Make Every Move a Meditation

Reviews / Votes

"In her new book Make Every Move a Meditation: Mindful Movement for Mental Health, Well-Being, and Insight, Nita Sweeney argues that pickleball or a Zumba class can be turned into a powerful meditative practice whose benefits spill into other areas of life. Focusing the mind on a single thought, object or sensation during exercise can help bring clarity and peace of mind, she says. 'For running, I often use my left foot,' she says. She encourages people to use 'a teensy bit of willpower' to keep focusing on a single object when they exercise and bring their mind back when it wanders."
-Ellen Gamerman, The Wall Street Journal



"I don't 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 she's field-tested over the years, and how they've equipped her to respond more effectively to a range of obstacles. She'll inspire you to expand your exploration of mindful awareness and to sneak it into more areas of your life."
-Daron Larson, mindfulness speaker, teacher, and coach, TEDxColumbus Talk: "Don't Try to Be Mindful"



"Awakening awareness in the body is the portal to resting in an open-hearted 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




"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 dwells...that's a major lifehack. It's a way to work smart that's 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, 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 Sweeney's 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 meaning. An important work for every seeker."
-Yun Rou, Daoist monk, Tai Chi master, and author of The Monk of Park Avenue



"You exercise but don't have time to meditate? Or meditate but don't have time to exercise? Or maybe you would like to meditate but can't 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, and author of One Bird, One Stone: 108 Contemporary Zen Stories



"I love to walk and I'm a 45-year veteran of meditation, but I have never combined the two. Thanks to this book, that's about to change. I've 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 I've never had a good answer. Now I do. My answer is, 'Buy Nita Sweeney's book, Make Every Move a Meditation.' "
-Kim Colegrove, author of Mindfulness for Warriors, and owner of Pause First Academy



"I've 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 Sweeney's 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 warm-hearted. 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



"Sweeney does writing practice, a form of therapy that she compares to meditation with a pen. 'It's a little like journaling except you do it in a specific time period, keeping your hand moving and without stopping to think. You grab sensory details, looking around and writing about what you see. It grounds you in reality, as opposed to being up in your head.' But the biggest emotional lift for Sweeney has been running. It's not just the mood-boosting brain chemicals that physical activity generates, she says. 'There's a sense of community because I sometimes run with a group. I also do races, and there's a training plan, so there's structure. And there's a sense of achievement that you get from achieving your goals-I said I was going to run three miles, and I did that.' Sweeney insists that the exercise really works: 'Depression hates a moving target.' "
-Barbara Stepko, AARP.org



"There are thousands of books written on mindfulness and mediation, but this one is unique, designed (1) for those who need what mindfulness offers, but for whom sitting still is never ideal; and (2) for those seeking spiritual practices to help with mental health issues. We recommend this book for those looking for new ways of being present in life and who want to do so with play and enthusiasm."
-Spirituality and Practice




"There are thousands of books written on mindfulness and mediation, but this one is unique, designed (1) for those who need what mindfulness offers, but for whom sitting still is never ideal and (2) for those seeking spiritual practices to help with mental health issues. Some readers will know author Nita Sweeney for her 2019 book, Depression Hates a Moving Target, in which she talked about jogging with her dog as a way of battling depression and anxiety. This book continues those themes, focusing on mindfulness, in particular, activity in general, and the benefits of combining them. Sweeney begins by describing what mindfulness is and how to do it, explaining, 'Meditative skills keep me going when willpower fails.' In fact, 'Infusing the thoughts and body sensations that arise on a run with focused attention and a calm attitude makes running less difficult and more interesting.' After running, there are several dozen other examples in the book of how to combine being active and practicing mindfulness meditation, from ice skating to tennis and golf. The book is punctuated with helpful summaries, questions and answers, and recaps. One example, 'seeing color' includes working out while noticing color. These may seem ordinary, because they are ordinary; but they are excellent, helpfully specific, examples of a successful mediation practice designed for someone who needs to keep moving."
-Jon M. Sweeney in Spirituality & Practice