How to Add Meditation to Your Recovery

Over recent times, meditation has gone from being something that some would do on mountain-tops, to being an integral part of the routine of everyday people. The vehicle that has driven this transformation is the practice of mindfulness.

Mindful meditation is all about slowing down, appreciating the moment and being more present. It is a practice that lends itself to every area of life, including exercise. Meditation prior to working out can allow you to get into the ideal frame of mind to excel physically and mentally during your session. Meditating while you are training allows you to shut out distractions and focus like a laser beam on the task at hand. And meditating post-workout can help you to recover more effectively and faster from your training session. 

We discover 3 ways that you can add meditation to your recovery routine.

Box Breathing
Breathing and meditation go hand in hand. It is impossible to think about nothing, so focusing on your breathing helps to calm the mind and slow down the thoughts that we are constantly experiencing. Box breathing, which was devised by a former navy seal, is a fantastic post-workout technique to allow your body to relax and recuperate. 

Box breathing involves four steps, each of which is held to a count of five:

(1)  Exhale to a count of five

(2)  Wait for a count of five (empty lungs)

(3)  Inhale to a count of five

(4)  Hold the air in your lungs for a count of five

Begin with 1-3 minutes of continuous box breathing. Then work up to 10 minutes per day. Do your box breathing exercises within the hour after your workout. 

Focus on the Worked Muscle
During your workout, you will have probably given attention to specific muscle groups. In the day after your workout, you should consciously flex that muscle to make a mental connection with it. If, for instance, you have worked your quads during the workout, you will feel every muscle of your thighs the next day. Consciously flex and then relax the muscles of your quads. While you are doing this, create a mental image of increased blood flow, nutrient supply, and growth that is taking place in the muscle. Think about how the effort that you expended the day before is now paying off. Revel in the fact that you are now getting fitter and stronger as a result of your actions. 

Mentally Rehearse the Next Workout
In the hours leading up to your next workout, use meditation to get yourself mentally prepared for them. Run through your entire workout in your mind. Think back on your set and rep numbers last time and see yourself exceeding them; more reps and more weight. Focus on doing each exercise with perfect form, feeling the muscle contracting and expanding through a full range of motion. 

Join A Meditation Class
When you first consider introducing meditation into your workout routine, you can feel a bit unsure of where to begin, if you are practicing it correctly and if it is really having an effect on you. The best thing, to at least get you started is to join on of our meditation classes. Here you can go into greater depth on the principles of meditation and gain a true understanding of how to practice it when you are alone.

Summary
By incorporating meditation into your workout recovery routine, you’ll be able to speed up recovery while enhancing your mind-muscle connection and, ultimately, achieving more productivity for your sweat equity.