Friday is Moving Day!
January Meditation Challenge Day 7: Moving MeditationThere are so many stereotypes about meditation. This is one of the biggest reasons why some people think they can’t meditate – they have a rigid idea of what they believe meditation should be and when that doesn’t work for them, they decide they aren’t capable of meditating.
This is why I love introducing people to movement meditation. If you really struggle with passive meditations such as watching your breath, you may do really well with movement meditation.
As a chakra dance meditation teacher, I get a huge kick out of seeing my students connect with their mind, body and soul as they work with their energies through mindful movement. If you’d like to experience it for yourself, I’m holding an online chakra dance meditation class next Friday at 8pm GMT. We’ll work through the seven main chakras, uncovering any blocks and shifting your energy for a holistic healing experience.
One really simple way of doing a movement meditation is to put on some music and dance like no one’s watching. No, seriously! Choose a song you love. Maybe it makes you want to dance or maybe it moves you emotionally. Put it on as loud as you can get away with and simply let your body move in whatever way it wants. Don’t worry about how co-ordinated you are. This isn’t a performance or an attempt perfect. This is about letting your body do whatever feels right. I’ve danced professionally but when I do this exercise, it’s arms and legs all over the place!
Even if you have mobility issues, you can still enjoy dance as a meditation. If you need to sit, sit. Let your hands tell the story of the music. If you can’t move, close your eyes and imagine you are dancing. What would those movements look like? How would they feel? When you lose yourself in this process, you may find that your body feels as energised as if you had danced, even though you’ve been sitting still.
Mindful movement is simply the act of being fully present in your body, which is why dance is a good introduction to this technique. Allow yourself to get lost in the music and let your body be free. Just a few minutes will leave you feeling amazing!
Let me know how you get on – and maybe I’ll see you at class next week.