This Healing Moves blog post is the result of a series of synchronicities. While going through some old papers, I stumbled on a page of notes I had taken from a book called *Healing Moves. After reading the notes I thought it would be perfect to cover here. Along with the notes, I found an email – dated July 2002 – from my Uncle Melvin recommending the book. Over 20 years ago!

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Here’s one of the notes I took from the book that inspired this blog post:

Activities with repetitive motion, such as swimming, walking, and running, can be particularly effective in enhancing mental health since their rhythmic quality prompts a meditative effect.

*Healing Moves by Carol Krucoff, RYT & Mitchell Krucoff, MD

This content seemed to complement my recent Forgotten Gifts blog post. However the next part of the same paragraph really stood out for me:

Activities that focus on breathing, such as tai chi and yoga, can connect body and mind and enhance feelings of calm.

*Healing Moves by Carol Krucoff, RYT & Mitchell Krucoff, MD

Wow! This part really stands out now because back in 2002, I had no interest whatsoever in tai chi nor yoga. Fast forward to now where I have a real appreciation for Qigong (the grandparent of tai chi), and yoga as well. Talk about divine timing!

Disclaimer: I am not a healthcare professional. I am merely sharing my interests. Please see the website’s Disclaimer page for more information.

Healing Moves Book

I bought the updated *Healing Moves book, but I believe the bulk of the information from the original book (still included) is timeless. Indeed, the material is likely even more relevant now than before. Anything we can do for ourselves to benefit our mental health is great. Naturally some situations require the appropriate professional assistance. NOTE: Check out my poem entitled *Healing on Etsy that compares the healing of a spiritual wound to that of a physical wound.

Why Healing Moves?

As technology has evolved, it’s been easier to move away from some of the activities that we previously enjoyed. We may have never even realized these activities also benefited our overall wellbeing. Check out this brief The Joy of Motion for Every Body video where *Healing Moves co-author Carol Krucoff says it way better than me! As she states, *Movement is Medicine.

Recess?

The quotes at the beginning of this post come from the Healing Moves for Mind Body and Spirit section of the book – in the Mental Health Conditions chapter. The section is divided into 3 parts, and Part One is called Recess. Yep! Remember recess from our childhood school days? The idea here is for us to create our own personalized play time doing anything we enjoy. I love this list of activity ideas they provided to get us started. I see multiple things that I consider fun. Don’t see your favorite fun activity? Add it, and have fun doing it!

>Walking
>Gardening
>Swimming
>Cycling
>Group Fitness Classes
>Dance
>Martial Arts
>Yoga
>Strength Training
>Inline skating

Walking Meditation

Walking Meditation is Part Two of the Healing Moves for Mind Body and Spirit section. They review numerous ways to do it, but my favorite reference is to the late Thich Nhat Hanh’s book on Walking Meditation, *The Long Road Turns To Joy. In this related video snippet, he says the following:

Walking meditation is a wonderful way of establishing calm in ourselves and getting nourished by the wonders of life in the present moment.

Thich Nhat Hanh

Mind-Body Practices

>>>Qigong Etc.

Part Three’s Mind-Body Practices covers Qigong, an Invigorated Breathing practice, and Yoga’s Corpse Pose (Savasana). Qigong is often considered a moving meditation, while Yoga’s Corpse Pose is all about stillness. In fact, it is sometimes called the hardest pose in yoga. The Invigorated Breathing practice shared here is new to me, but there are numerous breathwork practices that have a variety of purposes and benefits. In our past Move Your Lymph post, we shared info about Deep Abdominal Breathing. Likewise in our On Love post, we shared a Thich Nhat Hanh excerpt called Riding Out the Storm which offers a breathing practice for calming the mind. Carol Krucoff also has a Healing Moves – Relaxation Breathing video available as a free resource on YouTube.

>>>Pranayama, Meditation Etc.

Pranayama and meditation are not specifically mentioned in this section of the book, but they fall into this area. Take a look at Melanie Beckler’s recent Healing Affirmations blog post which includes a guided meditation where you can either repeat the affirmations, or just listen. She also lists all the affirmations there. If you prefer the video only experience, she’s got you covered! BTW, one of the healing affirmations is *I Am Divine which is also the title of one of Melanie’s beautiful canvas prints. It’s also the image for the month of February in her *2023 Wall Calendar. I initially bought the calendar, but later decided to get the canvas print as well. 😉 She does such beautiful and inspirational work!

Conclusion

So that’s it for this post. Did you find any activities listed that you are already currently using? Do you see any new ideas you will definitely explore? Let me know in the Comments.

Resource Summary

*Healing Moves – How to Cure, Relieve, and Prevent Common Ailments With Exercise by Carol Krucoff & Mitchell Krucoff
*Healing – my poem on Etsy that compares the healing of a spiritual wound to that of a physical wound
The Joy of Motion for Every Body Healing Moves free video resource on YouTube
*Movement is Medicine – “Movement is Medicine” Coffee cup on Etsy
*The Long Road Turns To Joy – Thich Nhat Hanh’s Walking Meditation book
On Walking Meditation – Thich Nhat Hanh’s video on Walking Meditation
Healing Moves – Relaxation Breathing – Healing Move’s free video resource on YouTube
What Is Pranayama? -WebMD article on Pranayama
Healing Affirmations – 111 Healing Affirmations Blog post by Melanie Beckler
Healing Affirmations – video only – Healing Affirmations – I Am Affirmations by Melanie Beckler
*I Am Divine – “I Am Divine” Canvas print on Etsy
*2023 Wall Calendar – Large Art Calendar on Etsy which includes the “I Am Divine” image