ready, both hands are lowered and we start to move around the room. We can move in any way we like while noticing how our legs feel now that they are n longer activated. After moving for a bit, we sit back down and compare how we felt at the beginning to how we feel now.

Popular Asanas

An asana is a body posture that involves sitting in some way. Yoga classes are often a series of asanas strung together in a flow. Asanas can be a great way to practice Movement Meditation, especially if we want to challenge our body's strength, endurance, and flexibility.

One of the most popular asanas is Adho, or downward-facing dog. Downward dog is when our hands and feet are on the ground while our back is extended with hips reaching upwards. We get into the downward dog by starting with a plank position. From there, we lift our hips backward and upwards.

Another popular asana is Balasana or Child's pose. The Child's pose is when we are folded over our thighs. We get into the Child's pose by sitting on our heels, and then folding over until our chest rests on our thighs. We can choose to put our hands above or behind us.

Shavasana is another popular asana. Shavasana is known as the Corpse pose because it involves laying on our back with our arms and legs extended and relaxed, much like a corpse. This pose is easy enough to get into, but it can be difficult to remain mindful, making it a difficult pose.

When doing asanas, we can either do one at a time or string asanas together to create a flow. Either way, staying attuned and mindful of our bodies is crucial. Asanas without mindfulness is just motions.

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