Mindfulness meditation is not limited to “formal” sitting or lying practices. There are many meditations in movement, such as mindfulness walking, or very simple, gentle physical exercises that are not at all difficult. These come from disciplines such as yoga, tai chi or Qi gong.
You don’t have to be an athlete to practice them, they’re very accessible. Bear in mind that our bodies are all different, and sometimes we may be restricted in our movements, whether as a result of an accident, a sore back or any other reason. In such cases, the most important thing is to respect our limits, not to force ourselves, and it’s perfectly possible to follow the exercise by imagining the movements.
hese exercises train us to slow down and come back to the body, to our body, to the sensations in our body. This helps us to calm the mind, become aware of our automatisms and feel freer. And so, gradually, find, or rediscover, serenity and perhaps the pleasure of just being in touch with what we’re experiencing.
Of course, the observation of thoughts and emotions is always part of these exercises. There’s a real complementarity and synergy between moving and still meditations. You can, in fact, alternate between them, switching from one program to the other and paying close attention to the progress you notice. I wish you a wonderful journey of discovery with conscious movement. See you soon.
