Love your Body, Love your Mind! Part Two

How To Enhance Your 10 Minutes of ‘Down Time’

Find a space where you are not going to be distracted. Turn off your tech devices and choose a comfortable position.  The magic of down-time is staying present. Thoughts will naturally arise and as they do, let them pass by without any reaction. This practice is called Mindfulness.

Mindfulness is a type of meditation that involves focusing your mind on the present. To be mindful is to be aware of your thoughts and actions in the present, without judging yourself, and without being distracted by stressful experiences from the past (e.g. how crappy the day before was) or stressful anticipation of the future (e.g. everything you need to get done that day). [1]

  • Focus on the breath and use it as an anchor to calm the mind. During this time you will only breathe in and out through the nose as this will enhance parasympathetic activation.  Focus on big inhalations and exhalations.  Place your hands on your belly, you want to feel the belly rise and rib cage expand as your breathe in through your nose and feel the rib cage and belly collapse out of your hands as your breathe out through the nose.  Your diaphragm is a muscle, and working on creating longer inhalations and exhalations will directly improve your ability to breathe.

Two Main Benefits of improving breathing capacity

  • The ability to control your breath and thus your heart rate during stressful situations.
  • Improve exercise performance; by breathing in more oxygen and exhaling greater amounts of carbon dioxide you will be able to prolong the effects of exercise fatigue.

By Kate Fasion, Personal Trainer at The Dan Roberts Group

Check out these cool resources to master mindfulness and getting into the zone

[1] http://www.bengreenfieldfitness.com/2013/12/learn-to-meditate-in-5-minutes/

Kate Fasion Love Your Body meditation mindfulness Wellness