A shared practice
Mindfulness of Standing
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Created bySean Fargo
From Sean's introduction-to-mindfulness collection — recorded in his own voice.
In Sean Fargo’s own voice8 min
Read along — the full script
I'm Sean Fargo. We can bring mindfulness or kind, curious awareness to just about any aspect of our experience. One thing that most of us do quite a bit is standing. We stand at the post office, we stand at the grocery store, we stand while cooking, taking a shower.
A lot of our day is spent standing, so why not practice mindfulness of standing? So I invite you to stand with both feet flat on the ground. If you need to move your chair or adjust your clothing, go ahead and do so. You can pause this recording if you need a little bit of time to settle in.
Now I invite you to stand with both feet flat on the ground. You can close your eyes, look downward, or keep them open. It's up to you. It can be helpful to limit visual distractions by closing them or looking down, but do whatever feels safe to you right now.
I invite you to bring your awareness to your feet as they touch the ground. Notice whether you have more weight put on your left foot or your right foot. Notice whether your knees are bent or locked, whether you're leaning forward or backward or to one side.
Notice whether your shoulders are up or down. Notice where your hands are and whether they're touching anything. Notice whether your neck is tilt or upright. So we're bringing awareness to the act of standing without a sense of judgment, simply noticing our posture, noticing where we tend to put our weight.
Can you notice any movements in the body, any shifts of your weight as you stay balanced in an upright position? Where do you bring your attention to in your body? Do you tend to focus on your feet or your legs? Perhaps it's in your head.
Maybe it's in the body. As you bring awareness to the act of standing, notice where your attention goes in your body. If there's a feeling of discomfort or pain, please use your best judgment on whether to continue with this practice.
Notice whether the discomfort is caused by standing or exacerbated by it or alleviated by it. Is there a way of standing that would feel more upright or dignified? Is there a way of standing that would feel more comfortable or relaxed?
Is there a way of standing that would feel more strong or secure or balanced? Bringing kind, curious awareness to what it feels like to simply stand. If you're wearing shoes, noticing what the feet feel like as they touch your shoes.
If you're wearing socks, feeling into the sensations of the fabric. As you shift your weight and your feet, noticing whether that makes a noise, whether it's from the ground or your shoes or your socks. Simply noticing what it's like to stand, bringing mindfulness to the physical sensations of standing.
And that's it. This is your first mindfulness of standing exercise. Congratulations. I encourage you to try this throughout the day for longer and longer periods of time. This is a wonderful, easy practice to bring mindfulness to your experience.
We don't always need to be sitting or laying down when we practice mindfulness. We can be standing or walking, doing the dishes, eating, just about any kind of experience. So if this exercise is helpful for you, I encourage you to try it on a daily basis.
Congratulations and thank you for your mindfulness practice.
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