All kinds of terms these days describe mindful movement: working out, exercising, dancing, biking, hiking, and cross training. Don’t let yourself get distracted by the words. They all point to a common idea and practice—moving the body. Whether we walk, do yoga, run, bike, or swim is unimportant. What matters is that these activities shift us out of what Henry David Thoreau calls the “sedentary life.”
In this practice, however, we want to focus less on formal periods of exercise and more on micro-bursts of movement throughout the day. After all, we know that exercise holds profound benefits for the mind and body and many of us have a regular program. However, the research on movement shows that peak mental and physical fitness isn’t just about exercise. It’s also about breaking up sedentary behavior with brief periods of movement as we go throughout each day.
We’re going to focus on using mindfulness to weave movement into your day. This could be as simple as getting up to stretch once an hour, walking while making phone calls, or standing up as you text. These practices of movement aren’t difficult or time consuming, but for many of us,…
