Home & Lifestyle, Wellness
Mindful Hatha Yoga
Lesson time 23:58 min
Discover how to bring mindfulness to yoga and exercise as part of a well-rounded practice.
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Topics include: Get Creative • Listen to Your Limits
Teaches Mindfulness and Meditation
Mindfulness expert Jon Kabat-Zinn teaches you how to incorporate meditation into your everyday life to improve your health and happiness.
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[MUSIC PLAYING] - So I thought it might be helpful if I just shared with you a little bit of my routine in the morning. Keep in mind that my routine has changed an enormous amount over the past 55 years, but the important thing is, one, a routine should not be routine. Okay, so it is alive, but it's a way in which you could actually start the morning in a way that takes care of the organism, takes care of your body, takes care of your mind, tunes the instrument for whatever is to come later. So this would be after you meditate lying in bed the way we've been talking about. So one of the things that I find most valuable-- and the older you get, the more valuable this is-- is cultivating balance. And yoga is all about cultivating strength, balance, and flexibility. We're talking about strength, flexibility, and balance of mind as much as we are of body. But that effect on the mind actually comes out of training the body in that way. I'm just going to share with you some of the stuff that I do-- again, not so that you should be doing this but that you should figure out what it is that you want to do and incorporate it into your life in a way that is in the spirit of everything that this program has been about. I'll often do something like this first thing in the morning. Nice to do out in the fresh air too. And that is what are called pelvic tilts but in the standing position. So on an out breath, you'd curl the back up like this. Roll the back up like that, and drop the head down between the arms. And then that would be all on an out breath. And on an in breath, bring the hands back, raise the head up, and tilt the pelvis forward. So you're going from like this to like this. And then on an out breath again, rolling the pelvis back underneath, making a big C in the back. Raising the hands up at about a 45-degree angle. Eyes open, eyes closed, whatever feels comfortable to you, and then just going back and forth. In breath. Out breath. Bringing mindfulness into the entirety of the body and the breath. And again, you're getting into the actual flowing of the movement and the feeling of the entire sensory field of the body, including the breath, which is actually very deep because you're expanding the chest enormously in this direction and contracting the abdomen and lower back in this direction. And when you're ready, just settling again. So then I'll get down on my mat. And just lying for a moment or two in the Corpse Pose and feeling the breath moving in and out of the body. And then I'll do those pelvic tilts in this position. So if you watch what the pelvis is doing right now, if I go from here, which is neutral, to here-- can you see that? I'm actually pressing the lower back against the floor and tilting the pelvis up a little bit, just as I was doing standing a moment before. So this will be the movement, pressing against the lower back, and there's no space. And then arching the lower back, and there is a space. ...
About the Instructor
A pioneer of the Western mindfulness movement, Jon Kabat-Zinn has spent more than 40 years studying, teaching, and advocating the benefits of mindfulness. In his MasterClass, he teaches you how to cultivate a mindfulness practice, reduce your stress, and soothe your thoughts with meditation and movement. Jon shares expert tips and guidance that meets you where you are. Let this class help you make the most of being alive.
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Jon Kabat-Zinn
Mindfulness expert Jon Kabat-Zinn teaches you how to incorporate meditation into your everyday life to improve your health and happiness.
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