Fitness is important to a lot of people with aspirations of feeling and looking good being apparent in much of the UK population. Roughly, 61% of Brits exercise according to recent data collected by the UK Government and while exercise is great for your physical health, it can also boost your mental health too.
However, if you’re really looking to improve your mental wellbeing then mindfulness and medication are not to be missed. Not only can this clear your mind from stress but it can also improve your self-awareness. Plus, it can take as little or as long as you want and can be added to your fitness routine to make sure your whole body has had a good workout at the end of your session.
We’ve only begun to scrape the surface of the benefits of mindfulness and meditation in a fitness routine, so to help you gain a deeper understanding of its value, we’ve put together a handy guide. This will cover more of the benefits of being mindful and meditating as well as how you can incorporate it into your exercise routine.
What is meditation and mindfulness?
Mindfulness meditation is all about sitting silently and being present with your thoughts. You’ll focus your breathing and ensure your mind never starts to wander from the present, which helps to calm the mind and relax the body. Around 8.3 million people do it in the UK, which shows just how popular it can be.
What are the benefits of doing it?
Reduce stress
Whether you’re swamped at work or you’re feeling anxious following a personal injury, practising mindfulness can clear your mind. This is particularly important for the latter because you can claim compensation for a personal injury to help you but you’ll also need to calm your mind too and the combination of both will be needed to get you back to a normal way of life.
Reduce negative emotions
When negative thoughts cloud your mind, it can get in the way of life and in this case, your workout. Meditation lets you free these thoughts and focus on the positives so that your mental state is in a much better place when you go to exercise.
Lower heart rate
Whether you’re meditating at the beginning of your workout or the end, lowering your heart rate is a great idea. Meditation will let you ease your mind and relax your body, so you can start or end your workout with your body in a good place.
How can you incorporate it into your workout regime?
Meditation and mindfulness are easy to incorporate into your workout regime. Here are some of the options for doing it:
- Give yourself more
- Do it before or after your exercise if you don’t want to slow your mind and body down during
- Go to classes
- Don’t be afraid to miss a day if you’re not feeling it
