Find a Practice That Connects Your Mind and Your Body
Have you ever laid in bed for hours while your mind races? No matter what you do, you can’t seem to turn it off. It’s no wonder our minds are hard to control. We are infiltrated daily with the news, issues in our workplaces, the problems of our friends and families, advertising, social media; the list goes on. Our minds are filled to the brim with messages we are both aware and unaware of. So, how do we maintain a focused, positive mindset?
We all know that our mindset is a powerful tool in directing our lives. We read books and blogs about the power of thought. As a result, we make daily affirmations and keep gratitude journals, and I’m a believer that these are very positive daily practices. However, I want to share the one connection that solidified my awareness of my mindset and enhanced my mental, emotional, and physical health immensely. This is the mind-body connection, and by finding practices that help us embrace and recognize this connection, we will gain more control over our mindset in other scenarios.
Increase the Mind-Body Connection Using the Breath
The Law of Attraction tells us that everything starts in the mind, and yoga tells us that control of the mind starts in our bodies with the breath. If we control our breath, the mind and the body will follow. For this reason, I’ve deepened my mind-body connection through control of the breath.
“The mind and the breath are intimately connected and the activity or the cessation of activity of one affects the other.”
The passage goes on to recommend rhythmic breath control for achieving mental equilibrium and inner peace. These practices have taken me years to understand, but they don’t have to be complicated. You don’t have to spend long hours sitting in silence on a meditation mat. You don’t even have to perform the physical practice of yoga. You can start with any activity you genuinely enjoy!
Utilizing Physical Activities as Forms of Meditation
The next time you perform any activity you enjoy (e.g., walking, jogging, dancing, cleaning, biking — literally anything that requires body movement), see if you can sync your motions with your breath. If sitting or lying on the floor in silence is all you’ve considered as meditation, I want you to understand that any activity in which you connect the motions of your body with each inhale and exhale is also a form of meditation.
I personally find flow-style yoga to be one of the most meditative practices for syncing my breath, my body, and my mind. However, I also bring awareness to my breath while mountain biking and whitewater kayaking. Over time, after practicing breath awareness during these activities, I automatically regulate my breathing patterns approaching large or stressful features, which brings more clarity to my mind. I believe the practice of breath awareness in our physical activities will translate to other scenarios, eventually enabling us to have a clear, focused, and positive mind wherever we are.
The next time you lift weights at the gym or break out the art supplies, think about connecting your motions with each inhale and exhale and allow the practice to bring more clarity and focus to your mind. See if it helps you improve your mindset over time, and let me know the results!
Shout outs
Cover photo by Shashi Chaturvedula on Unsplash.
This article can be found on Medium in the publication, In Fitness And In Health. They are a fast-growing health and fitness community dedicated to sharing knowledge, lessons, and suggestions to living happier, healthier lives. Huge thanks for publishing this article and providing a platform for health, fitness, and wellness topics!