Sweney - Make Every Move a Meditation: Mindful Movement for Mental Health, Well-Being, and Insight

Let me say it simply. Someone should have written this book a long time ago. Thanks, Nita. Systematically exercising consciousness while you systematically exercise the body in which it dwellsThats a major life hack. Its a way to work smart thats ideal for busy, modern people committed to a sound mind in a sound body.

Shinzen Young, meditation teacher, neuroscience research consultant, founder of Unified Mindfulness, and author of Meditation in the Zone and The Science of Enlightenment

Humans evolved to survive predators and to find food, shelter, and mates. Those activities required noticing and responding to the subtlest unfoldings of nature. Now lost in a speed-and-greed world, we need to be reminded of who we are and why we are here. Nita Sweeneys Make Every Move a Meditation provides us exactly that, a deeply considered, well-organized, and beautifully presented guidebook back to self-actualization, flourishing, happiness, and meaningan important work for every seeker.

Yun Rou, Daoist Monk, Tai Chi Master, and author of

The Monk of Park Avenue

Awakening awareness in the body is the portal to resting in an openhearted and dynamic presence. Make Every Move a Meditation is an accessible and powerful guide for taking our practice off the cushion and connecting deeply with the creativity, wisdom and aliveness that is our very essence.

Tara Brach, author of Trusting the Gold

You exercise but dont have time to meditate? Or meditate but dont have time to exercise? Or maybe you would like to meditate but cant sit still. This book has the solution: Do both at once! Drawing from decades of experience in formal meditation settings, as well as many years as a long-distance runner, Nita Sweeney presents invaluable guidance toward bringing meditation into movement and making movement your practice. Highly recommended for anyone who moves, or sits still: in other words, everyone!

Sean Tetsudo Murphy, Sensei, Zen teacher in the White Plum American Zen lineage, author of One Bird, One Stone:

108 Contemporary Zen Stories

I love to walk and Im a forty-five-year veteran of meditation, but I have never combined the two. Thanks to this book, thats about to change. Ive been sharing meditation with others for the better part of two decades and teaching professionally for over ten years. Many times, students have asked me how to do moving meditations, and Ive never had a good answer. Now I do. My answer is, Buy Nita Sweeneys book, Make Every Move a Meditation.

Kim Colegrove, author of Mindfulness for Warriors

and owner of Pause First Academy

Ive been a regular runner and occasional meditator for years, but it never occurred to me to combine my meditation practice with my running routine. The two disciplines complement each other brilliantly. After reading Nita Sweeneys Make Every Move a Meditation, I look forward to many miles of meditative movement in the years to come.

Denny Krahe, running coach, author of Be Ready on Race Day

and host of the Diz Runs podcast

Make Every Move A Meditation is a gift for anyone seeking to incorporate meditation and mindfulness into their daily life. The author writes from her many years of personal practice and encourages us with advice that is clear, practical, and warmhearted. Nita Sweeney not only talks the talk but walks the walk (and runs the run!), offering the fruits of her experience to guide others along the path.

Tania Casselle, MA Transpersonal Psychotherapy, award-winning writer, contemplative writing retreat leader, and senior faculty for Sage Institute for Creativity and Consciousness

I dont practice mindfulness to get better at sitting still in quiet rooms. I practice to inhabit my life more fully. Make Every Move a Meditation encourages you to develop liberating attentional skills with your eyes open and your body moving. In it, Nita Sweeney shares practical strategies shes field-tested over the years and how theyve equipped her to respond more effectively to a range of obstacles. Shell inspire you to expand your exploration of mindful awareness and to sneak it into more areas of your life.

Daron Larson, mindfulness speaker, teacher, coach, and creator of the TEDxColumbus Talk: Dont Try to Be Mindful

Depression Hates a Moving Target:

How Running with My Dog Brought Me Back from the Brink

You Should Be Writing:

A Journal of Inspiration and Instruction to Keep Your Pen Moving

(co-created with Brenda Knight)

Coral Gables

Copyright 2022 by Nita Sweeney.

Published by Mango Publishing, a division of Mango Publishing Group, Inc.

Cover Design: Morgane Leoni

Cover Illustration: Liliia/Adobe Stock

Layout & Design: Katia Mena

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Make Every Move a Meditation: Mindful Movement for Mental Health, Well-Being, and Insight

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication number: 2022937304

ISBN: (print) 978-1-64250-989-2 , (ebook) 978-1-64250-990-8

BISAC category code REL007040, RELIGION / Buddhism / Theravada

Printed in the United States of America

To my many teachers, including:

Natalie Goldberg

Shinzen Young

Bhante Gunaratana

Sean Tetsudo Murphy, Sensei

Lama Jacqueline Mandell

Marcia Rose

Katherine and Danny Dreyer

And my first teacher, Ed,

who advised, Try not to fidget.

On a bright Saturday morning, as I ran along the Olentangy Trail with three other members of our pace group, the conversation turned to meditation. It might as easily have turned to which central Ohio restaurant we would go to for breakfast, upcoming races, or last weeks Buckeye football game. Instead, a woman asked how I practice.

I do sitting meditation, I said. But I also meditate while I run. I was meditating just now.

Thats a thing? another woman asked.

It is for me. I explained.

Today, Im noticing my left foot. When my mind wanders, I gently bring it back.

The whole run?

Most of it.

How long can you think about your foot? Isnt that boring?

I dont think about my foot. I experience it. I notice the sensation of my foot hitting the ground and observe any changes. I pay attention to how my foot feels in my shoe. I sense if it hits harder than my right. When my mind wanders, I count my footfalls. When I pay close attention, its not boring at all.