11. Bridging Mind and Body

Embodiment is a vital part of the practice of mindfulness, as the body is a record holder of past traumas, as well as emotional and physical patterns. Which if left unchecked and unbroken, will continue to self perpetuate.

Coming back to the body and recognizing the sensations that are arising from moment to moment can be a gateway into releasing negative patterns from the past, seeing the present clearly, and preventing new negative patterns from forming. I must admit that I often find it quite challenging to connect with my body and notice sensations during sitting meditation. This could be because the sensations I feel are usually very subtle, and or, because I have learned to suppress recognizing feelings in my body over the years.

However, the other day, while I was running, I found it much easier to access the sensations and intelligence of my body. As I started running, I noticed a tightness in my chest that gradually moved downwards. At one point, I felt a sustained hot and uncomfortable sensation in my hips and legs. And what accompanied these sensations? Anger. My body, as I ran, was pulsing with anger. I felt angry at the garbage littered along my route and disappointed in my fellow humans for not taking care of our shared environment. As I observed this anger, it gradually transformed into a kind of sadness. As I increased my pace, and tried to distance myself from the garbage piles, I realized an even deeper connection between running and my feelings of anger. Years ago, when I used to train rigorously in long-distance running, my runs were frequently fueled by a deep sense of anger for not feeling good enough. Whenever I felt angry or dissatisfied with my body or my life, I would go for a run to prove to myself that I was strong and capable of anything. Running usually broke my negative spirals and temporarily eased my feelings of dissatisfaction. However, I didn’t really acknowledged nor addressed the root causes of my dissatisfactions themselves. I was literally running away from my life.

Fast forward to the present, even though I have made peace with and transformed much of these feelings of inadequacies and dissatisfactions deep down inside, the connection between anger and running is still nonetheless stored in the memories of my body, in its tissues, and its holding patterns. However the difference now is that, as anger comes to the surface, it has become much easier to recognize, tend to, and release.

All of this serves as a reminder that the body is incredibly intelligent, perhaps beyond our wildest imaginations for the time being. It keeps a record of the pains, traumas, and emotional patterns in its tissues, literally.

The practice of mindfulness, especially through movement, can be that direct bridge between the body and mind, gradually restoring a deep connections by bringing awareness to what is happening moment by moment.

Today, I’d like to invite you to practice that directly bridging of mind and body through mindful movement.

### Meditation

Finding a place where you feel comfortable to move. If standing is available to you, feel free to settle into a standing posture that feels most comfortable. If standing is not available to you, feel free to settle into any other postures that are available and comfortable.

Allowing the eyes to be gently downcast, and soften the gaze.

If you’re standing, gently bringing your awareness to the bottom of your feet, and recognize what sensations are present, as you feel the contact of the soles against the surface they’re resting on. If you find yourself in any other postures, simply bring your awareness to the places where your body is making contact with the surface that is below.

taking a few deep and cleansing breaths, inhale and allow the lungs and belly to expand fully, and as you exhale, letting all the air out, from the belly and lungs. Taking one more deep breath in, and out. And whever you’re ready, allow the breath to flow back to its natural rhythm.

If it is available to you, feel free to raise both your arms forward, until the arms are in parallel with the ground. Observe the sensations in your shoulders and arms.

If this is not available to you, simply allow your attention to rest in your arms and hands.

Turning the right palm to face the ceiling, while the left palm facing the ground. From this position, gently contract your hands to make fists. Now, gently let the fists go, and extend your fingers outwards. Observe the sensations in your hands, as we make another fist, contract, and squeeze. Gently unfurl the fingers and extend your fingers outward. One more time, making a fist and contract, and slowly release. Allowing your breath to flow naturally, as your observe these movements in the body.

And slowly, turning the hands the other direction, left palm upwards to the ceiling, and right palm facing downwards toward the ground. Gently making two fists, and squeeze the fingers into the palms. And release, extending the fingers, spreading them wide. Making another fist and squeeze, gently release and expand. Last time, making a fist and squeeze, and open the hands and expand.

From this position, rotate both hands so that the palms are facing toward each other in the middle. Slowly, raise the arms overhead. If this is not accessible to you, simply listen to the body, and bring your awareness to your shoulders, arms, and hands. If your arms are overhead right now, bringing your awareness to recognize any sensations that might be arising for you there.

Now bringing the awareness to the hands, gently relax the thumbs, relax the fingers and the wrists, simply let the hands hang in midair, and observe any sensations that might be arising in your body.

Slowly and with ease, we are going to slowly move the arms downward. Imagine if you were observed by a bystander, your movement will be so slowly, it’s hardly perceivable.

As you gently and slowly allow the hands and arms to flow downwards, slow downward, and down, and down. Until they eventually reach the tops, or sides, of your thighs. As you stand with your hands gently resting, either on top of, or beside the thighs, taking a moment to check in with your entire body, to observe any sensations that might be present right now.

Briging the awareness downwards to your waist and hips. If this movement is available to you, feel free to gently push the hip to the left, and slowly bring the hip forward in the motion of a large circle. As you trace this imaginary circle, your hip simply moves to the right, and backwards, and all the way over to the left again, and forward, and to the right, while being aware of any sensations that might be arising from moment to moment. Observe any movements that are happening right now in the legs as you trace these large circles. What’s happening there that you can notice. And reversing the direction, tracing the circle from the right to the left. Slowly and gently, observing the sensation in the movements, in whichever way that’s available to you right now. Gradually coming back into stillness in your standing position. Taking a moment to check in and observe the quality of your being at the moment. Is there anything you might be noticing?

An now, allowing the body to move in any way that feels good in this moment, without any judgement, simply letting it do its thing, move around, while paying attention to the movements themselves, and any sensations that might be accompanying these movements. Being aware of the interconnectedness of the body, being aware the parts that are moving, and the fact that it’s a part of a bigger whole. Where is your breath now? As you’re moving the body, are you by any chance holding your breath? If so, gently allowing the breath to flow with the movements, being completely present with every motion, every breath, present in your being, right now.

In these last moments, allowing yourself to truly move freely, in whatever capacity that is available to your right now, without any judgement, simply allow life to move through you, in the form of movements and breath, all intertwined together, as one undivided whole.

And slowly, coming back into stillness. Taking a deep breath in, allowing the lungs to fully expand, and the belly as well. On the exhale, contract the belly, pulling the bellybutton toward the spine, expelling all the air in your lungs. Allowing the breath to flow back to its natural rhythm, allowing your eyes to be open, and bringing your awareness into the space around you.

Taking a moment to check in and observe the quality of your being, what do you notice? Do you notice anything that might have shifted, since the beginning of this meditation?

What did you notice, while practicing mindful movement today? Did you notice anything surprising, or challenging? Anything that might have felt at ease? How might the practice of mindful movements be helpful for your daily life?

Thank you for practicing bridging the mind and body through mindful movement with me today. I look forward to practicing with you next time. Take care, and may you be well.