Meditation as a form of yoga has become extremely popular. Many people have been replacing their morning workout routines with yoga because of its calming effects. Fitness trainings are combining multiple exercise forms to achieve an overall fitness. Yoga is being blended into fitness training programs. And almost all fitness programs are incorporating meditation as a means of warm up. It is increasingly replacing warm up exercises like stretching and jogging. Meditation can help you reach into the workout zone, here’s how.
[Read: Meditation Techniques for Beginners]
Tips to Overcome Stress through Meditation:
Focus:
Before starting your work out you must focus your body and concentrate all your energy. Often people rush into work out straight from their work place. Their minds are distracted and so are their muscles. People walk in stressed from work and jump onto a tread mill or lift weights. This is wrong. Good gym instructors will never let you do that. You must relax your body. Meditation is a way of doing that. Meditation reduces the stress you feel with each breathe. It also helps you focus your strength before you work out.
Push through:
Most of the time if you are doing some serious exercise like long distance running, the basic strength required is mental. Sometimes you may think that you have enough physical power to complete your laps but if you are not mentally prepared, you might lose strength. In any kind of sport, the sports person is asked to train their minds before going onto the field. Meditation can help you do that. Meditation clears your mind, motivates you and helps you be strong, mentally while you are executing the heavy workouts. It is always a good option to meditate before working out.
Relax:
A little bit of meditation before any type of workout will relax your muscles. When working out, your muscles go through a lot, so it is important that they are relaxed to begin with. One doesn’t always enter a gym completely relaxed. At times people’s muscle are quite wound up. Working out in that condition can affect your muscles, you might pull a nerve even. Sitting in a comfortable position, and meditating will slowly relax all the muscles in your body. You can even do it lying down. Slowly breathe, concentrating on each breathe. Relax slowly while you inhale and exhale. Breathe deeply through your belly. Your muscles will relax only when it gets lots of oxygen.
[Read: 3 Main Types of Yoga : The Roots of 3 Major Yoga Styles]
Motivate:
After your mind and body are relaxed, it’s time to motivate yourself to go ahead and workout. Try to picture yourself in the kind of shape you want to achieve. Visualize your sculpted body, toned legs and healthy lifestyle. Doing this for a while will totally motivate you to try to achieve what your goal is. Let all your distracting thoughts pass away. Just keep concentrating on your body.
Even after workout meditation is a good way to cool your burning muscles and achieve an inner peace. Meditation will help you to make the most of your workout. If you practice these daily, you will definitely have better workout results.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Does meditation help you get in the zone?
Being in the zone and experiencing flow are two similar ways to describe optimal experiences while completing a task. It turns out that athletes perform better when experiencing flow and that mindfulness meditation for athletes can help them experience flow.
Does meditation help fitness?
More than anything, meditation focuses your attention and energy. Fitness expert Sonja Rzepski suggests meditation can help you get the most out of your workout, so you’re less likely to get bored or experience an injury.
How does this meditation exercise benefit you?
The study’s authors theorize that while the exercise helps create new brain cells, the meditation is responsible for keeping them alive and functioning. Together, this changes our ability to remain present, calm and focused, which plays a significant role in combating depression and anxiety.
Should I exercise or meditate first?
Meditating prior to workout allows you to relax and stretch your muscles. At the same time, you can improve focus and control that are much-needed when working out. On the other hand, meditating after a workout reduces cortisol levels which tend to elevate when you’re exercising.
Is meditation better than exercise?
Meditation was more effective at reducing chronic neck pain at rest and pain-related bothersomeness. Exercise, however, was more effective in improving physical health-related quality of life, HDL and LDL cholesterol, and fasting blood glucose levels.
How do I know if my meditation is working?
You become more aware of your body.
You’ll notice when you’re in a bad mood and be able to just drop it.
Things that used to irritate you no longer irritate you.
Your usual mental patterns will break.
How long should you meditate for?
Mindfulness-based clinical interventions such as Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) typically recommend practicing meditation for 40-45 minutes per day. The Transcendental Meditation (TM) tradition often recommends 20 minutes, twice daily.
What should I do after meditation?
The best thing to do after the end of a meditation session is to try to consolidate the progress you have just made. You can do this by doing an activity that still keeps your attention engaged like reviewing your session, journaling, or doing an informal meditation practice.
Should I meditate before or after breakfast?
It is advisable to practice meditation before having a meal. Chances are that you may doze off if you meditate after having a meal. Also, if you are too hungry, avoid staying hungry and practice meditation two hours after your meal. Warm-ups: Warm-up is necessary before meditation.
Should you meditate before or after a shower?
One should meditate before a shower. Meditation generates electromagnetic energy. A damp body obstructs the generation of energy. A dry body creates energy quickly.
What’s better yoga or meditation?
Yoga incorporates more aspects such as physical poses and breathing exercises than just meditation. Relaxation and self-discovery happen through the mind with meditation. While doing yoga, you will focus on physical exercises as well. Yoga is much more physical than just meditation.
What happens to your body when you meditate?
The relaxation response helps decrease metabolism, lowers blood pressure, and improves heart rate, breathing, and brain waves,” Benson says. Tension and tightness seep from muscles as the body receives a quiet message to relax.