Exercise Your Mental Clarity

As you read in the last post "How Healthy do you Vacation?", you will notice how exercising doesn’t always mean training JUST your biceps or glutes with videos you found scrolling through Instagram. You also must exercise your brain. As any training does, training your mind to relax and work in a way that is best for your health takes practice and consistency. Meditation does not sound appealing to everyone. Many don’t know where to start or how to get their mind into a steady state. Don’t worry, I have a few tips, tricks and steps you can follow to become more comfortable with being in your own mind.

If you read our last blog, I mentioned the app Headspace. Again, this is a great tool for beginners, or even people who like to be walked through a meditation flow. People can benefit from meditation in a variety of ways. Whatever you want to accomplish from meditation, set that as your “why”, similar to having a “why” for your fitness goals. Having this in mind can trigger your body to recognize these as needs when in a steady and relaxed state. It is crazy how powerful the mind can be! Here are some steps to start you down your path to a sound mind:

1. Put your phone on airplane mode (except for the timer) and get away from distractions.
2. Sit Indian style on the floor or just on the edge or your bed, with your hands on your legs and feet flat on the floor, picking up how they feel on ground.
3. Close your eyes and take a long deep inhale through your nose for a count of 5 seconds, and then exhale through your mouth for a count of 10 seconds.
4. After you get the rhythm, stop counting and just let it naturally happen.
5. FOCUS on the breath when you close your eyes. Imagine your belly expanding and deflating.
6. Thoughts are likely going to float into your mind - about anything (i.e. I don’t know how I’m going to fit in my workout today or I still need to go grocery shopping) It’s completely normal. Let it happen. Think of these thoughts as a cloud in your mind and recognize that it's there, but don't react. Refocus your attention to the breath again - stay unwavering with it.
7. Once the mediation time has expired, say out loud ONE thing you're immensely grateful for... it can be anything.

Try meditating at least once a day. You can test out which time of day is the most relaxing or easiest time to get into your own head. Throughout the day, be conscious of your emotional and mental state and how you react to situations. Over time, you will probably discover how less reactive you are in less than ideal situations in your personal and/or business life. If you would like, keep a journal and note the changes you see. You may surprise yourself more than you expect!