Movement Based Mindfulness

Movement Based Mindfulness

Mindfulness is often considered to be sitting in a darkened room, perhaps with a candle and soft music, meditating and breathing deeply. This is however just one form it can take. Other forms are more active, thoughtful or analytic, or in this case movement based.

Clinical Mindfulness

Mindfulness Informed Professional

Mindfulness Informed Professional

Chi Gung, Tai Chi, Martial Arts

Taoism and Zen Buddhism both contain influence from the martial arts and health promoting movement. Some Tai Chi and Chi Gung is used according to pre-set patterns, on other occasions it is based around freestyle or interpretative movement. This can be rooted in the emotional driven movement of the person, or in their knowledge of martial art movement.

Meditative Movement, Mindfulness Movement

By rooting yourself in movement and breathing, it is possible to “listen” and then to “hear” what is happening in the unconscious and through the body. Just as a seated meditation can focus on feeling a crystal, stone, feather or other object, or focus on a Chakra or the breath, so movement based mindfulness works by being present physically.

Advantages of movement based mindfulness

The body presents many of it’s feelings and emotions through physical feelings and sensations. In Eastern theory this is often linked to the Chakra points. These points actually correspond well to areas known in Western medicine to be associated with functions of stress and “flight and fight” response.

Evidence based therapy

Movement based mindfulness is part of the overall therapy provision of various mindfulness methods and can be incorporated into teaching mindfulness, MBSR, MBCT, Compassion based therapy, Acceptance based therapy and overall eastern psychology. Evidence for the use of each of these is listed on the appropriate pages of this site. In summary however NICE recommend mindfulness based and cognitive behavioural based psychological therapies for a range of mental health issues.

Stuart is a clinical psychotherapist who is multi modal in practice and has professional registrations for psychotherapy, hypnotherapy and mindfulness (among others) and is also an experienced Martial Artist (5th Dan) and Taoist. Stuart is registered with the CNHC (who hold a PSA AR) under Hypnotherapy .  He has several competency certifications in Clinical application of Mindfulness for Clients and Groups.

Key Words

Chi Gung, Tai Chi, Martial Arts, Taoism, Buddhism, Zen, Meditation, MBSR, MBCT, CBT, ACT, SCBT, Mindfulness, mental health, psychotherapy, psychoanalysis, humanistic psychology, humanistic psychotherapy, eastern psychology, counselling, mindfulness based hypnosis, Edinburgh, Falkirk, Glasgow.