3 Simple Chair-Based Mindful Movement Practices

Mindful movement is an effective way to reduce stress and its physical consequences. When we bring a mindful approach to chair yoga, we provide an accessible and simple way to integrate mindful movement and practice into our daily life to get out of our heads, into our body, to find the present moment.

Increasingly, researchers are saying movement can cultivate mindfulness when attention is directed in a specific manner. This is good news for those of us struggling with the concept of more formal seated meditation practices. “Yes! Let me move instead of sit still! And get the same benefits!”

This is especially relevant for children and adolescents when we consider integrating mindfulness into schools and clinical settings. Our children are movers and shakers, and this movement can act as a rich playground for mindfulness practice. When we are moving intentionally, we’re changing the shape of our body, and this in turn can impact how we are feeling in the moment. Each shape feels different in our body, and when we bring mindful exploration to these postures and simple movement patterns, we can help foster a diverse set of experiences for children to practice paying attention to, while encouraging embodiment and curiosity.

Additionally, mindful movement can help kids prepare for more traditional mindfulness practices. The movement allows them to get some energy and wiggles out before quieter and still mindfulness practices such as thought labeling, mindful breathing, or body scans.

3 SIMPLE MINDFUL MOVEMENT PRACTICES

I invite you to take some time exploring each of the three simple movement practices below. Don’t rush. You may wish to repeat each movement for several minutes to really encourage exploration. Remember, present moment awareness, in the midst of movement, is the single most important aspect of this practice. Don’t worry so much about getting the movement “right.” Instead bring a spirit of curiosity and care to each movement and see what happens.

1. BLOSSOMING FLOWER ARMS: Begin sitting in a tall yoga seat and lift your arms out to the side, palms up, until your arms are shoulder level and parallel to the ground. Breathing in, touch your shoulders with your fingertips, keeping you upper arms horizontal. Breathing out, open your arms to the horizontal position, stretching your palms open.

Reflection Question: How does this feel if you focus on energizing your fingers each time you extend your arms?

2. FULL ARM CIRCLES: Begin sitting in a tall yoga seat and extend your arms in front of you and join your palms. Breathing in, raise your arms up and separate your hands so your arms can stretch over your head. Breathing out, continue the circle, arms circling back until your fingers point toward the ground. Breathing in, lift your arms back and reverse the circle. Breathe out as you bring your palms together and your arms down in front of you.

Reflection Question: Did one direction of arm circles feel more comfortable than the other today?

3. MOVING FORWARD FOLDS: Begin sitting in a tall yoga seat. Take a breath in and bring your arms up above your head, palms forward. Look up at the sky. breathing out, bend at your waist as your bring your arms down to touch the floor, your ankles, or your shins. Release your neck. From this position, breathe in, and keep your back straight as your come all the way back up to reach your fingers up toward the sky.

Reflection Question: What parts of my body are getting stronger during this activity? Which are stretching?

Additional Resources:

Want to learn more about integrating movement into your mindfulness practice or teaching toolkit through chair yoga?

Check out:

NEW! Mindful Chair Yoga Card Deck

Learn online with our Chair Yoga For Educators and Clinicians Course (6 hours) 

About the Author: 

Mayuri Gonzalez (E-RYT, RCYT)  has been practicing yoga and meditation for over 25 years since her own childhood and specializes in bringing yoga and mindfulness to children. She has taught for Little Flower Yoga since 2010 and is currently the Director of The School Yoga Project, a program of LFY offering direct service yoga and mindfulness classes for preschools and K-12 schools in the Greater New York Area, staff development workshops, staff yoga, and tools for schools nationwide.

For more information about Little Flower Yoga and The School Yoga Project, visit www.littlefloweryoga.com. Contact Mayuri by email at mayuri@littlefloweryoga.com.