Can mindfulness improve the way you move?
“You are only as young as your spine is flexible”
This quote from Pilates founder Joseph Pilates is a great reference to remind us that we move for multiple levels of reasons and benefits throughout our lifetime. To keep healthy, to stay calm, to prevent injury, and above all, to offer the body the best chance to stay young and feeling alive.
Welcome to Part 1 of this short yet insightful look into how to be a mindful mover. Throughout this article, I am going to offer you a new perspective on how to approach your relationship with your body and invite you to stay fit, in a diverse and satisfying way – for life not just for Christmas or New Year for that matter!
Movement and mindfulness
The Oxford dictionary definition of movement is an act of moving the body or part of the body. The definition of mindfulness is a mental state achieved by concentrating on the present moment while calmly accepting the feelings and thoughts that come to you used as a technique to help you relax.
Independent of each other, mindfulness and movement are complementary to our wellbeing. However, when both disciplines are applied together in a conscious manner, the benefits are elevated. Paradigm shifts can occur for individuals which lead them through personal growth spurts and a greater understanding of self-acceptance.
Work smarter not harder
We can’t stop the waves, but we can learn to surf Jon Kabat-Zinn
The mindful mover proactively makes healthy lifestyle decisions over three main areas of wellbeing:
- self-education
- the long view
- illness prevention.
They make a dedication to themselves to learn and discover how to function better and also how to listen to their own body’s needs.
The first step is to understand how the body functions. Sharon George, a mindfulness and yoga teacher, explains that challenges will most certainly arise in our lives. And through practices like mindfulness and meditation, there is an effective and beneficial transformative way to affect change, healing, and growth. This in turn helps us to understand the challenges and waves in our lives.
Many of us move all day long without any conscious thoughts of how we are moving. Why is it important to know how you move? It creates a deeper sense of awareness between you and your body. As you begin to put this awareness at the driving seat of your mind, you build a stronger and more balanced relationship towards what is right for you and what truly motivates you.
The impact that this plays in your life is vital to adopt the long view approach to movement. You begin to pay less attention to the superficial motivators such as:
- what you look like
- how much weight you have lost
Instead pay more attention to how movement:
- makes you feel
- improves your health
- reduces injury
- releases stress
With this new attitude of care and kindness, you can become fitter with less exertion and more precision. I will be talking more about this in December’s article. Before then I invite you to try being a mindful mover by taking note of how you move throughout the day and begin to listen to your body’s needs more. If it needs rest – rest. If it wants to play – play. Try 5 -10 minutes of this mindful mover awareness practice each day and you will soon become to like being more attuned to the natural cycles and needs of your body.
Natalie is an intuitive coach and author of Light The Way. Through her work as a writer, author, radio presenter, yoga teacher, and founder of Natalie Farrell Coaching she empowers women to push to their edges: to embrace their wild, honour their inner goddess, and begin truly dancing with life.