Exploring Mindful Movement & It’s Incredible Health Benefits

Mindfulness can simply be defined as moment-by-moment awareness. More poetically put mindfulness “is a state of psychological freedom that occurs when attention remains quiet and limber, without attachment to any particular point of view (1).”

While the term mindfulness is most often connected to a meditation-based practice, it also can be been used to describe a non-meditative state where the focus is on the here and now (2). Mindful movement falls squarely in between these two definitions and in today’s article we’re going to explore the unique benefits of this practice while learning how to incorporate it into daily life. 

“The principles of mindful movement are the same as any other mindfulness practice.”

The principles of mindful movement are the same as any other mindfulness practice. We aim to bring our full attention to the present moment. We bring our awareness to our movement and focus on our breath or the way our body feels as it moves. When our mind wanders, we bring our attention back to the practice, to our breath, to our body (3).

Use walking as an example. You can incorporate mindful movement by focusing on the connection of your breath to the cadence of your steps: take four steps, with one continuous breath in, four more steps, with one continuous breath out. You may continue that rhythm for the entirety of your walk. Perhaps you choose to explore other aspects of your body while walking: tighten your core, elongate your spine, and feel the present awareness of these purposeful movements.

Riding a bike, lifting weights, sweating it out on a treadmill—each can be a mindfulness practice.nd out

Yoga is a great example of practice already infused with mindful movement.

Let’s take one of yoga's most widely recognized poses, Downward-Facing Dog. Yoga Journal describes this pose as a “rejuvenating pose that works to provide a delicious, full-body stretch (4).” In their step-by-step instructions, they explain: with each exhalation, root down firmly through your hands, with each subsequent inhalation, send your hips back and up even more. This is mindful movement. 

Not only do these mindful movements feel good, but the practice of mindfulness has also been studied and associated with incredible impacts on the body, from improvements in mood and body image to reduction in stress and anxiety (5). Mindful movement shifts the activity of our autonomic nervous system which influences reactions like our heart rate, blood pressure, and fight-or-flight response. This means that exercising in a mindful and connected way can give us access to shift our emotions and moods from the outside in (6). 

Riding a bike, lifting weights, sweating it out on a treadmill—each can be a mindfulness practice. Whatever the physical activity, instead of simply working out to master a skill or improve your condition, you can move and breathe in a way that shifts you from feeling busy and distracted to feeling strong and capable (7).

SOURCES

1. Davis, Daphne M., and Jeffrey A. Hayes. What Are The Benefits Of Mindfulness? A Practice Review of Psychotherapy-Related Research. 2011, www.apa.org/pubs/journals/features/pst-48-2-198.pdf2. 

2. Powell, Alvin. “Harvard Researchers Study How Mindfulness May Change the Brain in Depressed Patients.” Harvard Gazette, Harvard Gazette, 27 Aug. 2018, news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2018/04/harvard-researchers-study-how-mindfulness-may-change-the-brain-in-depressed-patients/. 

3. Calechman, Steve, et al. “Getting Started with Mindful Movement.” Mindful, 4 Aug. 2021, www.mindful.org/getting-started-with-mindful-movement/. 

4. “Downward-Facing Dog.” Yoga Journal, 9 June 2021, www.yogajournal.com/poses/types/downward-facing-dog/. 

5.  Manoj Sharma, Sarah E. Rush. “Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction as a Stress Management Intervention for Healthy Individuals: A Systematic Review - MANOJ Sharma, Sarah E. Rush, 2014.” SAGE Journals, journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2156587214543143. 

6. Calechman, Steve, mindful.org.

7. Id.