Meditation in Motion

It is no secret that meditation is good for you. What you may not know is that you can meditation while moving. Examples of meditation in motion include Tai Chi, yoga, Qi Gong and mindful walking. When you practice these movement exercises, the physiology of your mind and body changes so that your stress response is less activated. This physiological change is called The Relaxation Response.

The relaxation response is a deep state of rest that involves a passive mental attitude to an absorbing repetitive focus whereby the chatter in the mind is turned off and the arousal of the Stress Response is turned off as well. (Benson 1971). There are many ways to meditate or elicit the relaxation response, and movement meditations represent one form. The common factors include a passive mental attitude and a focus, in this case, on the movement of your body and your breath.

By focusing on a simple mental stimulus, the mind is quieted, stopping the negative babble that usually activates the stress response. When the relaxation response is elicited for ten to twenty minutes every day, the beneficial effects begin to carry over. Just like a medication that becomes more effective the longer you take it, the effects of the relaxation response become more profound the more you practice it. And when you practice eliciting the response through movement, you may often find that your body feels more balanced as well as flexible.

In general, movement meditation involves your body taking on different “forms”, postures or positions, maintaining a passive focus on each form and on getting from one form to the next. It also involves paying attention to your breath; timing your movement with the inhalation and exhalation of your breath. The result is a sense of flow, as you move from one form to the next, you breath moving in and out accordingly. As you find yourself in the flow of the movement, the mind and body begin to achieve a new level of calm as the stress response is turned down; endorphins and other ‘feel good’ chemicals begin to be released.

There is no one right way to meditate while moving. When you find something you like—then it is the right one for you!

Here is one example:
Stand, feet apart with your arms outstretched wide to the sky.
Imagine you are grabbing from the heavens the light and energy from the sun and the stars with your hands.
Inhale, then as you exhale, bring your hands down so that they rest on the top of your head and imagine that you are placing the light and energy in your body, through the top of your head.
Inhale and exhale 3 cycles.
Inhale, then as you exhale, slowly lower your hands, with palms facing down, in front of your face, and place them both on your heart, depositing the light and energy in your heart.
Inhale and exhale 3 cycles.
Inhale, then as you exhale, slowly lower your hands, with palms facing down, and place them on your abdomen, so that the light and energy go into your abdomen.
Inhale and exhale 3 cycles.

How do you feel?