Meditation has been shown to be effective and beneficial for your mental and overall health. But adding it to your routine can be a challenge, especially if you are new to the concept. One solution to trying to get meditation into your life is to add it to your workout routine. If you have it integrated into your schedule already, you will find ways to practice, helping you get better at it.
First, let’s take a look at what the benefits of meditation are. There are quite a few reasons that you should try it out.
There are other reasons as well, but generally speaking, meditation does not have any harmful aspects to it. It is just a way to help your brain quiet down and relax, letting you reset.
The best part of meditation that you can carry into your workout routine is the breathing technique. Breathing properly ensures that your muscles are getting all of the blood and the oxygen that they need in order to keep you moving. This can reduce your risk of injury and cramping and will help your muscles build up correctly. The best breathing technique is where you breathe slowly through your nose and out of your mouth. You will want to do this before your heart rate gets up because it is harder to start when you are already working hard.
One form of meditation involves listening to a mantra that can guide you through your practice. A mantra is often just a positive message you repeat to yourself in order to get through a hard workout. This can help you focus your attention on the muscles that you are trying to strengthen.
For example, if you are trying to work on your arm muscles you can tell yourself “my arms are stronger” over and over to put your focus where it should be. If you are running, your mantra can be “I will run long and hard.” You can adjust your mantra to suit whatever you need.
One other essential part of meditation is the art of focus. You cannot let your mind drift off to whatever has been stressing you out or you will not be able to achieve your workout goals. Put all of your focus on what you are doing at the moment, forgetting anything else that could distract you from what you are doing at the given moment. Focus is what will bridge the gap between your mind and your body, keeping you whole during a workout. Adding breathing to your focus and sticking with your mantra will all combine to make for an excellent workout.
If you are skeptical about whether meditation is effective, you should consider what it is exactly. True meditation is when your mind reaches a deep peace, calming both your mind and your body while keeping you aware and alert. When you are working out, you will not be in a true meditation as your heart rate will be up and your focus will be less on peace of mind and more on peace of body.
Nevertheless, meditation techniques will add a new element to your fitness routine. Even if you doubt the effectiveness of meditation, you can see that it is harmless to try. There is no danger in controlling your breath or focusing during a workout as that is what you should be doing in order to achieve your optimal results. Give it a try, you might be surprised at what your body can do.
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