How To Meditate Through Exercise
From mindful.org brings to light something I have been loving, enjoying and sharing for years. Give the moment you live in the attention and you will begin to shift and feel better. The McCall Method is built on the principle that every movement of every day is worth noticing. This article takes one area of life that many of us enjoy and says just be there and notice what is happening when you exercise and you will enjoy it MORE!”There is so much we can notice when we are moving or not moving. (I call this “Doing Nothing Well”).A classic McCall Method moment is noticing where your hips are and asking the question is your spine lengthening up? Is your belly being like Buddha and relaxed? How are your arms and shoulders? Are they free and allowing gravity to drop them away from your ears comfortably? So many wonderful things to check in with and enjoy. I think the main reason yoga is effective is the inward focus and slowing down of movement more than the poses themselves. We have so many “poses” or postures in a day that can be noticed and help create the mindfulness we hunger for and enjoy when we give it a chance. I totally understand the love of listening to music when exercising. I never used to listen to music when I ran but during the past few years I mix it up. (I love to break my own rules...isn’t that what rules are for ...to be broken?)When you notice where your body is and what it is doing in the moment from swimming to running to boxing (something I enjoy) you are ALL THERE. Research is showing what the article points out. If/when you mentally show up, you’re going to enjoy that moment so much more than just going through the motions. Mindfulness is the new buzz word and I like it. I’ve spent more than 25 years wanting folks to be interested in NOTICING the most simple movements and now it’s in vogue! I couldn't be happier!Being a physical therapist the word mindfulness was not really a go to phrase but the truth is it is the foundation of The McCall Method. The Balance Postures are just taking the most fundamental and basic movements and postures you live in, having you NOTICE them, relax in them and shift into a better place with them. This rebuilding of your posture opens up an internal awareness that is vast and so very useful in your life. This “undoing “of old postures and movement patterns that no longer serve you in turn opens you up to an intelligence in movement that has been there all the time.