You probably know that movement is very healthy for your body and mind. But have you ever heard of mindful movement? What exactly is it, what are the benefits and how exactly do you do it? You will find out in this blog.
The importance of exercise
We live in challenging times: climate change, corona, war in Ukraine, rapid technological changes … All this has a detrimental impact on many people. For example, some are regularly tired, suffer from low immunity, are stressed, feel depressed, and so on. Do you experience any of these symptoms or feelings from time to time? Start exercising! This is extremely good for your physical and mental well-being. Why is this? Exercise …
- triggers the production of endorphins. These happiness hormones induce a positive state of mind and reduce stress.
- boosts the production of serotonin and dopamine, which, among other things, helps with emotion and mood regulation, and increases concentration.
- has a positive effect on our immune system, making us less susceptible to disease.
And not just that: regular exercise helps to prevent depression, burnout and anxiety. So even if you are currently feeling very good, it is a good idea to prepare yourself, in case you enter a more difficult period later on.
Would you like to do some more exercise or start with a specific sport? You can choose an intensive form of movement, such as jogging, dancing or basketball, but working in the garden, walking or doing household chores, is also beneficial. Find out what kind of exercise you like. If you are committed to exercising every day or every other day and want to avoid dropping the ball, it is best to choose something you enjoy doing. For example, don’t force yourself to go to the gym every day if that doesn’t make you happy at all.
What is mindful movement and how do you go about it?
Mindful movement means that during your physical activity, you are consciously in the moment. You focus your attention on what you are doing. This has various additional benefits, in addition to the general advantages listed above, including experiencing more joy and reducing the risk of overusing your body.
While exercising, most athletes think about what could go wrong, that everyone is watching them, or the technique they need to use. In addition, there are often many distractions, such as noise from fans who are shouting.
On top of that, top athletes are often under pressure when a game doesn’t go quite the way they had hoped, such as when the score is tied or their team is a point behind. By applying the principles of mindful movement, you reduce the impact of such emotions and thoughts, so that you can be focused and perform better.
So how exactly do you do that? Suppose you are a basketball player and you have to take a free throw. Mindfully taking a free throw goes like this. Focus your attention on what is here, right now, in this moment: the position of your body, your movement and/or your breathing.
By doing this, you won’t go along with upcoming thoughts, and you will be able to take the free throw better. Moreover, by applying this technique during the rest of the game, you are going to be (generally) more efficient and calm.
Years ago, when I was a basketball player myself, there were times when the coach would send me to the bench. At times, I would get really overwhelmed by anger and thoughts. By looking into and practicing meditation, I learned to apply the following exercise:
- Concentrate on the contact of your seat with the bench and your feet on the floor.
- Follow your breath and focus your attention there.
- Then move your attention back to your body for a moment.
- Repeat these steps over and over until your emotions and thoughts begin to feel less strong.
This meditation helped me to see this moment as a new beginning. Afterwards, I also had more concentration and focus during the game.
Of course, something like this takes practice and every situation is different. But if you practice with it a lot, outside of competitions, you will find that it eventually becomes a new (mindful) automatism. Would you like to learn more about this? Sign up for one of my mindfulness courses. During this course, you will learn from A to Z how mindfulness works and how best to apply the principles of mindful movement, in your specific situation.
What if I am unable to exercise at the moment?
You just learned about the benefits of mindful movement and how to engage in it in the previous sections. But what if you are unable to do this for a while, because you feel very tired or because you are sick, and have covid, for example? Mindfulness is also about being mindful of your body’s limits! If you can’t manage to exercise, you can do another practice to come back to yourself for a moment.
How? You can take a walk, sit quietly on a bench in the garden, read a book, put on music, drink a tea or eat a piece of cake … and do a meditation exercise at the same time. Focus your attention on your breathing, your body, the sounds around you … Try to be in the moment and also return to it when you notice that emotions and thoughts are coming up.
Some examples
Recently, a participant of my MBSR group program told me during one of the sessions that she had been ill with corona and was still feeling very tired. She did not feel comfortable participating in the exercises. I then suggested to go outside for a while, to sit on a bench in the garden and to bring her attention to the feeling of the warmth of the sun on her skin. Afterwards, she told me that this brief moment had brought her tremendous joy, despite her illness.
“I wasn’t feeling well that day and didn’t feel like joining the exercises. But after this mindful moment in the sun, I felt a lot better. ” ~ student (anonymous)
Another participant, an older man, had a similar experience. At one point he said that he couldn’t manage to do anything. He had been suffering from covid for a long time. His immune system was severely compromised. He was often short of breath. I suggested sitting quietly on the chair and to simply be aware of his breathing. I told him he could join the group to do the exercises whenever he felt better.
After a while, he went outside to get some air. Afterwards, he returned to the group. He said that he managed to do the mindful walk, at his own pace. He was able to focus on the sounds in the environment and his feet in contact with the ground, instead of focusing on his thoughts of powerlessness, anger … He was surprised that it was still feasible for him to do the exercises in the end, despite his anxious and limiting thoughts. During the rest of the course, he walked mindfully every day. At the end, he left the course with a smile.
Would you like to learn more about mindfulness? Check out the page ‘What is mindfulness?’.
