Mindful Relationship with Sensation

The Therapeutic Movement class above is supported by the information below - it is from the Whole Health archive.

Exploring Presence: A Movement Practice for Mindful Relationship with Sensation

In this practice, we explore what it means to arrive, moment by moment, into a mindful relationship with our body through sensation, breath, and awareness. We begin in a place of neutrality: seated, neither standing nor lying down. This ‘middle ground’ offers a space where the body doesn’t dominate, but supports our presence  a place where we can simply arrive in the moment.

Finding Ground in the Middle

Seated on a chair, we begin to create a stable platform. Heels rest beneath the knees, with the shin bones stacked above. Take a moment to feel this alignment, placing awareness into the lower legs and feet, meeting them with presence.

If it’s available to you, bring your hands into contact with your legs or feet. If physical touch isn’t possible or doesn’t feel right, sit back and visualise this connection. Register the feet visually. Acknowledge them. Let this be a gentle act of grounding that respects your boundaries and your energy.

Rooting Through Touch and Breath

This connection can be supported through physical touch or simply seeing the feet clearly, both are valid forms of awareness. From here, we transition into a supported version of Child’s Pose, continuing to tune into our body - this vehicle through which we root into sensation.

Feel into the breath as it moves into the back of the body. Notice the sacrum, the lower back, the parts behind what we can see. This is a space for softening, for noticing what naturally arises.

Expressions of Release

As you hold this grounded shape, explore the jaw, the neck, the head only if it feels safe and appropriate. Perhaps a yawn arises, or a sigh, or a sound. Allowing these responses is a gentle way of meeting ourselves exactly as we are, without forcing or rushing.

Let your breath be the anchor, and the movement between breaths guide your attention inward.

Rest and Transition

From this place, settle into the belly. Feel the length of your legs, the support of the floor. When you're ready, lie down into Savasana,  a resting shape of integration. Be aware of the space around you, the breath moving through you, and the sensation at the edges of the body.

Take up as much room as you need. Give yourself the time that’s needed. Notice how it feels to be still, and how your body responds when given space to just be.

The Art of Transition

As the practice closes, take care with the transition back to your day. Move slowly and with attention. Notice what it feels like to move from one place to another, and reflect gently on how we experience transition in life itself.

This is where mindful movement meets deep listening. Where we meet ourselves in sensation, in breath, and in kindness.

If you are interested in learning more on somatic practices and how to bring this into your teaching, do take a look at Charlotte's Online Alternative to the Somatics Training Retreat, part of the online Somatics for Yoga Teachers course.

You can also experience Somatic & Mindful Yoga classes with both Charlotte and fellow teacher, Leonie Taylor, at the online membership Whole Health - you can experience a month free with the code WH100 (add to the coupon box at checkout; you can cancel anytime).