Celebrating The Small Stuff With Mindful Movement

We live in a world full of distractions. From eyewatering amounts of screentime to the quick dopamine hits of social media, by this point our brains are all but hardwired to be anywhere but present.

Mindful movement is what it says on the tin: being mindful while you move.

In fact, its beauty lies in its simplicity. It can be practiced at virtually any waking time – while you’re walking, brushing your teeth, sitting on a sofa, etc.

The only requirement is that you pay attention to the way your body moves. Importantly, it’s not about taking pains to move your body in a specific way, but about paying attention to what your body’s doing, whatever it’s doing.

Go on a walk without headphones so you can really tune into the way your body moves; the steps you take, the way your arms sway, the rhythm of your breathing.

You might also try activities that have mindfulness as a key tenet, like yoga, tai chi, and qigong.

But the beauty of mindful movement lies in its simplicity; you can practice it anytime, during virtually any waking moment, and reap the positive effects in the process. Whether you’re brushing your teeth or making your bed, as long as your mind is paying attention, it counts as mindful movement.

Mindful movement has garnered such a dedicated following because of the abundant benefits it offers us, physically and cognitively.

Science has shown that mindful movement can shift the activity of our autonomic nervous system, lowering heart rate, blood pressure, and our fight or flight response¹. It can also help people who struggle with anxiety, not only by lowering anxiety levels, but by reducing stress, rumination, and depression².

While mindful movement might seem silly to some people, the truth is that these small, mundane moments which are the focus of its practice are the building blocks of our life; if we don’t try to be present for the small stuff, the quality of our attention isn’t honed enough to be able to fully appreciate – in all its richness – the big stuff.

And, while life isn’t always exciting or riveting, it’s always worth paying attention to. It bears remembering that at one point in the past, you were probably very curious about where you’d be today; mindful movement, then, is about taking that reverence and intrigue we typically reserve for the future and channelling it into the here and now.

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Sources

• Getting Started with Mindful Movement - Mindful

• How 'mindful movement' can improve your mental health