It is well known that both exercise and mindfulness practices are effective in combating anxiety. By combining these activities, we deal a double blow to anxiety!
Физическая активность brings great benefits to our body and psyche. Sports activities reduce tension in the body, contribute to the production of “hormones of joy”, improve blood circulation in the brain and its oxygen saturation, give us a charge of vivacity and energy. Exercise can also help you “let off steam” by releasing accumulated anxieties and unpleasant emotions.
At the same time, it is important that the lessons are enjoyable. Don’t force yourself to exercise because it won’t benefit your mental health and may even make your anxiety worse.
Mindfulness Practice – Another way to deal with anxiety, the effectiveness of which is confirmed by many studies. It helps to gain a deep sense of inner peace. Mindfulness is a way of life in which we constantly focus our attention on the present moment, while maintaining an openness and acceptance in ourselves instead of judging and judging.
Let’s say you notice that your mind is immersed in anxious thoughts about the past or the future. By practicing mindfulness, you are trying to gently redirect your attention away from these thoughts and into what is happening around you right now.
Mindfulness enables us to notice all the positive things that arise in our lives.
Of course, mindfulness will not solve all of life’s problems or rid you of all your worries. But it helps you get out of the “swamp” of distracted and unsettling thoughts and return to reality, where you can deal with problems as they arise.
There is so much happening around us all the time – we always have a choice on what to focus our attention on. Mindfulness makes it possible to notice all the positive things that arise in our lives. This reduces stress levels and helps to respond to what is happening in a measured way, rather than impulsively.
When it comes to physical activity, at first glance it may seem that it can do little to help with anxiety. Yes, sports in and of themselves will not directly affect the situations that provoke it. But they contribute to changes at the level of the whole organism and thereby help you feel the way you would like to, better control your reactions and actions.
What is mindful physical activity?
Any kind of physical activity or sport is suitable for practice. The main thing is to fully concentrate on what you are doing at the moment. Immersion should be complete, distractions are undesirable.
In order for training to take place consciously, during classes it is worth excluding:
- TV, news, radio, video;
- phone calls;
- use of the smartphone for other purposes;
- reading social networks;
- drawing up plans and to-do lists;
- any extraneous thoughts and reflections.
The task is really difficult. In fact, it is even more difficult than it might seem. When we have nothing to distract us, our mind wanders, and anxiety often arises.
For many of us, exercise has become a disgusting duty, and therefore we try to do something else in parallel. Indeed, why not use this time to good use to think about solutions to some problems? Unfortunately, being distracted by extraneous thoughts, we do not get the full result from the classes and often only exacerbate our anxiety.
How to do mindful training
To train consciously, it is important to set aside separate time for this. You devote it to taking care of your body and its development. Allow yourself to fully immerse yourself in this process and enjoy it.
- During training, concentrate on bodily sensations: heartbeat, breathing, movement of muscles and joints. Try not to judge or judge. Just watch.
- Look around. If you are exercising outside, feel the beauty of the nature around you. If you are training indoors, just pay attention to the situation in the room.
- Listen to all the sounds, trying not to miss anything.
- You can listen to music, but try to do it consciously. Music can be energizing, especially when exercising indoors. Concentrate on the sound of the melody and try to move in the same rhythm with it.
- When you notice that your mind starts to wander and anxious thoughts creep in (and this will certainly happen), simply label for yourself what is happening (for example, you can say to yourself: “I am anxious”) and switch your attention back to what is happening right now .
Mindfulness training does not require any special training or equipment. All you need is the desire, practice, and patience to bring your wandering attention back to the present moment again and again. By doing so, you create harmony between your thoughts, feelings, attention and your body.