One thing we have always believed at movemindfully is that you don’t need full 30-minute sessions of mindfulness and movement for yourself, your students, clients, patients, or family members to get the benefits of effective wellness breaks.
Dr. Marily Oppezzo, a learning and behavioral scientist and an instructor of medicine with the Stanford Prevention Research Center, argues the same about exercise. You can read more about her “exercise snacks” here. Much like we have encouraged educators, therapists, and parents over the years to commit to short mindfulness breaks throughout the day, Dr. Oppezzo recommends two-minute movement breaks (vigorous enough to make it challenging to talk) every few hours to get the necessary amount of exercise into your day.
While we love the idea of getting your heart rate up every two hours, we would like to expand this idea of exercise snacks to include short mindfulness breaks, as well. Try some of these movemindfully breaks today and see how mindful resets can change your energy levels, focus, and overall mood:
Plank – Hold a Plank (on your forearms or using straight arms while either kneeling or with raised knees) for one minute. If you need to take a break, shake out your arms and come back into Plank to build up to a cumulative sixty seconds. Once you have mastered a one-minute Plank, go for two (or three!) minutes. Most importantly, notice how accomplished you feel after holding this full-body move!
Chair Stretches – If you (or the people around you) are getting fidgety, try a two-minute stretch break. Reach your arms overhead, stretch your arms forward, and twist your upper torso to move your body without ever leaving your chair. If you feel like standing up, stand behind your chair and try Chair Dog—rest your hands on your chair as you walk your feet back and stretch your back, shoulders and legs. After just two minutes of chair stretches, notice how different you feel.
Big Sighs – Set an alarm for one minute and simply breathe slowly in through your nose and out through your mouth. You can just breathe, nice and slow, or add positive words. You might focus on a phrase like, “I am,” as you breathe in, and then focus on a positive word like present, connected, energized, peaceful, or safe as you breathe out. Notice how you feel after a full minute of slow, intentional breaths.
Hands on Head – If you find yourself without the focus, time, or energy to do any of the above resets, simply place your hands on your head and take a few slow breaths. Just placing your hands on your head (on top, behind, or even holding the front and back of your head) is a quick and easy way to reset when you truly can’t find the energy or time for anything more.
There are so many ways to take mindful movement breaks throughout the day. These are just a few. What ways will you reset when you need to this week?