Here’s one that seemed surprising, but after I thought about it: it’s not really all that surprising. Meditation can helps improve fitness and lose weight. If you’re sitting there shaking your head and resisting a snort of derision, then you are not alone. Meditation is about relaxing the mind and the body through measured, controlled breathing.
When you center yourself, through meditative breathing, you turn off the body’s biological mechanisms that increase your appetite. Consider for yourself, how you feel when you’re stressed? Your rate of breathing increases and becomes shallow. Your heartbeat picks up the pace. Adrenaline floods your system and your muscles tense. During this same response, your digestion decreases and your metabolism slows down.
In the end, chronic stress can result in a large appetite and for many, a buildup of abdominal fat. Unfortunately, a number of diet plans and heavy-duty physical training can also induce similar stress effects on the body. So how can meditation help reduce these effects?
Simple. Select a quiet, relaxing atmosphere. It can be dark or light. You can sit on the floor or in a chair. You could lie on a bed, but lying down may induce you to sleep so it’s often better to sit up. Focus your breathing, just your breathing. Listen to the sound of it, as you take deep, long cleansing breaths. Try not to think of all the things you need to do or are going to do. If they start clamoring, just let them pass on by, you can catch them on the next round.
Inhale for a count of five. Then exhale for a count of five. After you have this rhythm down, increase it to inhale for a count of eight, then exhale for a count of eight. Continue to deepen your breathing until you are inhaling for a count of ten and exhaling for a count of ten.
As your practice your breathing technique, focus on breathing through your nose and not through your mouth. While this rhythm of deep breathing won’t burn many calories, it will help you filter out the toxins in your blood stream and reduce stress. If you have trouble with the breathing technique there are a number of tapes, CDs and DVDs available that offer meditation assistance. So whether you choose to follow a guided meditation or simply enjoy twenty minutes of restful breathing, discover the effect that meditation can have on your overall fitness levels.
You might be surprised.