Aug 06, 2010

TURN YOUR WORKOUT INTO A MIND BODY EXERCISE

Your workout can produce alot more than sweat

So, you ask, what is a mind body exercise? As the name suggests, it is a way to connect the mind and body thru specific types of exercise. In order to turn your morning jog or run into a mind body exercise, try counting your steps. Don’t count forever. Try counting up to 10 and down to zero over and over again or try counting breaths with the same count.

So, you ask again. Where is this taking me? The answer is to introduce you to the first stage of moving meditation. Making the mind body connection is used in most eastern cultures as a way to self-realization, that state in which you realize your connection with all that there is. Listed below are some easy instructions to help you develop a program.
1) Choose an exercise you enjoy doing. I use a Versa Climber or Treadmill if I can’t go outdoors. If you are near a track you have the advantage of not paying attention to where you are going.

2) Set your timer for 10 minutes to start and choose your method of practice. This could be counting numbers or breaths. Your practice is to keep up the count for as long as possible. When different thoughts enter your mind and you lose your concentration, start again from zero or go back to counting breaths or numbers. Any combination is acceptable. In my class for senior citizens, we slowly walk a circle and count the steps. When we reach our starting point we start again from zero. Round and round we go, just stepping and counting.

3) Slowly increase your counting duration to as long as your exercise session. Remember to always start your count again when and if you lose your concentration. Do not continue without full concentration.

Little by little you will sharpen your mind and start to exert some control over it. Your mind will calm. Your body will relax. Your breath will lengthen and you will slip into a different state of consciousness. Time will pass quickly and before you realize it your workout will be over, leaving you in a state of serenity.