MEDITATION
Poses to Prep for Mindful Meditation
BY RINA JAKUBOWICZ |
Not all meditation practice has to happen sitting perfectly still in Lotus Pose. By focusing your awareness inward, on the breath and the way your body moves through transitions and feels in poses, you’ll reap many of the same rewards that seated meditation provides— heightened focus, balanced energy, a sense of grounding, and blissful stress release.
Practice tip
Use these four focal points to stay present, elevating your practice into a moving meditation.
1 SPINE: Ask yourself in every pose, “What is my spine doing here?” The answer should always be that it is extending. Try to lengthen in every posture by creating space between each vertebrae, utilizing your back and core muscles for support.
2 SENSE OF GROUNDING: Assess which parts of your body are touching the floor as you practice. Actively push those parts into the floor as a way to engage your whole body and build strength.
3 TRANSITIONS: As you transition between poses, be aware of how your body moves. Pay attention to physical sensations—both muscular and skeletal.
4 BREATH: Throughout your practice, check in with your breath and see if it’s rhythmic, fluid, and consistent. Use deep Ujjayi Pranayama, or Victorious Breath, with even inhales and exhales.
Warm up
Start in Samasthiti (Equal Standing) or Tadasana (Mountain Pose), pressing your feet into the floor. Place your hands in Anjali Mudra at the center of your chest. As you inhale, lift your arms overhead; as you exhale, bring them back to Anjali Mudra. Repeat for 1-2 minutes.
For a 10-minute practice,
do 4 rounds of the following sequence
(a round is the sequence practiced on both the right and left sides). In round 1, hold each pose for 30 seconds, or 5–6 breaths. In rounds 2 and 3, hold each pose for 10–12 seconds, or 2 breaths. And in round 4, hold each pose for 5–6 seconds, or 1 breath.
Do
3 rounds of this sequence, switching sides with the first four poses and doing the final two poses twice each. In round 1, hold each pose for
30 seconds, or 5–6 breaths. In round 2, hold each pose for 10–12 seconds, or
2 breaths. And in round 3, hold each pose for 5–6 seconds, or 1 breath.
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