by Sara Keller

Use movement as a path to mindfulness

Sitting still for several minutes is often not easy. Especially if you start with meditation and it just doesn't work today. In this case, you can take a different path and use activity to bring mindfulness into your everyday life. For you, movement may be directly associated with a strenuous workout. But it doesn't have to be that way.

Conscious and mindful exercise can regulate bodily functions. For example, the pulse and blood pressure can be lowered or muscle tension reduced. In this way, the psyche can be influenced at the same time. We know from research that in an anxiety situation we show physical symptoms such as high muscle tension or a fast heartbeat. When we are afraid, our body is automatically tense and cannot be relaxed at the same time. You can use this fact in your everyday life.

How you can relax while moving

We usually associate relaxation with a body at rest: sitting down to do a meditation or lying down to listen to a fantasy journey. These are good ways to bring body and mind to rest. Doesn't movement then have the exact opposite effect? Our answer: It can, but it doesn't have to.

For example, if we are watching a sports competition or doing intensive training, these are situations in which movement does not have a relaxing effect. Afterwards, you might be able to find a quicker way to relax, but that doesn't happen during the training itself. The flow experience in sport is interesting at this point. It is a mixed form in which you are fully absorbed in the sporting activity and your mind falls into a kind of trance. Nevertheless, this form is quite exhausting and does not last forever.

How do we get away from the usual training to the mindfulness exercise and finally to relaxation? If we concentrate fully on the movement, we can distance ourselves from the outside world. We enter the here and now, because our thoughts are completely focused on the perception of our body. This can subsequently regulate breathing and heartbeat and reduce muscle tension. Body and mind interact with each other: We relax. This reciprocal relationship between body and psyche is the basis of the embodiment approach in the human sciences. This approach complements the assumption from psychosomatics that the psyche can have an influence on the physical level. You can read more about this approach in the article by Wolfgang Tschacher and Maja Storch "Grundlagen des Embodiment-Ansatzes in den Humanwissenschaften".

How shoulder circles become a mindfulness exercise

We would now like to show you how you can make a simple exercise mindful: Which movements are suitable and how best to do them. We have chosen "shoulder circles" as an example to explain the steps so that you can implement it directly. In this way, you can directly do something good for your shoulder joints and calm your mind at the same time.

1 Choose simple movements

In general, you should choose an exercise that is very basic and does not make you sweat. It's best to try it out. Can I do the movement for 2 to 3 minutes without exceeding my "perspiration limit"? You should answer YES to this question when choosing an exercise.

The shoulder circles exercise fulfils the upper criterion and at the same time only stresses one region of the body, namely the shoulder and neck area. So movements that do not involve your whole body are best.

2 Incorporate Breathing

Combine your exercise with breathing and observe how the speed of the movement automatically slows down. This is how it works with shoulder circles:

When you circle your shoulders backwards, you can divide the circular movement into two parts. When the circular movement is in an upward motion at the front of the body, you inhale. With the downward movement at the back of the body, exhale. Breathe in in a relaxed manner and match the movement to your breathing.

As a rule, you can combine an upward movement with an inhalation and a downward movement with an exhalation.

3 Close your eyes

You can focus even more on the exercise if you close your eyes. This strengthens your body awareness and allows you to consciously feel the movement. For certain exercises you may have to support yourself with your eyes closed. This is quite normal, because when you are standing, for example, your balance is also stressed, but at the same time it is also supported.

Five moving exercises for more mindfulness

We have searched for suitable, simple movements that are suitable for your mindfulness training. Try moving through your body parts. You can already use every single movement of a joint. If you find this difficult at first, try these five ideas:

1) Shoulder circles

2) Wrist circles

3) From a standing position, stand on your toes and return to a standing position.

4) Turn the upper body while standing

5) In quadrupedal position, do a cat bend and return to starting position.

There are many ways to achieve mindfulness, because it is more than meditation and can be integrated into everyday life. You decide for yourself what is the right path for you. And just making the conscious decision to do what you need at that moment is mindful.

Source: Prof. Dr. Norbert Fessler (2018) Körper-Achtsamkeit. Das Basistraining für Einsteiger. Schorndorf: Hofmann Verlag.