Supporting Mood and Motivation

The blog below supports the Therapeutic Movement practice video above.

 Mood, Motivation & Reawakening Support

In this practice, we explore mood and motivation through simple standing awareness and a long, supported rest. Many of us know the experience of low-energy states - periods of apathy, disconnection, or a lack of internal drive. Rather than pushing through these states with adrenaline or urgency, this session invites a gentler way of meeting them, one rooted in awareness and inner support. Low mood often brings a sense of sinking inward, of losing orientation, buoyancy, or the feeling of being held up from within. We can get caught in a protective holding pattern where energy feels scarce, and the impulse is either collapse or forcing ourselves into action. Mindful practice offers a different pathway. By tuning into the subtle sensations in the chest and centre of the body, we learn to recognise these states without being pulled under by them.

Rising From Within

We begin standing, finding a shape that feels steady and easeful. This upright position helps us avoid dropping immediately into a collapsed or withdrawn state that can mirror how we feel emotionally. Standing practice gives us the chance to feel how we are supported, lifted, and organised from the inside. Instead of pushing ourselves to “wake up,” we explore what it feels like to stand from the centre of the chest, reconnecting with the axis that gives us orientation and steadiness. This gentle reorganisation helps us shift out of the inward collapse and back into a sense of presence.

Rest as Regulation

We finish with an extended, fully supported Savasana, an opportunity to settle, exhale, and allow the system to reorganise. After an upright practice, this coming down offers a staging of energy towards lower states and the conscious awareness of transition.

This kind of rest nurtures the quieter layers of mood and motivation, helping remind the body of its capacity to downshift without shutting down. Over time, this sustained support becomes a tool we can return to whenever energy feels low.

For the longer rest, you’ll need a few props:

• a bolster for under one leg,
• a cushion high enough to support the head when lying on your side,
• an additional blanket or pillow for comfort.

These create the conditions for a truly replenishing, spacious Savasana.

If you'd like to explore movements like these in more depth, I invite you to look at my Somatic Therapeutic Yoga Training - a my 200-hour trauma-informed, specialist training and personal journey for yoga teachers, yoga therapists and movement professionals. For details, click here.