Mindfulness of Movement - Light Yoga

[Babywhale]

Now into Week 3 of the 8-week course I'm following through the NHS.

This week has been about mindful movement, and we've been given two guided meditations to assist us.

One early observation - i am finding it very difficult to keep the breath smooth and flowing during the stretches. I'm reasonably fit and supple and don't struggle physically with undertaking them (they are gentle) but having shifted from lying down meditation (body scan principally) to introducing movement, I am finding it a challenge to breathe calmly and regularly.

My practice is now building up and starting to settle, with a typical day consisting of a breath and body meditation (10 minutes) on waking, a couple of three minute breathing spaces during the day (in the car when I arrive and depart work), a 30 minute body scan before dinner, and now a 30 minute mindful movement meditation. It is quite a lot. One thing I am noticing though is that as I build up formal practice, I am forgetting to be explicitly and self-consciously mindful in everyday situations. Rather, I'm noticing that my mind has drifted and where my thoughts have been (which is mindful), but am not analyzing (moment-by-moment) everyday autopilot activities as much (and trying to shut out thinking). Weeks 1-2 were quite intense for me as I made a conscious effort to disengage the autopilot in a lot of areas of my everyday life and 'switch off' thinking (which might be a common experience for beginners??).

I think I'll give it a week before I see whether daily body scans and daily mindful movement exercises are working out well together, or whether I should consider alternating if mindfulness practice starts to feel a little too much or too repetitive.

How do more experienced mindfulness practitioners keep it fresh and mix it up?

[JonW]

I think it's important to remember that the aim is not to be mindful every waking moment and that there's a subtle but important difference between being self-conscious and being mindful. I've got more to say about this but I'm on a deadline so I'll return to it when I'm less busy.
Cheers,
Jon