Many people associate the term “meditation” with someone sitting cross-legged and closed eyes in an attempt to find inner calm. However, what if I told you there was an alternative — a dynamic, empowering method that strengthens the connection with your body while also fostering mindfulness? This is what moving meditation is all about.
Unveiling the Sixth Sense
Consider engaging in physical activities to pay close attention to your body as a moment of meditation. Every action turns into a journey of self-discovery and a new perspective on your own neuromuscular patterns. The goal of this exercise is to wear off unconsciousness, using your body effectively.
Now, before you dismiss this as simply another fitness routine, let’s delve deeper. There are numerous ways to define meditation. The first involves examining one’s own thoughts and deeds in order to reflect on oneself. There is also the well-known cross-legs one linked to the mindfulness and enlightenment paths. It is mostly concerned with enteroception, or listening to your interior condition and feelings. Additionally, there’s what I refer to as “meditation in motion,” which combines your enteroception with proprioception—or consciousness of your body’s position and movement.
From a materialist point of view, your sixth sense is the addition of enteroception and proprioception, not the ability to connect with some celestial world or mind reading faculty, as seen by dualists. On this last point, I’d like to point out that we have everything in us to be able to feel the emotions of others (empathy), without the need for extraordinary mind reading skills. You have to understand that consciousness is mainly unconscious(-ness), and that the tiny information you are conscious of comes to your self from your senses — located in your body.
Embodied Mindfulness
Meditation in motion holds the key to unlocking deeper levels of mindfulness. It is the first step before static meditation, as Patanjali — one of the great yoga theorists — advocated for preparing the body through Asanas, before diving into higher meditation steps (Pratyahara, Dharana, and Dhyaana). The difference between meditation in motion vs asanas, is the movement, even for vinyasa and flow yogas, which are still quite static and rigid.
Meditation in motion exercises use this sixth sense to help you build a foundation of body consciousness, which can’t be done with still meditation. This is this body consciousness that helps you to build your body’s strength and flexibility needed for the higher stages of yogic meditation and mindfulness.
The Neuro Tool to Free Your Self
So, with your sixth sense and meditation in motion exercises you can build body consciousness. With it you can feel your body, especially your tensions and contractures. This is the first step. From there you can think of removing them, and change or optimize your neuromuscular patterns.
This second step that goes deeper is Proprio Neuromuscular Facilitation (PNF). It consists of using low-level feedback signals from muscles and tendons, and high-level signals from your CNS/mind/self/will. This technique allows you to improve your strength and flexibility. The benefits go far beyond fitness. As you develop a keen body consciousness through functional movements, your body awakens to freedom. Haven’t you ever felt freer than when you’re less tense? It is because your body and your mind are intimately connected! This fine-tuned body consciousness grounds you in the now, fostering a profound connection with physical reality. Freeing your body frees your mind.
The issue is that PNF was designed to be used by physiotherapists to treat athletes’ injuries. Thus, I invented what I call “Simplified PNF,” which you can use on your own anytime you need it. I go over it in my Tensigral Patterns Yoga method, and in a later post, I’ll explain how it works.
The Evolution of Body Practice
Some, though, would counter that these advantages are already present in traditional yoga practices. It’s crucial to keep in mind that yoga was developed in an earlier time when there was less knowledge about the body — yogis never cut up bodies due to religious beliefs. Thanks to anatomy and neuroscience, we can now comprehend our interior workings better. This knowledge combined with mindful movement allows us to repair, maintain or optimize our patterns, more effectively than with traditional hatha yoga.
Our modern world presents unique challenges. Our lifestyles and needs differ significantly from those who developed these ancient practices. Thus, moving meditation offers a flexible and disruptive approach to cultivating mindfulness, in resonance with the realities of our lives.
The Journey of Self-Discovery
So, are you prepared to go on this exciting voyage of self-discovery? Set aside your assumptions, take action, and unleash your sixth sense. Consider your body as your thinking partner as well as a vessel.
- Start walking barefoot or in minimalist shoes.
- Pandiculate — like a lion waking up — every hour while you are working at a desk in a crouch to free your body, thus your mind.
- Begin yoga once a week to bring your body to your conscious mind.
Recall that you can make the route to mindfulness as lively and exciting as you like.
References about yoga and physiotherapy in this article: Patanjali, PNF and Pandiculation.
Originally published at https://www.gordianknots.net