Mindful Movement

Jillian talks combining intention and movement.

Ever since I can remember, I have always loved movement. The moment I hear music, I find it hard not to sway, tap, and groove along. The second I am bored or restless I begin brainstorming what type of movement would bring me the most peace. I always thought if I made time to move, I would be happy. It wasn’t until I developed my yoga practice that I realized I had to actually “be present” in the movement to receive the true benefits.

The same reasons I loved dance were some of the same reasons I found that I loved yoga. I love being in a room full of moving bodies, listening to music, flowing through carefully choreographed sequences, following the teacher’s instructions, and focusing on progressing my practice.

Whenever I couldn’t make it to yoga or dance, I would instead grab a magazine and head to the gym. I would spend countless hours mindlessly using the elliptical while flipping through fashion magazines or jogging on the treadmill while distracting myself with whatever was playing on the TVs. At first, I didn’t understand why I never felt the same leaving the gym as I did when I left a dance or yoga class.

I was moving my body, so why wasn't I having the same outcome?

Once I started to delve deeper into my yoga practice, I realized that my workouts were supposed to benefit more than just my body. If I was paying attention to whatever movement I was doing, I was able to fully experience everything the movement had to offer. Bringing mindfulness to my movement allowed me to experience more joy after dance classes, more release after strength sessions, and more peace after yoga. My workouts now had the power to benefit my mind, body, and spirit at the same time.

I love that every BBS class starts with an intention and ends with a moment of gratitude.

Taking the time to acknowledge our “why” in working out can make all the difference in the benefits we receive after the workout.

I would also like to be the first to say that I am not perfect in this mindfulness practice. My mind still tends to wander in the middle of a sweat session, but the sooner I bring it back the better I feel afterwards. I hope that bringing more mindfulness into your BBS workouts helps you truly experience all the benefits that BBS has to offer!

xx

Jillian

@sequinjillian