Staying healthy isn’t just a physical matter; our minds can profoundly impact our bodies, especially if we’re under stress. Fortunately, we can take care of our mental well-being in many ways, one of the most accessible being meditation.

But what if you, like many adults, have a full schedule? How are you supposed to fit in meditation and exercise? As it turns out, you don’t have to approach these activities separately.

As we’ve learned from fitness trainer Andrew Barnett in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, you can marry meditation and exercise into one activity. In fact, doing so can amplify the effects of each.

Learn About Meditation

Despite what popular culture implies, you don’t have to sit cross-legged with your eyes close to meditate. Actually, there are many different ways to meditate, and many of them involve movement.

So before you tackle the meditation-exercise combo, it’s a good idea to do a little research. To get the most out of your experience, you should know the main purposes of meditation:

• Becoming more attentive of the outside world
• Cultivating stillness and focus
• Promoting introspection

If your meditative practices aren’t helping you achieve the above, it’s time to adjust your approach.

Choose Physical Activities You Enjoy

One of the secrets to a great workout is picking physical activities you actually like. If you choose something you don’t enjoy, you’re more likely to find excuses not to exercise. Besides, there are so many different options, from team sports to solitary jogging, that there’s something for everyone.

Of course, you may not know what you enjoy if you haven’t have much experience with sports or physical training. Fortunately, Andrew Barnett can help you try out new activities and ensure you’re doing them correctly. As a fitness trainer, he’s dedicated to helping his clients reach their greatest potential and enjoy the process.

You should also remember that when you exercise, you’re doing this for you and no one else. You don’t have to participate in competitive culture or compare yourself to others. It’s all about your personal journey and achieving your own goals.

Treat Yourself With Kindness

When you practice meditation, it’s essential that you treat yourself with kindness. For many people, this may seem in opposition to exercise — isn’t the point of physical activity to push yourself? Can you really progress toward your goals if you’re content with what you can do now?

The answer is: Yes, you can progress while being kind to yourself. The key is to shift your focus. Instead of looking to the future and judging your current self against it, appreciate what your body can do now. This isn’t limited to quantitative information, such as how many pounds you can lift or how many reps you can do. You should also examine the qualitative progress, such as not breathing as hard after your warmup or enjoying a good stretch.

This kindness lays the foundation for the other aspects of meditation you’ll need to master, such as introspection. You may also find you enjoy physical activity more if you’re less harsh and judgmental with yourself.

Exercise Consistently

The next step is to set aside time to consistently exercise. Carving out time for ourselves can be difficult, especially with the responsibilities of work and family, but it’s crucial to maintaining our health. Think of it this way: The healthier and more centered you are, the better able you are to meet those responsibilities.

Setting aside time also allows you to develop consistency. Like flossing or saying “thank you,” exercise is a habit — if you want it to become a part of your life you take for granted, you need to practice it on a regular basis.

Accept the Moment

As we mentioned earlier, meditation is about focusing on the “now.” Try to be in your body as much as possible — even when it’s uncomfortable.

This type of awareness is a key part of many types of meditation and the physical aspect of exercise can actually help you achieve it. As you move, take stock of the sensations in your body; you can even focus on one area, such as your feet, and move to different parts as you go.

The other aspect of accepting the moment is to expand your awareness to your surroundings. Listen to the world as you move through it, feel the air on your skin and drink in the sights. It can be difficult to be aware of both internal and external stimuli at the same time, so practice moving back and forth between the two. Gradually, you’ll find it easier to be aware of many factors at once.

Practice Focus

Meditation is also a way to practice focus. In many ways, this is the opposite of awareness — instead of trying to experience as much as possible, you’re limiting your attention to one thing. You can alternate practicing open awareness and focus during your exercise routine, just as you move from internal to external awareness.

To focus, you’ll want to choose one thing to dedicate your mind to. It can be your breathing, the sound of your feet on the pavement or a point in the distance. For best results, whatever you’re focusing on should be either stationary or rhythmic in its movement, and it shouldn’t be too complex. You should be able to focus on it without expending too much mental energy.

Use Mindful Breathing

Mindful breathing is usually part of Meditation 101, as it’s an excellent way to both achieve focus and stay aware of your body. If you’re exercising, it can have additional benefits, as breathing is incredibly important during physical activity.

While many people use mindfulness to control their breathing, you can use it to simply encourage awareness while breathing normally. For example, as you get into physical activity, your breathing will become more ragged, quicker, and perhaps not as deep. Notice the changes throughout your workout and think about how your breathing changes as you progress through your fitness journey. You’ll gradually learn more about your body’s responses and how breathing plays into them.

Ditch the Tech

Many people like to listen to music or podcasts while they exercise and that’s a great strategy to stay motivated and enjoy your workout. However, if you want to incorporate meditation into your physical activity, it’s better to leave technology at the door.

This includes phones, smartwatches and other devices that connect you to the world via the internet. While connectivity is a great thing that meditation actually encourages, online connectivity and physical/internal connectivity are two different things. In fact, online connection can interfere with mindfulness by creating distractions; for this reason, you’ll want to either leave your device at home or put it on airplane mode until your workout is done.

Are you ready to combine meditation and exercise? If you want to increase mindfulness while getting healthy, you should contact Andrew Barnett in Fort Lauderdale. With a personal trainer as your guide, you can transform your workouts and take the first step toward living your best life.

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