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In our lives, we have the ability to reach a deeper connection and truly dive into our depths when we incorporate the idea of mindful movement.

Our creative side yearns for release while our physical side wants to work together to find a beautiful balance that impacts our own self-love and focus.

This enables us to let go of any negative impulses we may have. At least this is my view of yoga movements and how powerful their combination can be.

What Exactly Is Mindful Movement?

Being someone who struggles to sit still and focus, I grew tired of trying to constantly exhaust myself in order to relax. The truth is, it wasn’t relaxing. It was defeat from movement, and a misstep from motivation.

Through my practice, I’ve realized that I can create mindful movement through yoga that connects my creative and physical sides, ultimately aligning my heart, body, and mind into one powerful unit.

This fills me with love, compassion, and an authentic honesty within my self-awareness. Creative and mindful movement can be ANY movement you let yourself connect to. There is no right or wrong – just follow your heart, be open, and let the beautiful energy you create ignite your true light.

Think about imprinting your own positive thoughts into your movement, body, and mind at the same time. The idea seems euphoric to consider the amount of happiness YOU can create on your own.


 

Mindful Movement – Use These 7 Yoga Poses to Access Your Creative Side and Find Beauty in Your Movements:

Here are a few of my favorite poses to add creativity, connection, and self-love to our practice.
 

1. Heart Center Warrior I (Virabhadrasana I)

Named for being a fierce warrior, this balance, stability, and stamina pose boosts energy in the body and builds self-confidence with power.

Before beginning this mindful movement, set your intention: “I will stay calm through the storm.”

Let’s try it:

• From Downward Facing Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana), lift and bring one foot close to your palms and look forward

• Inhale and raise your arms above your shoulders and head

• Exhale and bend your front knee as you gaze forward

• Make sure your back foot is turned slightly inside about 20 degrees and your left foot is turned out about 90 degrees

• Bend your front knee while bringing your palms together at your Heart Chakra and feel the stretch lifting your entire abdomen

• Hold for a few deep breaths before switching sides

2. Hand to Heart Half Moon (Ardha Chandrasana)

When we talk about the energies of the body, we are known to have feminine and masculine energies within us.

Imbalance of these sides can create ailments and negatively affect our well-being. Within yoga poses we are able to bridge this gap and create harmony, peace, and completeness.

Before beginning this mindful movement, set your intention: “I allow the sacred feminine and masculine to harmonize within.”

Let’s try it:

• From Warrior II, exhale and shift your weight forward into your front leg

• Lean forward and place your front hand at your heart center

• Extend your other arm toward the sky, so that your shoulders are in one line

• Press into the floor with your front foot and lift your back leg up

• Imagine pressing your foot into an imaginary wall behind you

• Keep rotation in your hips, with your hips stacked and your back leg engaged

• Envision two opposing forces pulling at either end to create symmetry in your center

• Repeat your intention, find your balance, and focus, noticing where your mind goes

3. Goddess Pose With Heels Lifted and Gyan Mudra (Utkata Konasana With Gyan Mudra)

Goddess Pose, also known as “Fierce Angle Pose,” is an empowering pose that helps boost energy in the body.

Adding the hands in Gyan Mudra stimulates the Root Chakra, easing tension and depressive feelings. It expands our knowledge and helps bring a calming openness to this powerful pose.

Before beginning this mindful movement, set your intention: “I am open to clear my path for new beginnings.”

Let’s try it:

• Take your feet to the outside edge of your mat

• Keeping your back straight, slowly bend your knees so that your thighs become parallel to the floor

• Lower into a wide squat, tuck your pelvis in, and roll your tailbone downward

• One at a time, lift your heels into high relevé

• Lightly touch the tips of your thumbs to the tips of your index fingers, keeping your other fingers straight but relaxed

4. Crow Pose (Bakasana)

Bakasana strengthens our Third Chakra with power and grace and is a great way to incorporate our energy with our creative beauty.

This powerful movement links our energetic system to our physical world and helps to foster our inner focus and concentration. It is said that this pose is a symbol for justice and longevity.

We work toward opening our creativity while increasing our physical, mental, and emotional strength, which leads us to an empowered self-worth and sense of belonging.

Before beginning this mindful movement, set your intention: “I am the perfect balance of holding on and letting go.”

Let’s try it:

• Place your hands flat in front of you on the floor as if you were in Downward Facing Dog – with your middle finger pointing forward and your fingers spread

• Firm your hands down, pressing through the whole of your hands and fingertips

• Keeping your elbows bent, lift your hips high

• Place your knees on the back of your upper arms as high up as you can, or squeeze your outer upper arms with your knees

• Hug your knees and elbows into your midline, and round strongly through your upper back, drawing your side waist up and using your abdominals

• Letting your body start to squeeze in and up, bring your weight forward so your elbows end up straight over your wrists

• Reach your heart forward and let one foot come up

• Then bring the other to meet it if possible

• Bring your heels and big toes together

• Imagine reaching your toes to your First Chakra for more control and balance

5. Bound Side Lunge Pose (Utthita Baddha Parsva Upavesasana)

Similar to Skandasana, but focusing more on the First and Second energy Chakras, Bound Side Lunge lets our body feel it’s stability while simultaneously letting it experience change.

Letting ourselves ground with inner personal safety while learning to go with the flow not only is a strong pose combination, but will also have lasting effects on our own self-love and the ability to grow.

Before beginning this mindful movement, set your intention: “I am lovingly embracing the changes around me.”

Let’s try it:

• From a low squat, sit toward the left and take support by interlocking your arms around your left leg and stretching your right leg out completely

• You can stay on the ball of your left foot or allow your foot to come completely flat on the ground

• Use your arm strength to stay in balance and release your shoulders from your ears

• With your breath, expand your chest and diaphragm and let yourself mentally lift upward as your body physically stays where it is

• Hold for a few deep breaths before switching sides

6. Wheel Pose With Heels Lifted (Urdhva Dhanurasana)

This pose and movement are connected to our Third, Forth, Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Chakras, which shows in its innate ability to bring the energy of our body to an emotional ease as it builds self-confidence.

Through this pose, you have to trust your entire body. It’s said to relieve asthma and respiratory ailments as it allows an increased amount of oxygen into the rib cage.

By practicing this pose regularly, not only are you energizing yourself physically and mentally, but also simultaneously counteracting your own stress and anxiety.

Before beginning this mindful movement, set your intention: “I trust and believe in myself.”

Let’s try it:

• Lie on your back on the floor

• Bend your knees and place your feet hip-width apart, a comfortable distance away from your hips

• Place your hands flat on the mat on either side of your head with your fingers pointing toward your shoulders and your elbows pointing up

• Press your shoulders down into the floor – feel how that opens and even lifts your chest

• Press your inner feet down to keep your knees from falling out to the sides and to activate your glutes

• Inhale, lift only your hips to the ceiling. Stay here for a breath or two

• Press into your hands to lift up in one movement, straightening your arms as much as possible and not letting any weight of your head touch the ground

• Once up in Wheel Pose, think about length in your front body and an even arch in your back so you are not hinging in your lower back – you may want to scoop your tailbone forward slightly

• Slowly lift your heels up, finding your balance and strength

7. Star Pose With Gyan Mudra (Utthita Tadasana)

We’ve already learned that Gyan Mudra helps in stimulating our Root Chakra and easing our tension and depression. It also is an extremely calming addition and brings even more openness to this powerful pose.

Star Pose utilizes every muscle in our body. It strengthens, lengthens, and expands to help develop deeper focus, more mindful concentration, and improve balance all while building self-love in this “Super Star” movement.

Before beginning this mindful movement, set your intention: “I AM a superstar.”

Let’s try it:

• Stand so that your feet are parallel and pointing toward the long side of your mat in a wide stance

• Raise your arms to the sky, with your palms up

• Ground through all four corners of your feet and engage your thighs as you straighten your legs

• Elongate through your spine and broaden through your chest

• Take up space by creating your own star points!

• Lightly touch the tip of your thumbs to the tips of your index fingers, keeping your other fingers straight but relaxed

Mindful Movement Can Spark Creativity

There are a lot of ways yoga can be incorporated into our lives to help us not only improve our connection to our true selves, but also to help us boost our own self-love and worth.

When we practice yoga, we are given time. Time to reflect, time to focus, time to be still, to care for ourselves, and reach a deeper mindfulness that engages and thrives with our body and soul.

If self-love is all about taking the time to appreciate, acknowledge and celebrate your uniquely wonderful self, why not give yourself permission to dive a little deeper, love yourself a little harder, and enjoy your journey a little more through your own creative mindful movements in yoga?