Being mindful is one thing, but how can we become more mindful of our movement? During March, we will explore the power of mindful movement, in which we look to focus on the uniting of our mind and body. By becoming more mindful in our physical movement, you'll feel more awareness to sensations during exercise, or even going about your every day life.
The bond between mind and movement, is a powerful tool to allow a sense of presence and awareness, whilst your body moves from one movement to another. Even just by lifting our arms, we can feel each muscles working together.
During exercise, think about the quality of your movement and recognise the sensation and feeling your experiencing. As you stretch, lunge, twist and run, take the time to become aware of the movement. How does it make you feel?
The sensation might not always be a nice feeling, it may be something that is uncomfortable, or leaves you not wanting to do that movement again. Yet rather than ignore this sensation, take the time to recognise how it's making you feel. Is it possible to accept this sensation and turn the pain into a joy? If it's a negative sensation, because the physical endurance is too much, focus on the different muscles in your body that are being used. Take running for example, as each foot hits the ground, think about the power in your step, the pressure applied to each toe as you push off. What sensation do you have as you raise each arm to drive you forward? Take these feelings and use them to adjust your training and allow you to perform better in the long term.
All importantly, your breath has a big part to play in becoming more mindful over your movement. As you take a deep breath in, feel the air enter your lungs. As you exhale, feel your chest flatten and your muscles relaxing. Allowing you to calm your mind and continue with your physical exercise.
Practising mindful movement, will help you to feel more grounded and calm, whilst giving you peace of mind when training and enduring physical activity. Join us this March and explore the power of mindful movement. We'd highly recommend using our Escape range before during and after exercise, to enhance physical activity, ease your mind and reset you mood. Discover the full Escape range here.