Ten Percent Happier with Dan Harris - You Don’t Have To Sit Still To Meditate | Bonus Meditation with Dawn Mauricio

Episode Date: June 9, 2024

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.

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Hey, everybody. Time for a bonus meditation. As you know, we've been doing a series on the show recently called Get Fit Sanely. And today we are going to illustrate that you don't actually have to sit still in order to meditate. In fact, some gentle movement can be part of both meditation and getting fit sanely. Our teacher du jour is Dawn Mauricio. She lives in Montreal. She's a graduate of Spirit Rocks four-year teacher training program. She's also on the Guiding Teachers Committee for True North Insight and on the board of Sacred Mountain Sangha, charitable organizations that offer insight meditation

retreats and courses. Here we go now with Dawn Mauricio. Hi, this is Dawn. 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 your right ear is 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 your left ear is above your left shoulder, pause and observe all of the sensations present,

reaching your right hand down and away, 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. 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, Dawn. 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 and be sure to check out the rest of our Get Fit Samely series in your podcast feed If you like 10 happier and I hope you do You can listen early and ad free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple podcasts.

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