As we are all social distancing and experiencing what it means to self-quarantine, it is an important time to tune into our minds and get our bodies moving with some mindful movement. Mindful movement is an exercise that consists of listening to your body through tuning into your breath, noticing your heart rate, and recognizing your body’s ability to process movement. As you tune into your body’s unique set of needs, you can start to develop your own movement routine based on how your body is reacting to each particular movement. Part of finding this routine relies on you letting go of your past ideas about that specific movement that you might have learned in prior experiences while having a fresh outlook on your body’s relationship to movement. These are key components in order to develop a mindful routine.

One of the great features of mindful movement is that it allows for certain emotions to be released through your body without any need for understanding or connection to specific thoughts.  When participating in a mindful movement exercise, it is not uncommon for raw emotions to come through (i.e. laughing or crying, unexpectedly). Accepting these emotions is key, but if you need help processing the emotions and accepting them, you can journal, call a close friend, or speak with a therapist. 

Another important feature of mindful movement is breath. Breath is an essential aspect to your movement and can help relax your parasympathetic nervous system, which is the part of you that activates your flight or fight response. This can be helpful in mindful movement because it allows you to let your guard down and be present with your true emotions in your most relaxed state, which can ultimately lead to the goal of feeling freedom from the pain that has been stored in the body.

Keeping all of that in mind, here are some helpful steps in finding your own mindful movement routine:

Step 1: Get comfortable with your breath

Lie down and place one hand on your belly and one hand on your heart. Start by taking some deep breaths in through your nose and out through your mouth. Try to notice how this feels in your body. Try focusing on the feeling of the air entering your nostrils and exiting your mouth. This can help you stay present in the moment. As you continue to explore your breath, try some different things such as breathing in through the nose, out through the nose or counting the inhales and exhales, respectively. You can also imagine breathing in positivity and exhaling negativity. Once you have explored this, find a place that feels comfortable for you and stick with that breath pace. It will help guide you through the physical movement and emotional experiences that occur.

Step 2: Be present

In order to get present with and tap into your body, you have to move. These movements can be small, big, slow, fast or any other thing in between that you might think of. Let your body explore the space you are in, try starting by sitting on the ground and moving from there, then gradually release each part of your body into whatever movements feel intuitive. This might look like dancing, it might be stretching, walking, jumping, or skipping. Put on your favorite playlist and let yourself really be free.

 Step 3: Set aside time to practice mindful movement daily

The last step of finding a mindful movement routine is to set aside daily time to move. This could look like a simple stretch, or a dance session to your favorite music. It could be a yoga flow, a run, or a walk. There are so many ways to move your body and once you find your favorite one, try to set aside time for that to be a priority. 

If you are looking for support around finding your own movement routine or want to work on your relationship between movement and your body, please reach out to work with Lily at Hello@UpsiderTherapy.com or at (646) 494-4878.