A 12-minute meditation to make movement mindful with Kara Bradley

Our bodies are all different and we all have different interests, skills and abilities. But as today’s teacher Cara Bradley points out, movement of any kind—from the slightest glance to the most intense exercise—can be mindful.

This simple meditation will help you celebrate your physicality with practices to connect with your breath and body, expand your awareness, and appreciate the gift of life.

Meditation to make movement mindful

Read the guided meditation script below, pausing after each paragraph. Or listen to the audio practice.

1. The intention of this practice today is to stabilize our body and mind, for synchronizing breath and movement, and for revitalizing all physical, emotional and mental well-being. From all this, it is important to remember that when our body is calm, our mind becomes calm. And when our body feels stable and stable, our mind feels stable and stable. What happens physically affects the psyche. In fact, in many ways our nervous system is a reflection of what is going on in our mind. So if you’re feeling really busy, I’m going to encourage you to look at your nervous system first with some of the tools I’m going to teach you in this meditation.
2. We will move and breathe in rhythm. It helps us to facilitate what is called harmony. Coherence is a way of harmonizing our nervous system, heart rhythm, brain waves. Research shows that when we are coherent or in a coherent state, we feel better. We feel calmer, clearer. We feel more energetic. And our mind is calmer. The best way to find alignment is to find your breath and breathe in rhythm.
3. Don’t worry about perfect, it doesn’t exist. Don’t worry about big or small, advanced or beginner, that’s not the point at all. This is a the practice of conscious movementso this is your practice to cultivate awareness of both mind and body. We’ll move for maybe six or seven minutes, very simple moves that anyone can do, and then we’ll rest. Now I encourage you to give yourself a moment or two to rest. This is when we begin to integrate. It is a place where we integrate and really allow ourselves the opportunity to experience ourselves in that wholeness. In a more settled and stable state of being. You are worth it and your life is worth it.
4. Place your feet hip-width apart, get into a comfortable position, and here we go. Let’s just find that rhythm. As you inhale, stretch your arms forward and up. Open your palms, exhale arms up and down. As you inhale, stretch forward and up. Open your palms, exhale and down. One more time. As you inhale, stretch forward and up. Rotate your palms, exhale and down.
5. Next I call Immersion of body and mind. As you exhale, stretch to the left. As you inhale, rise back to center. Exhale, lean to the right. Breathe in, pull up. So we’re moving slowly on purpose, y’all. Exhale, stretch to the left. Breathe in, pull up. As you exhale, stretch to the right. Take another breath. Exhale, laugh. Take a breath. Exhale to the right. Breathe in, pull back. Exhale to the left, hold, raise your hand to your hip. Inhale, stretch, exhale. So, following your breath, take a nice, deep breath. Stretch, exhale, press your hips to the right, inhale. Exhale. One more, take a breath.
6. If you can, stretch a little further. As you inhale, stretch both arms up. Exhale, lean to the right. Breathe in. Exhale, reach out. Just stay on the breath. Breathe in. Exhale, reach out. Excellent stretch to the side, inhale. Exhale, last, inhale, exhale, stretch, hold, inhale, stretch both arms up.
7. Now place your hands on your knees as if you were a baseball player. With your arms straight, pull your butt back, now extend your arms back. Inhale stretch your arms forward, up, look up, exhale arms back and down, inhale stretch up, wave them, exhale back. Inhale, pull up, exhale back. One more time. Inhaling, he reached up. Exhale back. Extend your arms up, this time intertwining your fingers behind your head. Bring your hips forward and just throw your head back for a moment.
8. Now bring your feet through and drive your hips forward. Can you really put your head down? What does it feel like? Spread your elbows a little wider, take another breath, inhale, stretch your lungs hard. As you exhale, extend both arms above your head. Once again, hands on knees like a baseball player. This time, bring your elbows to your knees if you can. If you have any items on your back, stay here. Otherwise, you can drop your elbows right here and look down, bend forward nicely.
9. Let’s take three breaths here. Inhale, pull your hips back, exhale. Finding his breath again. Inhale, hips back. Exhale. Inhale again, lower your hips a little lower. A small dynamic movement, inhale, straighten the legs. As you exhale, bend your knees. So they don’t have to straighten out completely. Breathe in, straighten up, matching movement and breathing. Exhale as you bend over. Three more, breath. Go find this breath, this holistic breath. Exhale, pleasantly, deeply and rhythmically. Breathe in. Exhale. That’s all. The last one. Breathe in. Exhale, bend deeply and hold.
10. While we’re at it, let’s get it on the floor. Lower all the way down onto your stomach. Dynamic arch of the back, so extend the arms to the sides together. As you inhale, lift up. As you exhale, lower yourself halfway. Inhale, raise, up. Exhalation, low. So it is so beneficial for all our spines. Inhale, lift up, exhale, lower. The last one. Inhale, lift, hold. Hold on, reach out. Continue through the fingers. Lift your chest, lift your legs and release down.
11. We’ll take him on our backs to finish. Therefore, roll over on your back, straighten both legs and work dynamically again. Bring your right knee up, give yourself a big hug here, give it a good squeeze. Really good for your thighs. Now inhale, exhale, switch legs, bring the left knee in, inhale. Exhale, switch legs, inhale. Exhale. Switch again, inhale, squeeze, exhale. Bring both knees up, just squeeze yourself and I’ll bring your knees up to 90 degrees. Spread your hands to the sides.
12. Take our last twist of the spine, our last movement. As you inhale, lower your knees to the right. Look to the left. Exhale, lift to the center. So you don’t need to touch them. Inhale to rise, a good twist for the spine. Exhalation, center. After breathing and moving, inhale to the right. Exhale, center, inhale, left. Exhalation, center. One more time. Breathe in, right. Exhale in the center, inhale to the left. Exhalation center. Now put your feet on the floor, straighten your legs, spread all your feet, turn your palms up so you look like a snow angel, big and wide, and just close your eyes and allow yourself the next few minutes to really connect with your body.
13. As you lie here in silence, notice any sensations, the sensation of coolness or warmth. Maybe something is tingling. Our body speaks to us in the language of sensations. And by connecting body and mind through breath and movement, our awareness is heightened.
14. We begin to speak more freely in this language of feelings. So what do you feel in your body? And finally, pay attention to your breathing. Just notice how your body breathes, what you feel when you inhale, what changes in your ribs, around your back, and what happens when you exhale. Just a note that in this mindfulness practice, use your body, your breath, your pulse, your sensations as anchors for your awareness.
15. Now just open your eyes and notice what it feels like to be yourself in this moment. Do you feel more clear and calm? Is it stable or calm. Maybe you feel more energetic and ready for the day. Pull your knees to your chest and just roll over to one side. And roll up, sit still for a moment. With a raised chin and a gaze. Thank yourself for going through this practice. Thank yourself for giving yourself this gift of movement, deep, balanced breathing, peace and quiet.