Our bodies come in all varieties, and we all have different interests, skills, and abilities. As today's teacher Cara Bradley observes, movement of any kind—from the slightest stretch to the most intense exercise—can be mindful.

This simple meditation helps you celebrate your physicality with practices to connect with your breath and your body, expand your awareness, and appreciate the gift of being alive.

Cara Bradley is a seasoned mind-body expert dedicated to advancing mind-body education through movement, mindfulness and the science of human performance. She provides evidence-based mind-body approaches to global wellness brands, Fortune 100 companies and top-ranked sports teams, is the author of On The Verge: Wake Up, Show Up, and Shine and the Founder of Verge Yoga and Meditation Center. Cara was voted a "Top 12 Most Powerful Women in the Mindfulness Movement" by Mindful.org.

The transcription of this guided meditation will be online and in our app at Mindful.org next week.

Stay curious, stay inspired. Sign up for our free newsletter mindful.org/signup or download the app for free at mindful.org/app.

Show Notes

Find more from Cara Bradley here.

Go Deeper

Mindful movement comes in all varieties and can be a wonderful way to calm both body and mind. If you want to learn more, start with these resources from Mindful.org:

• Join the Nanalympics! 6 Ways to Get Playful with Mindful Movement

• 7 Mindful Movement Practices for Daily Life

• Swimming, Walking, Running—Why Mindful Movement Can Boost Resilience

• This Kind of Movement Can Be the Key to Healing Burnout

• Easy Ways to Make Mindful Movement Part of Your Day

For a creative and whimsical way to combine movement and meditation, try: Laughter Yoga: A Gentle Movement Practice to Get the Giggles Going

And more from Mindful here:

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This week, Mindful founding editor Barry Boyce reminds us of the basic why behind mindfulness meditation: We get off-kilter at various times throughout the day, and we need a way to pause and reconnect—with reality, with our senses, with our steady center. That’s what meditation helps us do.

This practice is called “Taking Your Seat,” and it’s perfect if you’re getting started with meditation, or if you just need a touchpoint during your day.

Barry Boyce is Founding Editor of Mindful and Mindful.org. He is a longtime meditation practitioner and teacher, as well as a professional writer and editor. Barry serves on the board of directors of the Foundation for a Mindful Society and the Centre for Mindfulness Studies in Toronto, as well as on the advisory board of Peace in Schools, in Portland, Oregon.

The transcription of this guided meditation will be online and in our app at Mindful.org next week.

Stay curious, stay inspired. Sign up for our free newsletter mindful.org/signup or download the app for free at mindful.org/app.

Show Notes

Find more from Barry Boyce here.

Go Deeper

Mindful.org has a wealth of articles, research, and guided practices that can help you start or grow your meditation practice. You can start here:

• Connecting With Why You Meditate Can Fuel Your Motivation

• Calm and Steady: Simple Ways to Create the Habit of Mindfulness

• Do I Need to Meditate to Be Mindful?

• Formal vs. Informal Mindfulness: 2 Ways to Practice

For another approach to a beginner’s meditation, try: Beginner’s Body Scan Meditation

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Learning to live with pain and illness is challenging, arduous work. Often, people can go for months or even years without sufficient answers. Life gets turned completely upside down. The body you thought you had suddenly becomes something you don’t recognize or know how to work with.

This week, meditation teacher and hypnotherapist Juliana Sloane offers an imaginative meditation that invites softness and self-compassion in the midst of discomfort.

Juliana Sloane is a Buddhist teacher, hypnotherapist, and coach specializing in Depth Hypnosis, applied shamanic counseling, and client-centered neuroplasticity. She blends ancient wisdom traditions, hypnosis, and evidence-based approaches to help individuals create lasting transformation beyond the conscious mind. She helps clients transcend the limitations of talk therapy and achieve lasting transformation. Based in Santa Fe, NM, she teaches nationally and works one-on-one with clients worldwide.

The transcription of this guided meditation will be online and in our app at Mindful.org next week.

Stay curious, stay inspired. Sign up for our free newsletter mindful.org/signup or download the app for free at mindful.org/app.

Show Notes

Find more from Juliana Sloane here.

You can read our recent interview with Juliana and learn more about her work combining mindfulness, meditation, and hypnosis for deeper healing and transformation with her clients.

Go Deeper

For more resources on how mindfulness can help you live more fully with illness or pain, check out these resources on Mindful.org:

• What Unexpected Chronic Back Pain Taught Me: 4 Takeaways That Matter

• Let Your Pain Be a River: Vidyamala Burch on Living and Teaching With Chronic Pain

• Pain Opens a Door

• How to Live Well with Chronic Pain and Illness

For more practice creating a sense of safety inside your own body, try: A Meditation for Easing Pain and Inviting Joy

And more from Mindful here:

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Let us know what you thought of this episode of 12 Minute Meditation by leaving a review or by emailing yourwords@mindful.org.