FormWell Personal Fitness Training : "Mindful" Exercise


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"Mindful" Exercise

Sorry that it's been a while since I have written a FormWell newsletter, but I wait until a topic inspires me and this one came to mind a few weeks ago, I just waited for the right moment to put it down on paper. This month's topic is what we in the fitness industry call "Mindful Exercise". This may sound simple and straightforward, but it is anything but. Psychologists will tell you that when it comes to intense exercise and pain management, which are basically the same thing, there are generally two types of people, "associators" and "dissassociators". Both ways to approach exercise are effective, appropriate and work well for different types of people and in different situations.

Associators tend to be completely in the moment when they are doing an intense exercise, or event. They are in touch with their body, their breathing, what is going on in their brain, basically everything both physiologically and psychologically with the movement. Incidentally, this is what 99% of professional athletes, dancers, and performers etc. call being "in the zone". They are unaware of everything around them, time seems to stand still and they will tell you after the event, exercise or performance that it was almost a spiritual experience. Their focus is complete and cannot be broken.

Dissassociators tend to be completely un-connected to the movement, exercise, etc. that they are performing. They talk, joke, laugh, cry, basically try anything to distract them from the task (and pain) they are performing. This applies to 99% of casual exercisers. For most of us, pain is something we try to avoid (except, of course, this author, who actually pays money and travels hours to do triathlons, but my pathology is a whole different discussion), and when we feel it, we try our best to think of something that "takes our mind off it".

Of course, you should apply whatever technique fits your personality, and this is not an article to try to change who you are as a person. Most of us are a mix of the two given different situations. What I would like all of you to try is, once in a while, be more "mindful" during your exercise. This means, be more focused on what you are doing, not what you would like to talk about, or what your neighbor is doing, etc. This can occur for 5 minutes during your daily cardiovascular workout, or during a really challenging set of squats, or during a yoga class. Just practice being "in the moment", I think you will be really pleased with the result.

If this concept is completely alien to you, I will give you an easy way to accomplish it, even if it involves being in the moment for only 60 or 90 seconds. MAKE THE SET, YOGA, OR CARDIO INTERVAL SO HARD THAT YOU HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO BE IN THE MOMENT. Trust me, when I compete in a triathlon, there are not many moments that I am thinking about my mortgage. This mindful exercise causes what I like to call "true quiet time", and don't we all need some more of that in our lives? Intense exercise, performances, etc. "cleanse the mind" and allow us to shut off our overly "noisy" brains, even if it is for only 30 minutes per day.

Give it a try, trust me, you won't be disappointed!