Trabajando en casa: Meditación

Working out at home is a great way to incorporate a more holistic approach to your fitness routine. In recent years science has proven the strong link between mental and physical health, and how important it is that athletes and non-athletes alike pay attention to what is going on in their brain. In recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, we are going to take a look at how meditation can improve your overall wellbeing.

Taking Care of Your Mind

Similarly to yoga, meditation brings your focus inward, cutting out the noise of a hectic or busy life. This inward focus can help you to identify feelings of pain, stress, and anxiety, and to understand what is causing them. Even if you know what is triggering your stress, understanding your own emotions better is an important step to dealing with them.

Meditation is a tried and true method for reducing feelings of stress and anxiety. It helps you relax and clear your mind, cutting through the jumble of thoughts that often plague us and gives us the space to process them. This is a practice called mindfulness, which has far reaching benefits across almost every aspect of our lives.

Mindfulness can help your focus in day to day life, from at work to your interpersonal relationships. For runners, this focus can also be directed towards a stronger connection with your own body. Maddie Fontaine, an instructor for meditation at the NYRR RUNCENTER, has two practices of mindfulness that help runners. 

“Body scans are wonderful for releasing tension from tight and sore muscles. You can do this lying down on your back or seated with your spine straight. Start with the toes, and gently move your awareness up your body all the way to the top of your head, relaxing each muscle group as you go. Use your breath to help release stress,” she says. Repeating this activity regularly helps you get used to checking in with yourself, mentally and physically. It can help you identify if there are areas of pain or weakness and can help you avoid injuries by being tuned in to what your body needs.

Another method Fontaine recommends is visualization. “Visualization is a great tool, especially for runners,” she said. “Sit with the eyes closed and actively see yourself in your mind's eye achieving your goals. Whether it's a specific distance you want to cover, a PR or time goal, or a way you want to feel on your runs, try to visualize all the details vividly in your mind like they are actually happening. Convince yourself that you can do or feel whatever it is you want. Science has shown that when athletes utilize visualization before a big game or race, they are more likely to reach their goals because they already did it in their mind!”

So What Exactly Is Meditation?

Meditation has existed for thousands of years, but many people have false assumptions about what it entails. Meditation is a practice, similar to yoga, and becomes more effective the more you do it. Deeply personal, it can take many different forms depending on what works best for the individual, but in general the most common method involves sitting still in a quiet space and focusing on one thought, sensation, or feeling for an extended period of time.

This focus can be challenging, especially when you are first starting out with meditation, but it becomes easier over time as you train your mind. Here are some tips for meditation from instructor Fontaine:

• Focus on your breathing. Your breath is connected to your emotions. Just as our breath changes with our emotions, we can use our breath as a tool to transform our emotions. For example, if you notice that your breathing is heavy, shaky, shallow, or too fast, see if you can consciously begin to slow your breathing to deep, steady breaths from the belly. This simple awareness and shift will help to release stress, anxiety, and anger from the body and mind, allowing you to feel more relaxed and at ease.
• Here is a simple breathing exercise called straw breath: Take a deep breath in through the nose and breathe out slowly through a tiny space in the mouth as if breathing out of a small straw. Try to make your exhales at least 10 or more seconds long. You can repeat as many times as you would like. I recommend doing about 5-7 to calm your nerves and center your mind. For runners, this is a great exercise before a race or a workout to get yourself focused and ready to work it!
• For seated meditation, you can try gradually bringing your focus from the outer to the inner. Start by being aware of all the sounds around you and accepting them as part of your environment. Next, move to your body and breath. You can do a body scan here and cultivate a sense of gratitude for each part of the body, as it all works together to help you run! Then, observe your thoughts and just allow them to pass by without attaching onto them, being at peace with them all. After, move to the emotions and accept however you are feeling. Finally, move to that inner silent and peaceful space within where you can sit and just be for a few minutes. To finish, you can take your mind back through all the layers before gradually opening your eyes.

Guided Meditation and Other Resources

For many, guided meditation is the best way for them to practice. Guided meditation, as the name suggests, involves an instructor or narrator verbally leading you through the meditation, helping you to direct your thoughts through gentle suggestions and reminders. For those starting out in meditation, this can be extremely helpful for staying on track.

If you want to seek out guided meditation, you can check out online classes and the many meditation apps available today. Want to meditate with Instructor Fontaine? You can find her and other instructors online here, with paid and free options available and on their Facebook page for daily free videos.

Want to explore taking care of your mental health further by resetting and refocusing your training? Our partners at Abbott, a leader in health tech, are helping you navigate this uncertain time with experts’ tips on nutrition, mental motivation, goal setting, and more on the Abbott World Marathon Majors Twitter feed! Learn more here.