Ten Percent Happier with Dan Harris - 607: A Meditation for People Who Can’t Sit Still | Bonus Meditation with Dawn Mauricio

Episode Date: June 9, 2023

Mindful movement is an excellent way to integrate and even invigorate mindfulness while cultivating the power of curious awareness.About Dawn Mauricio:Dawn Mauricio discovered the practices of Buddhist meditation in 2005, and from then on, did what any well-intentioned perfectionist would do — plunge in head first! Since then, she's graduated from several teaching programs, including Spirit Rock's four-year Teacher Training. Her teaching style is playful, dynamic, and heartfelt, and she teaches extensively in her home-country of Canada, as well as the US, to teens, people of color, and folks of all backgrounds.To find this meditation in the Ten Percent Happier app, you can search for “Gentle Mindful Movement.” See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What does it even mean to live a good life? Is it about happiness, purpose, love, health, or wealth? What really matters in the pursuit of a life well lived? These are the questions award-winning author, founder, and interviewer Jonathan Fields asks his guests on the Top Ranked Good Life Project podcast. Every week, Jonathan sits down with world renowned thinkers and doers, people like Glenn and Doyle, Adam Grant,

Young Pueblo, Jonathan Height, and hundreds more. Start listening right now. Look for the Good Life Project on your favorite podcast app. This is the 10% happier podcast. I'm Dan Harris. Hey, hey, some people do not meditate because they really feel like they cannot sit still. Other people may meditate, but sometimes they may want an alternative method that involves a little movement. Today, wherever you sit on this spectrum, we've got you covered.

Our teacher, DuJour, is Don Mauricio. She discovered the practices of Buddhist meditation way back in 2005, and then she did what any well-intentioned perfectionist would do. She plunged in head first. She's now graduated from several teacher programs, including Spirit Rocks, four-year teacher training, and she's a regular over on the 10% happier app. Here we go now with Don Mauricio. Hi, this is Don. It's easy to think that the proper way to meditate is seated and that one of the goals of our practice is to stay completely still. Actually, movement can serve as an excellent way to integrate, and even invigorate our mindfulness. For days when you just can't seem to get out of your head,

mindful movement can be incredibly supportive. Let's give it a try. Settle into a posture in which you can feel at ease. We'll be exploring some simple movement in the neck area, so you may choose to be seated or standing. If you like, you can close your eyes, or you can keep them slightly open with your gaze turned downward. If it feels appropriate, you can take a few full breaths to help you ground. Now if you're able, gently drop your chin toward your chest and begin to make half moon

movements with your head, slowly rolling your right ear over to your right shoulder, then back with your chin to your chest and rolling your left ear over to your left shoulder. Repeat this movement a few times, moving at a pace at which you can stay mindful. As you do this, notice the sensations. Are they pleasant, unpleasant, or some mix? The next time you're right ears over your right shoulder, hold this position and tune into the stretch. Really notice where and how you feel your body. If you're curious about intensifying the sensations, reach your left hand down and away toward

the ground. Whatever variation you're in, you can play around by nodding your head yes and gently shaking your head no in this pose. When you're ready, repeat these movements again, dropping your chin to your chest and making half moon movements from center to left, gently back to center and over to the right. When you're left ears above your left shoulder, pause and observe all of the sensations present, reaching your right hand down in a way, or nodding your head yes or no if you want. Eventually, bring your chin back to your chest and lift your head. Pause here for a few moments and simply feel. Be particularly curious about all of the sensations present,

noticing the left and right sides of your neck, the front and back. the front and back. Noticing with this curiosity can strengthen your mindfulness muscles. Gently open your eyes or lift your gaze. Notice what it's like to be present right now, after having moved and meditated with mindfulness. Thanks for being with me here today. See you next time. Thank you, Don. You can find more meditations like this one over on the 10% happier app, just download the

app wherever you get your apps to get started. We'll see you right back here on Monday for a brand new episode. We're kicking off a six-part series, which we're calling Get Fit Sainly, where we're gonna talk to a whole diverse crew of experts about all the conflicting advice, the blizzard of advice we get about fitness generally and exercise and eating specifically also longevity. So we're gonna kick off the series with two experts

on longevity, Monday and Wednesday and next week, and then we're gonna do fitness the following week, and then the week after that we're gonna do eating and we're gonna bring in experts as I said before from a whole range of backgrounds including Buddhism. I think it's gonna be super useful. I found it incredibly useful to conduct all of these interviews so come join us. Hey, hey, prime members. You can listen to 10% happier early and ad-free on Amazon Music. Download the Amazon Music app today, or you can listen early and ad-free with Wondery Plus in Apple Podcasts. Before you go, do us a solid and tell us all about yourself

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