Movement as Meditation

Using your Exercise Program to Find Inner Quiet

 

By Justin Casteel

 

               Movement can be as good for us psychologically and emotionally as it is for us physically.  Movement can, if practiced the right way, can be an exercise in mindfulness.  Have you heard about mindfulness?  No?  Well let’s look at it together, to see what it is and why it can be so good.

               So have you ever had those nights where you can’t sleep because your mind keeps running over and over problems, to-do lists, worries?  Well, a mindfulness practitioner would tell you that it’s because your mind is trapped in the future or the past, and not right here and now.  Think about it- having those sort of distractions is either fretting about something that happened, yesterday or 10 years ago, or worrying about what will happen tomorrow or sometime in the future.  It’s good to plan ahead, and it’s good to learn your lessons from mistakes, but I think you might agree that it’s not good to be trapped by them, or to let those thoughts run rampant and interrupt something as important as sleep.

               Now, I am not a therapist but I do believe in the power of mindfulness, of being able to recognize the results of that sort of stress and to have a toolkit to help mitigate its ill effects.  There is a direct physiological reaction to emotional states, and vice versa.  We feel and store stress physically as tension, stuck breathing, or clenched teeth.  If you clench your teeth, hold your breath and hold your fists tightly, chances are you won’t feel very good.  If, on the other hand, you pause and close your eyes, take a few deep breaths, and consciously relax the muscles of your face, you will probably feel better almost immediately.  This is where movement and mindfulness meet.

               Mindfulness in this context means paying attention, without judgement, to what you are feeling.  Focus on the movements that you are doing and ask yourself: “does this feel right? What is my breath doing?  What movement am I going to do next?”  Even these simple questions, simply paying attention and observing what you feel and how it feels really brings you in to the present moment.  Movement has become meditation.  You are focused on here and now, not on what will happen tomorrow, not on what happened yesterday.  And that can feel pretty good.  Try it some time!  It’s very simple, but profound in its simplicity.