Mindfulness through exercise

[Stick]

Today I exercised after for the first time in a couple of weeks. Immediately after exercising, I started meditating and the results were really good. Like really really good. I did not have much distracting thoughts. And the ones I did had, I was easily able to let go of. I normally cant achieve this level of awareness even meditating after a breathwork session. Does anyone have some insight to why this happens? Is there something better I can do before meditation to increase its effectiveness?

[Carl-Richard]

Endorphins and other neurochemicals make you less volatile and more present. Increased blood flow, decreased heart rate, lower blood pressure. Essentially working out is a source of vital energy, it's the basis of your physical existence. If you don't use your body, you deterioate as a physical being, and your physical being is linked to your mental being.

If it's particularly high intensity training, you also pump a lot of lactate into your brain which is used as an energy source and has especially stimulating neurotransmitter properties, and noradrenaline which increases alertness. BDNF is released which is involved in neuronal growth and plasticity. High intensity training is arguably the #1 brain health intervention after sleep.

Edited Wednesday at 04:58 AM by Carl-Richard

[UnbornTao]

Good point and reminder.

Maybe taking a cold shower.

[Raze]

Shinzen Young has a audio on it called meditating in the zone 

[Ramasta9]

Yes this is basically how I meditate these days. Almost every time i sit and rest in being (meditate), I get the notion to move my body and or release stagnant energies or what not, and then i find after moved the energy, through physical activity, whether through dance, or running, or even working around the garden, i find i can then really sit more deeply and its like I am now integrating all that movement.

I feel it has to do with balance of energies, we need both stillness and movement, silence and sound, darkness and light, to effectively "integrate" one another. I found the first half of my spiritual journey was about meditation, isolation, stillness, fasting, solitude, now its more active (being in the body) and (feeling things), singing, playing music, chanting, expressing the truth or energy (into the world), so to speak... Truth expressed is medicine, truth withheld is poison.

After all, physical activity is the language of physical reality, so I feel when we (shake the body up) we somewhat dispel over-activity of the mind and bring it into the body and channel it out, then the mind is much more whole and empty, peaceful and free. 

Movement is Stillness applied and Stillness is Movement integrated.

 

 

Edited Wednesday at 04:10 AM by Ramasta9

[Alexop]

@Carl-Richard great points!

[Jacob Morres]

Which exercise did you do? 

[Stick]

15 hours ago, Jacob Morres said:

Which exercise did you do? 

Bisecp curls at the time of writing. Today I did shoulder.