Being Mindful

In a world of fitness, it is often not easy to think how mindfulness might play a part in improving health and well-being...for a start, how do you measure it – not in reps, not in weight loss, not in numbers we can see....but to miss out on the benefits of developing resilience in a busy world, is to miss out on a vital component of health.

The psychological aspects of fitness are well documented. A sportsperson will often face times when they need to control anxiety – maybe before a race, before the try conversion, the penalty kick off, serving out the winning set – and sports psychologists have found a range of ways that we can harness the capabilities of our mind to bring about a reduction in anxiety as well as an improvement of skill and achievement.

Here is how “being mindful” can help you not only get the best out of your workout but also to make you feel GOOD J - and you will notice this difference without stepping on the scales!

Ok – the basics. Being “mindful” is to be aware of what is happening to you NOW.  The way that your seat feels, the rhythm of your breath, the thoughts that are passing in and out of your mind. It is about paying attention to the world around us and to ourselves, without “pre-living” with what is going to happen in the future, or feeling “trapped” by things that have happened in the past. In our busy lives, it is easy to get into a cycle of rushing from one thing to the next, living in your “head space” where all the worries pile onto you – being mindful can help change your perspective but understanding that the thoughts that you are having, are just that, thoughts. They have no power or influence to become reality, but you have the power to still the rush of anxiety by being “mindful” of your situation and in the long term bringing about greater peace and happiness to your life.

Your first steps might be to just to start to notice your thoughts, your feelings, the sensations in your body and the world around you. Just pick a time that you will do this – maybe your walk to work, or when you sit and eat your lunch or in the evening when instead of watching telly or surfing the net, you simply sit and stare for a while. You can go on a course where mindfulness skills are taught – these are usually over about 4-8 weeks and are led by a trained Mindfulness Instructor.  You can of course set aside time for a more structured way of being mindful – such as going on doing meditation, yoga or tai chi

Here are my short suggestions for ways to be more mindful with your fitness goals.  First, I am going to show you a technique used by sportspeople to calm anxiety, called “centering”

Centering - Awareness of breathing

•          Place right hand on your belly button area

•          Place left hand on chest – around your heart

•          Exhale fully

•          Inhale and as you do so, think about the breath moving down towards your right hand.  You should be aware of the hand rising and falling as you do your deep breath.

•          Your left hand remains still – so keeping the breathing deep and not chest area

•          Repeat 3-5 times minimum

•          Emphasise the calm feeling associated with this exercise

•          Focus on NOW

Here are some other quick suggestions that you can try this week J

• Why not try and stand somewhere different in class – see the class from a different perspective – who stands where, what the light is like in this part of the class, how do you feel being in a different place...etc
• Say hello to a new person – connecting with different people is good for your mental health.  In a gym or class situation, you both already have something in common and a great opening phrase to get a conversation started.
• When you are working out, take time to notice the body sensations that are going on – and don’t panic!!  Enjoy your workout.  Be aware of your breath, your heartbeat, your muscles working, that bead of sweat running down your face
• When doing an exercise – focus – where are you feeling it, how does it feel. Think about the changes that you are making right now to that muscle fibre, to your strength, your flexibility
• Enjoy the dancing element of the classes, don’t worry about what you look like, let your body move freely
• At the end of the session be thankful and grateful, no matter how wreaked you feel, at least you did this for you, and made the effort

Enjoy your small trip into mindfulness, and if you enjoy it then set about making this a regular part of your fitness regime – you won’t regret it.