How do these things all work together? How are they similar? What can we all gain by practicing each?

People who see me in the gym working out likely wouldn’t peg me as the “meditation” type, whatever that is. If you see me in the middle of a tough workout I’m intense, driven, and probably don’t look like someone to talk to.

They would be 100% wrong. I practice meditation every day! Mindfulness Meditation to be specific.

PART 1 : THE SIMILARITIES BETWEEN MINDFULNESS MEDITATION AND WORKING OUT

There are many reasons why I meditate, reasons that I know help me from experience and even scientifically proven reasons why you should do it too, but today we’re talking about the similarities between Mindfulness Meditation and Working Out.

Most of us go to the gym and the last thing on our mind is being still and at peace, meditating, however if you have ever been deep into a tough workout you’ll know the euphoric feeling of being present in every moment of your workout and not having much notice of your surroundings.

You are able to block out all outside noise and distractions, be it with music or simply the sound of weights clanging around you. If you get distracted, you can get back into the groove, and fast! Some would say you enter a deep state of trance when you are truly wrapped up into a workout, not even noticing where the time has gone once you are done!

What is Mindfulness? From Google : “a mental state achieved by focusing one’s awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one’s feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations, used as a therapeutic technique.”

So, Mindfulness Meditation is a practice of achieving a mental state where you are focused and aware of the present moment. Quite similar to the euphoric, trance-like state you enter when in the midst of a tough workout, I’d say. Many people also use the gym as a therapeutic technique, and its one of the best stress relievers around!

Besides the mental skills and feelings both of these share, they are both skills that need to be practiced and trained to improve with time.

You don’t start off in the gym on your 1st day knowing how to do everything or capable of lifting the weights you are able to after months and years of practice. You won’t notice a difference after a day or two, but start stacking days, weeks, months, years of constant work and you’ll look in the mirror one day and realize a dramatic change has occurred.

The same goes for Mindfulness Meditation. You won’t notice a difference immediately or in a day, but keep practicing the skill and before you know it, you’ll be finding yourself deeper in focus and able to snap back from distractions with ease. The results will creep up on you and you’ll notice the changes!

These are just a few similarities, and you better believe that both practices can have a tremendous benefit on each other and your success in life as well. We’ll cover that in Part 2: The Benefits of Mindfulness Meditation in the Gym!

I’ll also soon be teaching classes and coaching, encompassing all aspects of fitness into one, coaching you to better Fitness, Nutrition, and a better Mindset. They all work together synergistically, and improving all of them together will lead you to the best results in your life.

Until then, if you don’t practice meditation or mindfulness at all, I encourage you to start. 5-10 minutes is all you need, so go out and practice! Your future self will thank you.

Go for greatness,

-PF