There’s a book by that title. It’s been on my reading list now and then throughout the years, but I’ve never read it. Quite frankly, the title is so helpful to me that I’m a little bit afraid that the contents of the book might ruin it for me!
I find mindfulness reading and discussions hopelessly boring. How many pages or hours of discussion does it really take to say “Take a deep breath and notice it. Repeat.”?
However, the application of “mindfulness” into certain practices in my day has done wonders for my energy, tranquility and effectiveness. I find myself more engaged with people, or my projects… I find that states of “flow” and “playfulness” come about more frequently and easily.
Mindful food preparation brings about better tasting food… without recipe books… it’s amazing what your senses of sight and smell can do when they are allowed to do their job!
Mindful eating enhances connection between your food and the purpose of eating. The opportunity to slow yourself down and ease your nature’s anxieties… “Everything’s ok… we have food now.”
Mindful exercise – especially warm-up – brings about a more agile body when you start to sense where those tight corners of your mobility are, or how to activate your nervous system to get your muscles firing throughout their full functional range.
I could go on… and probably bore you to death in the same way that I get hopelessly bored when I read about other people’s mindfulness practices.
And I think there’s something to that.
Something about reading or listening to other’s experiences of mindfulness makes me want to put down that book or turn off my ipod, and go about experiencing the world now in this richer, more engaged way.
I hope you feel the same way! (Bye!)
If, however, you’re at a loss for how you might start doing this, I’d encourage you to simply take hold of the first two-three minutes of your warm-up.
This is often when we start getting the first signals from our body as to how “it” feels about you bringing it down to the gym!
Or, your mind is bombarding you with guilt or anxieties… There’s that project to do, that person to please, “this workout looks hard”, “I don’t recognize half the movements on that whiteboard”, “I’ve never worked out with this person before”….
In this first 2-3 minutes, as you row, pedal, or skip, let each thought cross your mind as it arises… and then let it drift away. (Believe it or not, you don’t have to entertain every single one of the thousands of thoughts you experience everyday!)
Gradually start turning your awareness toward the heat rising up in your body. And then toward your breathing.
Barbells might be dropping. People in conversation. You can notice these things, and then turn your attention back toward your next breath, your next rowing stroke, or close your eyes and pedal the bike a few more seconds drawing your attention to your breath.
Over time, you can learn to turn off the background noise of your life outside the gym and enter fully into your time inside the gym. Engage with the coach, with the other athletes, with your workout, with your body, with your breathing… seamlessly. Maybe even experience “flow”.
Maybe by taming this corner of your life you can start to bring mindfulness to every corner of your life.
So… next time you’re in the gym, give this little exercise a try.
After all, you’ve come to the gym, so you might as well be there.