Mindfulness Movement Exercises
From simple walks to advanced stretches, certain exercises can help improve your mental wellbeing. By improving your mindfulness through movement, you can reduce stress and anxiety.
Yoga is one of the most famous physical activities for benefitting the mind and body, but it’s certainly not the only one. We’re here to teach you four different ways to focus, clear your mind, and relax.
What Is Mindfulness?
Mindfulness is simply focusing on the here and now. The primary and most common mindfulness practices include stretching and breathing exercises.
Related Article: Mindfulness Breathing Exercises
When you tune into the present, any worries and anxious thoughts can melt away. Stressful events and life circumstances can make you feel as though you lost control.
When you stop, close your eyes, take a couple of breaths, and practice mindful movements, you regain control of your thoughts and find stability.
Why Is Mindfulness Important?
Studies show that mindfulness exercises like meditation, breathing, and movements positively affect the brain. Several studies found that those who practice mindfulness daily improve their attention span and productivity.
Mindfulness can be practiced at any point in the day, and you don’t have to feel stressed in order to do it. It can be a preventative measure against negative emotions.
Related Article: Anxiety
How Mindfulness and Movement Work Together
When you add a mindful and holistic focus to your physical fitness routine, you may find yourself feeling more energized, flexible, and strong. These benefits don’t even come from intense workouts—anything at all to get your body moving can help.
Moving your body can help you focus your mind, but focusing your mind gets you a better workout, as well. Being more in tune with your body can help you work exactly the area that you are trying to exercise.
What Can Mindfulness Movement Help With
Mindful movement can help with physical and emotional wellbeing. When you practice mindfulness through physical activity, you might notice:
- Lower stress
- Increased mobility
- Improved strength
- Increased energy
- Better emotional tolerance
Whether you want to feel more emotionally grounded or feel a stronger connection to your body, mindfulness exercises can help.
Lower Stress
Stress is a common factor for everyone. Stress makes it easy to feel like you’re losing control. Being mindful when you feel overwhelmed can lower feelings of stress so that you can focus on the task at hand. We can be more productive when we’re not dwelling on anxious thoughts and feelings.
Increased Mobility
Flexibility and mobility are a lot more important than most would think. Everyday actions like just getting out of bed will feel surprisingly different with increased mobility. Focusing on improving mobility is a form of mindfulness. You’re actively assessing how you’re feeling and how your body is moving.
Improved Strength
The mind-body connection is perfectly demonstrated through mindful strength training. One study found that just thinking about flexing a muscle can improve its strength. Not only do many use lifting weights as a way to meditate and clear their minds, but doing so will help make workouts more effective.
Increased Energy
Not all exercises have to end in you dripping sweat and wobbly-legged. Mindful movements can be just enough physical activity to help you feel refreshed and re-focused. Sometimes taking the time to focus on your body can help you identify why you’re feeling tired so you can work to fix it.
Better Emotional Tolerance
Everyone has an emotional baseline. It’s called the window of tolerance. The window of tolerance is where things feel “fine,” even if something is distressing. The benefits of regular exercise and mindful practices can increase this window of tolerance—meaning you can better cope with stressful situations.
At Sequoia, we know how much mindfulness can impact treatment. The individualized treatment program we offer includes mindfulness based cognitive therapy, and other forms of counseling that rely on the mind-body connection, like somatic experiencing and recreational therapy.
Four Movement Exercises For Mindfulness
Once again, yoga is one of the most popular methods of mindfulness movement. It’s not without reason. The movements and stretches involved work best when the practitioner focuses exclusively on what their body is doing. This level of mindfulness is one of the most effective ways to clear your mind and lower stress.
These three yoga stretches and one walking exercise are some of the best ways to connect your mind and body.
Child's Pose—Best For Stress
The child's pose stretch is one of the best movements for stress and anxiety relief. It’s relaxing and can be done with other stretches or on it’s own as a meditation
- Sit on your knees on a yoga mat or comfortable floor
- Lean forward
- Place your forehead on the floor
- Place your shoulders on your legs
- Hold it for one to two minutes
Take deep and controlled breaths while in the child’s pose. This exercise increases blood flow to your head. You may find yourself able to think clearly and feel less anxious.
The Butterfly Stretch—Best For Mobility
The butterfly stretch is tried and true for a reason. It allows you to stretch your hips, back, and arms. It’s also a simple pose that allows you to focus your mind.
- Sit on a yoga mat or a comfortable floor
- Press the soles of your feet together and grab them with your hands
- Bring your feet into your hips as much as possible
- Straighten your back and reach your chest to your feet
- Hold it for one to two minutes
Doing this regularly will drastically improve your flexibility and mobility. Focusing your mind on the areas of your body that you’re stretching can also increase your progress.
Walking Meditation—Best For Endurance
Just taking a walk is a wonderful way to clear your head. Doing it intentionally can focus your mind and help you relax. Walking meditation involves stopping and doing a micro-meditation from time to time, but can easily be incorporated into your daily walks.
- Take a couple of deep breaths and collect your thoughts
- Slowly and intentionally walk 10-15 steps forward
- Stop and take a couple more deep breaths
- Repeat the process as long as you feel necessary
Walking meditation helps you train your mind to stay focused and goal driven. As easy as the exercise sounds, it’s a great way to regain physical and emotional endurance.
Tree Pose—Best For Balance
The tree pose is designed to help you regain your balance. Practicing this exercise on a daily basis not only helps you balance your body, but it subconsciously can bring balance into your mind as well.
- Stand up with your feet about shoulder width apart
- Fold your hands and bring them to your chest
- Activate your core and slowly raise your left foot and rest on your right leg, as high as you’re physically able to
- Take deep, controlled breaths
- Hold for 30 seconds to a minute
- Slowly put your leg down
- Repeat with your right leg resting on your left
When you are practicing this movement consistently, you are teaching your mind and your body to balance. You’re forced to connect your mind and muscles, creating the space to be mindful.
Practice Mindfulness At Sequoia
Being more present and mindful are incredibly important parts of your mental health journey. At Sequoia Behavioral Health, we’re here to teach you the tools to succeed. Both our inpatient facility and outpatient center offer meditation rooms for you to stretch or move mindfully.
Call us, and we’ll work with you to curate a personalized treatment plan tailored to your needs.