hen the Osher Center of Integrative Health talks about personal well-being, we are talking about the Foundations of Health: how we eat, sleep, move and connect with ourselves, others, and the world around us.

We experience the world, in large part, by moving through it. Mindful movement is an embodied presence, anchoring our awareness to the senses of our bodies as we move through space and time.

The basics – taking movement breaks 

Creating opportunities throughout the day to move brings many benefits: generating feelings of wellbeing, a boost in productivity, and increased job satisfaction. Movement breaks can be as simple as standing up from the desk to stretch, taking the stairs to another floor to use the restroom, taking a moment for a snack or to share a meal, enjoying a view from a favorite window, or going outside and walking! Check out this video to get started and be sure to share it with your team.

Mental recovery – inviting in nature 

Whether you are an outdoor enthusiast or someone who accesses the outdoors only occasionally, instinct likely informs you of the immense mental, social, and physical health benefits derived from being in nature.

There is mounting scientific evidence tying experiences in nature to improved physical and mental well-being, including better mood, reduced stress, and enhanced immune response. Experiences in nature have been shown to protect against depression, anxiety, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, asthma, and obesity. One explanation for these benefits is known as attention restoration. Daily, drawn-out desk-bound tasks such as sitting through hours of Zoom meetings or prolonged periods watching TV or swiping through social media feeds, capture our direct attention and cause fatigue, which can lead to poor health outcomes. Nature invites us to disconnect from these activities and embrace a transcendent, embodied sense of fascination, mystery, and awe, which lead to attention recovery and revitalization.   

Freeing ourselves - moving out of the mind and into the body 

Mindfulness is an awareness of our present, moment-to-moment experience.  According to the great teacher and practitioner, Joseph Goldstein, mindfulness establishes the capacity in the mind to “see the truth of how things are, the truth of nature.”  And this truth can be most easily accessed through an awareness of the body. As paradoxical as it may seem, mindfulness of our true nature–lungs expanding, muscles contracting, skin sweating, heart pounding–trains us to get beyond the thinking mind, and out of our own way.  Bringing a focused attention to physical activity–stretching, jumping, reaching, running–invites an openness, flexibility, curiosity, and kindness.

Start by turning off watches and phones, as these devices can disrupt our focus on the here-and-now, pulling us away from physical sensations and self-reflection, which both provide important data on how we are doing, what we are feeling, and what is most needed.

Mindful movement tips and instructions – how to’s for mindful movement

There are numerous strategies to help facilitate mindful movement, which can be done as a grounding exercise either prior to beginning or during the movement exercise:

• STOP Practice 
• Walking Meditation  
• 3 Mindful Breaths  

Building in a daily mindful movement practice will give our cogitating, analytical, problem-solving brain time to rest, decompress and rebalance, thus creating space to reengage and be productive.