Movement meditation is a technique that can help you connect to your body. It is a beautiful divine body prayer, many like to begin this practice by expressing an intention to commune or connect deeper with themselves, nature, or the divine, while others utilize this meditation to express what they are feeling and experiencing in the present moment. It can be a guided meditation by a teacher or a personal ritual or a spontaneous event to connect deeper with oneself during your day to bring yourself back into the present moment. There are many ways to experiment with mindful movement and enter this meditative state, for example spiritually inspired martial arts like tai chi and qigong; vinyasa and other styles of yoga meditation;
5 rhythms or other types of dance movement practices; somatic healing movement;
walking meditation; dancing meditation; and of course cultivating movement meditation while doing daily tasks like washing the dishes or taking a shower.
The most important aspect of movement meditation is mindfulness; for instance, being aware of your body as it moves or the sensation of grounding as your foot meets the floor. You become conscious of the different regions of your body that are most often overlooked, such as your shoulder, elbow, or back of your head. You begin to notice how the body responds with each breath, gesture, how it folds, and twists, and the feelings, emotions, and sensations that want to be expressed at any given moment.
When you are aware of your body, you are also more aware of all of your senses as well as your breath, heartbeat, and your souls' expressions such as conscious expansions or contractions. Movement meditation focuses on the body's movements rather than the movement's objective. Everything we do could potentially be done as moment meditation with mindfulness, allowing ourselves to become aware of all changes big or small as well as how we perceive our reality moment to moment. When we shine the light of presence awareness on our movements our lives can dramatically change in its quality. As you reach down to pick up a potted plant from your floor, for example, you can feel the bend in your legs and the stretch in the arm. As you begin to pick up the plant, you feel it cool against your hand. As you lift it towards you, you sense the additional weight on your body. During movement meditation, you can become aware of all of these things and much more.
It's possible that you also become aware of the passage of energy within your body and how that energy interacts with the outside world. You can pay attention to your body's natural responses to various stimuli such as the music's rhythm, individual body parts' spatial positions, sensations throughout the body (warmth, cold, pressure, pain, pleasure), your breathing in sync with or independent of your movements, or the state of stillness.
For several years now I have been exploring many forms of movement meditation, those listed above, and have enjoyed also creating my own, by mixing yoga, dance, and other moment practices together. This has greatly affected my daily meditative practices in surprising ways. This practice of connecting to my body through mindfulness movement has become a huge priority in my life. And I can report with great joy and excitement that I have experienced numerous healing effects on my mind, body, and soul:
Mind: I've noticed that I'm able to maintain my memory and concentration for longer periods of time when performing daily tasks. My thought processes feel sharper in general as if the window of the mind has been wiped clean.
Body: I've observed an overall feeling of what feels like my body smiling from the inside out. As a result, I have noticed I have more flexibility and heightened senses. I've also noticed that I'm more relaxed and feel at home in my body.
Soul: Increase sense of joy to be alive. A feeling of what feels like soul blooming with each day of this practice I seem to touch a deeper layer of myself. There is an expansion of conscious awareness and a feeling of love for this dance we call life and all the sentient beings in it. I am also experiencing an increased sense of self-awareness and spiritual awareness. And lastly, the channel to my intuition, higher guidance, and expanded self has greatly improved as well!
To summarise, movement meditation encompasses a wide range of traditional methods that provide a slew of health and spiritual benefits. Moving meditation is not strenuous on the body and can be done by virtually anyone, anywhere. The main principles include body awareness and gentle, rhythmic movements with mindful presence to connect to the mind, body, and soul. Movement meditation on a regular basis can greatly enhance your health parameters as well as your overall quality of life.
“The body is the womb of the soul, a begging bowl for spirit...” “It takes discipline to be a free spirit.” “Your voice takes you to your heart.” “If you just set people in motion, they'll heal themselves.” –Gabrielle Roth
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