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Mindfulness Movements

User Profile: amiablePeace77
amiablePeace77 July 3rd, 2018

On Sunday I had lots of trouble with my printer and network and all my head was doing was searching for solutions – racing thoughts which were quite draining. Below is an exercise which helped me to calm down. It is from the Vietnamese Buddhist monk, author, and teacher Thich Nhat Hanh who developed 10 exercises called

Mindfulness movements

Below are 3 of them

To begin, take some deep breaths and tune into your body.

Touch the Sky!

This movement can be done with your palms either facing inward, toward each other, or facing out to the front as you reach up to the sky. Breathing in, lift your arms in front of you and bring them all the way up, stretching them above your head.Touch the sky!Breathing out, bring your arms slowly down again to your sides.

Repeat three more times

Be Like a Flower

Breathing in, lift your arms out to the side, palms up, until your arms are shoulder level, parallel to the ground. Breathing out, touch your shoulders with your fingertips, keeping your upper arms horizontal. Breathing in, open your arms, extending them until theyre stretched out to a horizontal position again. Breathing out, bend your elbows, bringing your fingertips back to your shoulders. When you breathe in, you are like a flower opening to the warm sun. Breathing out, the flower closes. From this position with your fingertips on your shoulders, do the movement three more times. Then lower your arms back down to your sides.

Swivel Your Torso

Move your feet out to the side so they're shoulder-width apart and put your hands on your waist.

As you do this exercise, keep your legs straight, but not locked, and your head centered.

Breathing in, bend forward at the waist and begin to make a circle with your upper body.

When you're halfway through the circle, your upper body(A) leaning back, breathe out and complete the circle, ending with your head in front of you while you're still bent at the waist.

Do this three more times.

On your next in-breath, begin a circle in the opposite direction.

You can just do 1 or all 3. If you like, let me know here how it worked. hrZZ7PIRGcFQEnQursJzM-XnJUteOwQkDLLJZ1WLkN35NaDfij-YQLaT---KXgzG-_dUR7Q_jzG_R_BELElyukxN8dORxja0DOCa5PgA46iYx3EoG84hG4PwIgZyovSQ0t56Wkns

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User Profile: soulsings
soulsings July 3rd, 2018

@amiablePeace77 these are wonderful. Thanks for sharing it.

I found some pictures on Swivel that help me visualize it https://www.beliefnet.com/faiths/buddhism/2008/09/a-week-of-mindful-movements.aspx?p=7

1 reply
User Profile: amiablePeace77
amiablePeace77 OP July 3rd, 2018

@soulsings

Hi soul, nice to hear you like them and thanks for posting the link smiley

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User Profile: SaimaK
SaimaK July 3rd, 2018

@amiablePeace77 Hi Peace! heart How are you doing today? I hope you are having a wonderful and mindful day so far! laugh I love Thich Nhat Hanh as he is so wise and poetic, and so I really loved all of these mindfulness movements!!! I did all of them, but I have to say that the "Be Like a Flower" one was my favorite. smiley I felt so intuned with myself, my soul, and the earth. I also felt so calm and at peace. Thank you so much for this wonderful post!!! laughheart

2 replies
User Profile: amiablePeace77
amiablePeace77 OP July 3rd, 2018

@SaimaK

Hey SaimaK, great that you liked it. The flower one is my favorite too smiley

1 reply
User Profile: SaimaK
SaimaK July 3rd, 2018

@amiablePeace77 Thank you, Peace! laugh And yay!!! heart

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User Profile: RumpleSteeleSkin
RumpleSteeleSkin July 3rd, 2018

@amiablePeace77

Peace love this-thankssmiley I do the swivel alot at home or any where else. It is so easy to do and has me focus on my movement and not anything else

1 reply
User Profile: amiablePeace77
amiablePeace77 OP July 3rd, 2018

@RumpleSteeleSkin

and it keeps your hips flexible too laugh

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User Profile: peppermintlove
peppermintlove July 3rd, 2018

@amiablePeace77

Hey there! I just wanted to say thank you so much for everything you do for the 7 Cups Community. Your contribution to the mindfulness team especially is phenomenal and your posts are always insightful and you are solovely and welcoming to all members of the community :') You are extremely inspiring, thank you for doing what you do.

And this post is really great, I will be doing these exercises before I go to bed :) Take care ❤️

2 replies
User Profile: soulsings
soulsings July 3rd, 2018

@peppermintlove @amiablePeace77

What peppermintlove said in post above. You are incredibly awesome!

User Profile: RumpleSteeleSkin
RumpleSteeleSkin July 4th, 2018

@peppermintlove

WWow Peppermint I really do love your extra support you give this area.💙💗💚

User Profile: amiablePeace77
amiablePeace77 OP July 4th, 2018

@peppermintlove @soulsings

I am really flattered blush, this means so much to me. Thank you.

1 reply
User Profile: soulsings
soulsings July 5th, 2018

@amiablePeace77 you are always welcome here.

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User Profile: amiablePeace77
amiablePeace77 OP July 6th, 2018

@peppermintlove

CONGRATS TO YOUR AWARD

1 reply
User Profile: peppermintlove
peppermintlove July 6th, 2018

@amiablePeace77

THANK YOU!! :D ❤️

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User Profile: RumpleSteeleSkin
RumpleSteeleSkin August 22nd, 2018

@amiablePeace77

Peace I love all these and do them, sometimes out in publicsurprise 2 of what I do mindful movements are.....

1. Punch Out Negativity- I stretch very high and 1 by 1 with my fists I shoot my worries, issues and stress up there. Hoping someone else can handle all this lol

2. Swivel in my computer chair- Simple. Feet out and move ya hips. Sometimes even do a bit of circles toocheekyMore so this makes me distracted from adult life things I can not change. Also makes me giggle as I get so dizzy

5 replies
User Profile: amiablePeace77
amiablePeace77 OP August 22nd, 2018

@RumpleSteeleSkin

This is sweet, I can see you "moving" laugh, adding fun like you do takes the occasional "heaviness" away and allows us to get a mini-break even outside. yes

4 replies
User Profile: RumpleSteeleSkin
RumpleSteeleSkin August 22nd, 2018

@amiablePeace77

chair skating GIF

3 replies
User Profile: amiablePeace77
amiablePeace77 OP August 23rd, 2018

@RumpleSteeleSkin

Rumple, that's you in a different body? You really got it! wink

2 replies
User Profile: RumpleSteeleSkin
RumpleSteeleSkin August 23rd, 2018

@amiablePeace77

hahahaha Im so laughing

1 reply
User Profile: amiablePeace77
amiablePeace77 OP August 24th, 2018

@RumpleSteeleSkin

me too hahahaha laugh

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User Profile: LexIris
LexIris December 24th, 2019

@amiablePeace77

They were quite relaxing. They helped me to calm down and stop being so panicky about something that I'm going through rn. Thanks for the exercise

1 reply
User Profile: amiablePeace77
amiablePeace77 OP December 26th, 2019

@LexIris

Glad to hear laugh

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User Profile: Floffj
Floffj September 12th, 2025

Very useful. thank you for sharing