How to stand with ease - your guide to body mindfulness poise. Free visualisation
In this visualisation, we’re going to be focusing on how we stand and it’s a great exercise to do when you’re waiting in a queue. So we’ll be standing with ease, balanced with poise. We’ll be standing tall without strain. Our skeleton is providing support for our postural muscles, the ones that support us. And by standing upright, these muscles can hang, comfortably without strain.
So standing on both feet hip width apart. I find a tiny amount of turn out most comfortable so that my toes are just very slightly off at an angle but just find what is most comfortable for you.
Now you can think of your feet connecting with the ground and there are three main points of contact that you should be aware of. Underneath your big toe, under the small toe and the heel. These three points of contact should be on the floor, equally balanced. So let’s play with that just very gently shifting the balance between these three points. Notice what happens to your body. Notice how you feel. And then just shifting your balance until once again, your weight is equally balanced between these three points, so that you feel connected to the ground and securely placed.
So allowing the ankles to be moveable letting go of any tension in this joint, just sway very gently and then coming to a standstill. Thinking of the knees softening around the front of the joint and behind so that your knees are not locked backwards but enabling a thought of space in the joint. Think of the thigh muscle releasing away from the hip joint so that your legs are lengthening out of the joint.
And keep breathing as you are stood here widening and lengthening.
Allowing the weight to drop down all the way down your legs to your feet so there’s no tension in your legs. Your feet are supported on the ground and you’re thinking of them pushing up against gravity with the legs soft not holding on in any part of the legs.
And now let’s draw your attention to your hip joints. So bringing the hands down to the pelvis keeping your balance, bend one leg from the hip joint, bringing the hands in towards the groin a little about 4 inches along the crease of the leg. This is where your hip joints are.
Maybe it’s lower than you expected but this is how far your spine goes down your body. So standing again on both feet and standing still. Think about your spine lengthening upwards whilst at the same time, keeping broad across the lower back.
Allowing there to be space between the vertebrae, allowing the gentle curves in your spine, in the lower back and the upper back of the neck. And resisting the temptation to tuck your pelvis under you’re not aiming for a flat lower back but a gently curve, soft without strain.
Breathing softly and gently.
And then thinking of there being space across the front of the chest and across the upper back. Allowing space under the arms, think of the shoulders widening in opposite directions. The arms gently lengthening out of the shoulders, the fingers gently lengthening towards the floor, the wrist and elbow joints spacious and open.
And allow there to be space between the shoulders and the ears. Think of the neck lengthening so that the crown of the head is moving upwards, the back of the neck long, the throat relaxed and all the tiny muscles of the face, let go of tension.
And breathing.
And just making sure that the eyes are relaxed but focused, not glazing but really being aware of your environment.
And now you can bring your awareness to the whole of your body. Feeling grounded by your feet and lengthening gently all the way through your body to your head. Not to do anything, you’re not trying to stand straight, but your focus is soft and you’re simply allowing the need to do, to push and pull yourself into the shape you feel you ought to be but simply allowing your body to come to its full height and weight by letting go of any tension.
And then when you are ready, very gently start moving your fingers, and your head and your knees and then you can start to move.
Knowing that over the next few days, whenever you are standing, you can start to bring your awareness of this session into that daily life, thinking of your feet, and space in the joints, and lengthening your spine, widening the shoulders and allowing the head to be poised so that you can stand at your full height.