Mindful Movement for Self-Regulation: Supplementary Notes
Larry Cammarata, Ph.D.
Because this page was created solely for our retreat participants, we request that you do not distribute the link or enclosed information to others. Thank you.
What is Mindfulness and Mindful Movement?
• Track Your Happiness: There’s an app for that! (Killingsworth and Gilbert, 2010).
• 2250 subjects ranging from 18 to 88
• On average, approximately 47% of the time, the mind wanders
• Distractions correlated with unhappiness
• “…a cognitive achievement at an emotional cost.”
– Savannah Mind
– Negativity Bias
• Harvard psychologists Matthew A. Killingsworth and Daniel T. Gilbert used a special "track your happiness" iPhone app to gather research. Killingsworth and Gilbert’s 2,250 subjects in this study ranged in age from 18 to 88, representing a wide range of socioeconomic backgrounds and occupations. Seventy-four percent of study participants were American.
• The results: We spend at least half our time thinking about something other than our immediate surroundings, and most of this daydreaming doesn't make us happy. Subjects could choose from 22 general activities, such as walking, eating, shopping, and watching television. On average, respondents reported that their minds were wandering 46.9 percent of time, and no less than 30 percent of the time during every activity except making love.
• “A human mind is a wandering mind, and a wandering mind is an unhappy mind,” Killingsworth and Gilbert write. “The ability to think about what is not happening is a cognitive achievement that comes at an emotional cost.”
What, Why, and How of Mindfulness: Essential Elements of Mindfulness
I. What is Mindfulness? From “Mindfulness and Psychotherapy” book
a. “…awareness…of present experience…with acceptance” (Germer, 2005, p. 7).
b. “…paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally” (Kabat-Zinn, 1994, p. 4).
c. Shapiro et al. (2006) posit that mindfulness consists of the following components:
i. Intention
ii. Attention
iii. Attitude
II. Why Mindfulness?
a. A continuum of intention
i. From self-regulation to self-exploration to self-liberation and selfless service (D.H. Shapiro, 1992)
b. Knowing the Mind
i. Values, judgments, identifications
c. Influencing the Mind
i. Neuroplasticity and mind-brain relationship
d. Freeing the Mind
i. Observing self/cognitive defusion vs. Thought-Identified self/cognitive fusion
ii. R Recognize what is happening
iii. A Allow life to be just as it is
iv. I Investigate inner experience with kindness
v. N Non-Identification, rest in natural awareness or nurture with self-compassion
III. What are you focusing upon? Inner and outer objects: Everyone is a “meditation master” (anxiety, fear, guilt, etc., and corresponding neuroplasticity that reinforces a “default” mode)
IV. Mindful attitudes
a. Chinese character for mindfulness is composed of two ideograms: Presence and Heart (Mindfulness = Presence of Heart)
V. Mindful Attitudes
i. Acceptance without judgment or criticism
ii. Patience
iii. Trust (your own experience)
iv. Letting go of distractions or simply ‘letting be’
v. Non-striving
vi. Gentleness
vii. Curiosity
viii. View problems and challenges as opportunities to deepen your practice
ix. Cultivate an attitude of openness without analysis
x. Uplifted (in posture and attitude): the embodiment of inherent self-worth
VI. The Healing Power of Acceptance
i. Acceptance is not resignation.
ii. Acceptance is not the same as agreeing with someone or liking something.
iii. Acceptance is about accepting reality on reality’s terms.
1. How can acceptance support the healing process?
2. How can acceptance enhance client cooperation?
VII. The How of Mindfulness (Focused Attention vs. Open Monitoring or Choiceless Awareness: We will focus now on FA)
a. A-B-C’s of Mindfulness Meditation
i. A = Attitude, particularly acceptance
ii. B = Body Posture
1. Upright
2. Stable: 3 points
3. Eyes closed or open and cast downward 4 to 5 feet ahead
iii. C = Concentration
1. Any internal or external object can be the focus. The breath is often a focus.
2. Breath focus
a. Belly/Diaphragm
b. Tip of nose/nostrils
iv. Concentration stabilizes the body-mind through one-pointed, “laser beam” focus
v. Mindfulness opens the field of awareness through “flood light” observation, guiding us back to the point of our concentration.
vi. Concentration and Mindfulness reinforce one another.
The Four Foundations of Mindfulness (all integrate with impermanence, suffering/dissatisfaction, and non-self).
1. Mindfulness of the body in the body
a. Body Parts
b. Body Positions
i. Standing
ii. Walking
iii. Sitting
iv. Lying Down
c. Elements (space as mind/intention 5th element in some traditions)
i. Earth
ii. Air
iii. Fire
iv. Water
2. Mindfulness of the feelings in the feelings (not emotions or sensations)
a. Pleasant (“positive”)
b. Unpleasant (“negative)
c. Neutral
3. Mindfulness of the mind in the mind
a. Awareness of mental formations (anything that is made of something else): emotions and mental qualities such as constricted, clear, deluded.
i. A flower is a formation
ii. Anger is a mental formation
iii. Some formations are healthy, some unhealthy
4. Mindfulness of phenomena in phenomena or dharmas (objects of mind): Mental phenomena that help or hinder waking up or liberating the mind.
a. 5 Hindrances (obstacles that occur in meditation practice)
i. Desire
ii. Aversion
iii. Laziness
iv. Restlessness
v. Doubt
b. 7 Factors of Awakening
i. Mindfulness
ii. Investigation
iii. Energy
iv. Joy
v. Tranquility
vi. Concentration
vii. Equanimity
VIII. Mindful Movement Definition: Mindful Movement can be viewed as a form of exercise, a method of self-regulation, and a way of practicing mindfulness. Mindful Movement involves several components, including (1) postural alignment, with emphasis upon an upright spinal column that provides a connection from the earth beneath the feet to the sky above the head; (2) muscular relaxation; (3) a focus on breath awareness, often with instruction for diaphragmatic breathing that is long, slow, deep, and calm; (4) repetitive standardized movements or postures that can be synchronized with the breath; and (5) mindfulness, which prompts the practitioner to return awareness to the breath and body throughout the practice, with acceptance, non-striving, and patience.
IX. Self-Regulation Definition
“Self-regulation is the process whereby systems maintain stability of functioning and adaptability to change.” (Shapiro, S. L., Carlson, L. E., Astin, John A., & Freedman, B. (2006). Mechanisms of Mindfulness. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 62(3), 373-386.)
Mindful movement is a form of self-regulation that cultivates the embodiment of stability and adaptability.
X. The 5 R’s of Mindful Movement
a. Rooting: Heavy
b. Relaxation: Soft
c. Respiration: Continuous
d. Rhythm: Slow
e. Remembering: Mindful
Why (and how to) incorporate mindful movement and mindful body practices into treatment? M.M. is a skill or intervention within the context of treatment, education, or mindfulness practice. As with any form of mindfulness practice, it applies to the client and the practitioner. Books: Sitting Together (Ron Siegel) & Mindfulness for Two (Kelly Wilson)
Treatment Benefits
• Treatment and education of the whole person
• Movement and body awareness practices access the body, mind, and emotions in support of self-regulation, integration, non-reactivity, and deep relaxation.
• Mindful movement can cultivate a sense of mastery and competency.
• Mindful Movement complements seated practice and provides many of the same benefits when practiced with a clear intention, focused attention, and integration of mindful attitudes (acceptance, non-striving, and openness come to mind).
• Mindful movement can be framed and experienced as play, which is an alternative to the work, pain, struggle, challenge, and fight frames associated with various psychological and medical treatments.
• “Psychotherapy has to do with two people playing together. The corollary of this is that where playing is not possible then the work done by the therapist is directed towards bringing the patient from a state of not being able to play into a state of being able to play.” (D.W. Winnicott)
Mindful movement practices teach clients:
Somatic resourcefulness (i.e., using the body to create a sense of internal support)
How to be present centered
How to embody intention, attention, acceptance, stability, and adaptability
A method for supporting health, wellness, and mood
Mindful movement and mindful body awareness practices also teach practitioners:
How to embody intention and attention
How to embody qualities that enhance treatment effectiveness and client receptivity (e.g., empathy, warmth, respect, genuineness, acceptance, and encouragement)
How to manage stress and energy levels
Principles of Mindful Body-Focused Treatment
Every individual has somatic resources that can be accessed under certain conditions.
Here-and-now experience is the primary focus of intervention
How vs. Why?
Somatic resourcefulness can be taught and practiced.
Intentional connection is potentially stabilizing.
Connection can be internal (e.g., visceral sensations) and external (e.g., sensory perceptions).
A relational connection is an external bridge to internal connection via a ‘safe container’.
‘Being with’ aversive internal experiences is valued over diminishing, eliminating, or controlling these experiences.
Research Findings & Clinical Trends
The practice of Qigong has been found to reduce cortisol (stress hormone) levels in normal subjects and increased immune system markers such as Interferon gamma (Jones, 2001).
Animal model: activation of serotonergic neuronal activity (Shin Lin, Ph.D., biophysicist UC)
Through an internal focus on the body, repetitive movement, and slow breathing, the practice of qigong results in an increased parasympathetic nervous system response, activating the Relaxation Response, an antidote to the stress response.
MBSR program incorporates mindful movement in the form of gentle yoga: research findings include decreased psychological and physical symptoms, increased resilience/quality of life, pain reduction
Qigong as a Self-Regulation Practice: Contemporary Research Findings and Trends from the field of Mindful Movement
i. Improved circulation
ii. Reduction of Blood Pressure
iii. Decreased cortisol (stress hormone) levels
iv. Enhanced immune system functioning
v. Repetitive movement increases serotonergic activity 5 to 10 fold (animal research finding)
vi. Stress and pain management
vii. Anxiety management > Stability and Adaptability to “stay present” vs. avoid
viii. Neuroplasticity and Enhanced Cognitive Functioning
I. Qiqong as a Mindful Movement Practice
A. Body regulation
1. Enhanced body awareness
2. Embodiment of stable, uplifted mood
B. Breath regulation
1. Self soothing
C. Mind regulation
1. intention
2. attention
3. attitude
Current Trends in Trauma Field
Somatic Experiencing: Peter Levine, Ph.D.
Sensorimotor Psychotherapy: Pat Ogden, Ph.D.
Psychobiological Approach: Bessel van der Kolk, MD
Practitioner vs. Scientist Debate
Why Mindfulness is Not Enough to Liberate us from Suffering
Present centered awareness and acceptance does not necessarily entail behavioral change, insight, or skillful actions
This is related to the Eightfold Path
I. Mental Discipline (Skillful Effort, Skillful Mindfulness, Skillful Concentration)
II. The Wisdom Dimension: (Skillful Understanding and Skillful Thinking) Understanding our Mind and Understanding the Nature of Reality
a. Attachment: believes, opinions, “self”
b. Habituation
c. Avoidance
d. Control
e. Conditioning
f. Shadow
g. External attributions of cause (“That makes me angry”. “I have a fear of abandonment because…”)
h. The Narrative Story that we identify with
i. Two wolves story and neuroplasticity/default
i. The Core of Buddhist Psychology: 3 Marks of Existence
i. IMPERMANENCE
ii. SUFFERING or DISSATISFACTION (Thich Nhat Hanh references Nirvana instead of suffering, which he describes as the “extinction of notions/concepts/mental formations) “All formations are impermanent. They are subject to birth and death. And when the notion of birth and death have been removed, this silence is called Great Joy.” Paths to suffering: (1) not getting what you want; (2) getting what you don’t want; (3) getting what you want (“the thrill is gone” of BB King)
1. Three Poisons of Buddhist Psychology: A Map of Suffering
a. Attachment (Greed). Antidote = Generosity
b. Aggression (Anger/Hatred/Aversion). Antidote = Lovingkindness
c. Delusion (Ignorance). Antidote = Wisdom. Each of these is the consequence of conditioning. Mindfulness practice helps to untangle us from conditioning (making the unconscious conscious to use another framework). Moving from conditioned reactivity to less or non-conditioned responsivity.
iii. NON-SELF
1. No independent Self is a less ambiguous way of understanding this concept.
a. The independent Self as a fictional “formation”: Formations (anything that is made of something else).
i. A flower is a formation
ii. Anger is a mental formation
I. The Social-Ethical Dimension or Moral Conduct: (Skillful Speech, Skillful Action, Skillful Livelihood)—Taming and Cultivating our Mind
a. Restraint > relationship to Skillful Speech: Is it true, kind, useful, necessary, and well-timed?
b. Cultivating Ethical (compassionate) mental states (The Four Immeasurables; According to Thich Nhat Hanh, these 4 mental states are an expression of “true love”)
i. Loving-kindness
ii. Compassion
iii. Joy
iv. Equanimity
c. Actions that align with our intentions
How can acceptance-based interventions such as self-compassion meditation complement mindfulness-based interventions?
Acceptance practices include self-compassion, loving-kindness, and equanimity meditations.
Self-Compassion and the Mind, Body, and Heart
These practices complement mindfulness-based interventions by cultivating acceptance, kindness, security, and safety, allowing the practitioner to engage in the practice of mindfulness in a more stable, balanced, and connected way. Mindfulness practice can trigger dissociation if the practitioner if not sufficiently stable. Acceptance-based practices “associate” the practitioner with emotional and somatic resources.
I. Compassion: The Movement of Mindfulness
a. “If we practice cultivating this energy of mindfulness every day, we will have enough of it to take care of our pains. Every time pain manifests, we will welcome it. We will really be there to take care of it, and the energy needed to take care of it is without a doubt the energy of mindfulness. This means that the energy of mindfulness is there to embrace the energy of pain." —Thich Nhat Hanh, from "True Love: A Practice for Awakening the Heart"
b. Defining Compassion
i. The wish that all living beings be free from suffering. (Dalai Lama)
ii. Deep awareness of the suffering of oneself and other living beings, coupled with the wish and effort to alleviate it. (Paul Gilbert, Ph.D.)
I. Defining Self-Compassion (Kristin Neff, Ph.D.)
i. Self-Kindness
1. Acceptance, warmth, equanimity
ii. Common Humanity
1. Recognition of shared vulnerability and imperfection; interdependence
iii. Mindfulness
1. Balancing negative emotions (neither suppressed nor exaggerated)
2. Putting our personal situation into a larger context (shared suffering)
3. Non-judgmental observation; open, receptive attitude
II. Self-Compassion
a. Research Findings
i. Enhances resilience by moderating reactions to negative events
ii. Greater self-acceptance and optimism
iii. Less negative emotions (they are not rejected; positive emotions are generated by embracing negative emotions)
b. Benefits of Self-Compassion
i. Deactivates the threat system associated with insecure attachment, defensiveness, autonomic arousal
ii. Activates the caregiving system associated with secure attachment, safety, oxytocin-opiate system (Gilbert and Proctor, 2006).
iii. Reduces cortisol, increases HRV - heart rate variability (Rockliff et. al., 2006).
iv. HRV is associated with ability to self-soothe when stressed (Porges, 2007).
III. Self-Compassion Exercises
a. Heart cradling: hands on heart with gentle acknowledgement of suffering or distress (self and others)
b. Self Soothing for painful emotions
i. Connect with heart and breath
ii. Connect with bodily location of the tension or pain
c. Mantra repetition (e.g. “soften, allow, and open”)
d. Breathing compassion in and out (for self and others)
e. Phrases for compassion (C. Germer, Ph.D.)
i. May I be safe
ii. May I be peaceful
iii. May I be kind to myself
iv. May I accept myself just as I am
Mindful Movement Treatment Perspectives and Application to Select Populations
Mindful Movement as Adjunctive Treatment or Complementary Therapy
View the body as a resource for healing, safety, and support.
Simplicity over complexity is recommended when introducing MM. You can be creative and contextualize the movements to the patient’s situation, creating a healing ritual. Know your patient.
• Depression: mindful movement as antidote to immobility; mastery and competency as an antidote to low self esteem (especially for younger patients); enhanced body awareness as a tool to overcome anhedonia by ‘waking up’ the body. Incorporating movement to support self-compassion and kindness (e.g., heart cradling, self-massage)
• Anxiety: Mindful movement as a method of cultivating a harmonious relationship with physical sensations: “flow” vs “flight”. For patients with Generalized Anxiety Disorder and to some extent OCD, mindful movement refocuses the over-ideation and worry upon bodily experience, with an attitude of acceptance. For patients with PTSD and trauma related symptoms, mindful movement can access a sense of ‘embodied’ security, stability, and support (‘groundedness’), and the present-centeredness of this form of movement can be an antidote to the dissociation and emotional numbing often experienced by these patients.
• Stress-Related Disorders: The research literature (including the literature on the MBSR program) strongly supports the use of mindful movement modalities such as yoga. Enhanced wellness and quality of life is associated with the consistent use of mindful movement.
• Childhood and Adolescent Disorders: Mindful movement as a method of developing rapport through ‘play’ with young children. Training in concentration for children and adolescents with ADHD. Cultivation of various skills (assertion; cooperation) through the ‘play’ of mindful movement
• Relationship Problems: Dyadic mindful movement exercises can be used in the context of couple’s therapy. Timing, phase of treatment, psychological stability, and level of hostility are factors to consider when incorporating this method.
• Schizophrenia: Mindful movement can be incorporated into treatment programs as well as the clinician’s office. This form of movement reinforces healthy behavior through mild-moderate exercise, and is much less anxiety-provoking than mindfulness interventions that incorporate stillness and/or close-eyed meditations.
• Sexual Disorders: Enhanced body awareness as a method of supporting behavioral interventions such as Sensate Focusing.
Therapeutic interventions and the body
• Form and Focus of Mindful Movement
• Client-centered
• Enhancement of health and quality of life
• A form of mindfulness practice
• Facilitation of therapeutic process
• Therapist-Centered
• Embodiment of attention and intention
• Embodiment of therapeutic factors (empathy, warmth, respect, genuineness, acceptance, encouragement)
• Enhancement of therapeutic alliance through ‘joining’ the client’s style
• Mindfulness of the body as a ‘way of being’ or relating vs. a ‘strategy’ that is attached to an outcome
• Stress and Energy Management
• Process Paradox
• Mindful focusing on aversive physical experiences or symptoms can result in a transformation of symptoms
• Progress Paradox
• Using mindful body-oriented methods as a ‘strategy’ to remove symptoms or alter aversive experiences can set up an internal struggle resulting in the continuance of symptoms.
• Why? Control and avoidance strategies can reinforce symptoms. If successful, they result in anxiety reduction, for example. However, they reinforce the pattern of avoidance. Alcoholism example.
• Acceptance and Willingness resolve the Progress Paradox, and although they don’t necessarily lead to symptom change, they can relieve suffering.
• Pain + Resistance = Suffering
“If you could give up all tricks and cleverness, that would be the cleverest trick.” ~Rumi
Mindfulness of the body benefits the clinician and client
• Attunement involves the body
• Resonance and Emotional Contagion
• In a therapeutic relationship, influence is a bilateral mind-body phenomenon
• Mindful influence is respectful, skillful influence
Forms of Mindful Movement Practices
• Yoga
• Tai Chi Chuan (Taijiquan) or “Tai Chi”
• Qigong
• Walking Meditation
• Other Forms: Feldenkrais Method, Pilates, etc.
• Any method, including dance that integrates the processes of intention and attention with attitudes that support mindfulness.
Body-Mind Skills and Practices
Body Awareness Work
– Body Scan
– Autogenic Training
– Body-Focused Inquiry
Integration Work
– Embodiment
– Partner Exercises
– Working with Polarities
– Working with the Breath
Body Scan
– Promotes enhanced body awareness
– Develops concentration and flexibility of attention
– Useful for stress and pain management
Kabat-Zinn, J. (1990). Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness. New York: Delta.
Autogenic Training is the oldest Western method for inducing self-regulation, originally developed by the German neuropsychiatrist Johannes Schultz in the early 1920s.
Autogenic training is a method of training your body and mind to respond quickly to your own verbal suggestions to relax.
Sadigh, M.R. (2001). Autogenic Training: A Mind-Body Approach to the Treatment of Fibromyalgia and Chronic Pain Syndrome. New York: Haworth.
Body-Focused Inquiry
– Questions that connect body-mind-emotions
• Can be used to facilitate enhanced body awareness
• Can be based upon observation of posture, breath, tension, voice tone…any physical expression
• Can be used to facilitate psychological integration
– Mind-Body incongruities expressed via communication
– Expansion of self-image via working with ‘splits’ in identity
• Caveat: Observation is not interpretation
– Description vs. Explanation
Loving-kindness Meditation
Larry Cammarata, Ph.D.
Loving-kindness (or loving-friendliness) meditation is a 2500-year-old practice that can be used to cultivate a deep sense of caring for self, others, and all of creation. More than an affirmation, it can be thought of as an intentional practice or aspiration that can recover knowledge of our own unconditional basic goodness and the basic goodness of others.
The cultivation of caring, kindness, friendliness, and empathy can enhance wellness and health and positively impact your relationships. It begins with the self. By the time we reach the age of 2, we have been subject to many conditions that tell us what it means to be “good”. Loving-kindness can assist you in reclaiming your basic goodness, which is not about conditional goodness based upon moral judgments. We all have seeds of basic goodness within ourselves that require nourishment. We have other seeds as well that may require restraint!
I. Love as more than sentimental or passionate feelings
II. Heart Healthy Attitudes
a. Appreciation
b. Kindness
c. Care
d. Acceptance
e. Forgiveness
f. Compassion
g. Patience
h. Sincerity
III. Exercise: remembering the good within you. Sit comfortably and relax. Let go of analysis and expectation. Call to mind something you have done or said that you feel was kind or good action—a time you were generous, or caring, or contributed to someone’s well-being. If something comes to mind, allow the happiness that may come with the remembrance. If nothing comes to mind, gently turn your attention to a quality you like about yourself. Is there an ability or strength within yourself you can recognize? If still nothing comes to mind, reflect on the urge toward happiness within you, and the positive aspects of that.
IV. Loving-kindness Meditation
a. Loving-kindness is part of what is traditionally called the “Four Immeasurables”, which include Loving-kindness or Loving-Friendliness, Compassion, Appreciative or Resonant Joy, and Equanimity.
b. Loving-kindness meditation can be used to cultivate a deep sense of caring for self, others, and all of creation. More than an affirmation, it can be thought of as an aspiration or intentional practice that can recover knowledge of our own unconditional basic goodness and the basic goodness of others.
c. Focusing upon yourself with an open heart and mind, silently repeat these statements:
May I be safe
May I be peaceful
May I be well in body and mind
May I be at ease and happy
d. After the application to self, the meditation is applied to:
i. A dearly beloved, close family member, or friend
ii. A neutral person such as a clerk; someone you have no special feeling towards
iii. A hostile, challenging, or annoying person
iv. End with a return back to self
e. Imagery may be used when applied to others, changing the pronoun “I” to “You” in each phrase.
I. Mindfulness and the Body Practice Points
a. The Body as a vehicle for the expression of values, attitudes, and states of being such as loving-kindness, compassion, acceptance, equanimity, and joy.
b. Loving-kindness is more skillfully viewed as an “aspiration” practice vs. an “affirmation” practice. Aspiration holds you accountable to your thoughts, speech, and actions. Affirmation can reinforce magical thinking.
Essential components of mindful movement and breathing techniques that facilitate self-regulation
Essential Components of Mindful Movement
i. Relaxed Body
ii. Calm Mind
iii. Stable posture
iv. Breath Focus
II. Breathing Method for Mindful Movement
i. Long
ii. Slow
iii. Deep
iv. Calm
v. Smooth
vi. Fine
III. Other breathing methods
i. 4-7-8 breath (relaxing breathing)
ii. Pranayama (energizing breathing through mouth or nose)
IV. How can mindfulness of the breath assist the healing process?
i. Pacing between practitioner and client
ii. Self-empowerment of self-regulation
iii. Enhanced body awareness can synergize the professional partnership between practitioner and client
iv. Relaxation
v. Centering
vi. Grounding
vii. Resourcing
V. Focus of Attention: A Decision Point
i. Internal (e.g., breath) vs. external (e.g., sensory experience) objects of awareness. What factors influence this decision in your clinical or personal practice?
VI. Keeping it Simple
i. Easy ways to introduce clients to mindful movement
ii. Tips for enhancing memorization of simple movements and integration of body awareness principles
1. Complementarity
a. Earth and Sky (metaphorical, although can be used psychologically to map states of being and to suggest mindful movement interventions).
b. Opening and Closing
c. Expanding and Contracting
d. Loose and Tight
e. Upper and Lower (body)
f. Heavy and Light
iii. Physical-Emotional Zones
1. Belly
2. Heart
3. Head
INTRODUCTION TO MINDFUL MOVEMENT: A GLOSSARY OF TERMS
by Larry Cammarata, Ph.D.
• Embodiment: The present-centered synchronization of sensations and feelings within and through the body
• Exteroception: Sensory perception of external stimuli
• Integration: “The linkage of differentiated parts of a system” (Siegel, 2012, p. 16-1).
• Interoception: “The visceral sense” or “…inner-body sensation...” (Ogden, P., Minton, K., & Pain, C., 2006, p. 15).
• Mindful Movement: A form of exercise, a method of self-regulation, and a way of practicing mindfulness through: (1) intentional repetitive postures or movements; (2) attentional focus upon the body and breath; (3) the primary mindfulness attitudes of acceptance, non-striving, and patience; and (4) the integration of slow movement and muscular relaxation
The formal practice of mindful movement involves the following components: (1) postural alignment, with emphasis upon an upright spinal column that provides a connection from the earth beneath the feet to the sky above the head; (2) muscular relaxation (3) a focus on breath awareness, often with instruction for diaphragmatic breathing that is long, slow, deep, and calm; (4) repetitive standardized movements or postures that can be synchronized with the breath; and (5) mindfulness, which prompts the practitioner to return awareness to the breath and body throughout the practice, without judgment or striving.
The components of mindful movement listed above correspond to what I have termed as, “The 5 Rs of mind-body regulation”, which are: (1) Rooting; (2) Relaxation; (3) Respiration; (4) Rhythm; and (5) Remembering.
• Mindfulness: “…awareness…of present experience…with acceptance” (Germer, 2005, p. 7). “…paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally” (Kabat-Zinn, 1994, p. 4).
• Qigong (pronounced “chee gung”): An ancient Chinese exercise and healing system of “energy cultivation” that is used for health maintenance and healing, martial arts conditioning, and spiritual development. Through the synchronization of meditative movement and breathing, qigong can be practiced as a form of mindful movement.
• Self-regulation: “…the process whereby systems maintain stability of functioning and adaptability to change” (Shapiro, Carlton, Astin, & Freedman, 2006, p. 380).
Supplementary References and Additional Resources
Aylward, M. (2021). Awake where you are: The art of embodied awareness. Wisdom Publications.
Germer, C.K. (2005). Mindfulness. In C.K. Germer, R.D. Siegel, & P.R. Fulton (Eds.), Mindfulness and psychotherapy (pp. 3-27). New York: Guilford Press.
Jahnke, R., Larkey, L., Rogers, C., Etnier, J., & Lin, F. (2010). A comprehensive review of health benefits of qigong and tai chi. The American Journal of Health Promotion, 24(6), e1-e25. doi: 10.4278/ajhp.081013-LIT-248
Kabat-Zinn, J. (1990). Full catastrophe living: Using the wisdom of your body and mind to face stress, pain, and illness. New York: Delta.
Kabat-Zinn, J. (1994). Wherever you go, there you are. New York: Hyperion.
Larkey, L., Jahnke, R., Etnier, J, & Gonzalez, J. (2009). Meditative movement as a category of exercise: Implications for research. Journal of Physical Activity and Health, 6(2), 230-238.
Ogden, P., Minton, K., & Pain, C. (2006). Trauma and the body: A sensorimotor approach to psychotherapy. New York, NY: Norton
Pollak, S.M., Pedula, T., & Siegel, R. (2014). Sitting together: Essential skills for mindfulness-based psychotherapy. The Guilford Press.
Sadigh, M.R. (2001). Autogenic training: A mind-body Approach to the treatment of fibromyalgia and chronic pain syndrome. New York: Haworth.
Shapiro, S. L., Carlson, L. E., Astin, John A., & Freedman, B. (2006). Mechanisms of mindfulness. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 62(3), 373-386.
Siegel, D. J. (2010). The mindful therapist: A clinician’s guide to mindsight and neural integration. New York: W.W. Norton & Company.
Siegel, D. J. (2012). Pocket guide to interpersonal neurobiology: An integrative handbook of the mind. New York: W.W. Norton & Company.
Wilson, K. G. & DuFrene, T. (2008). Mindfulness for two: An acceptance and commitment therapy approach to mindfulness in psychotherapy. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Publications.