 You know
the situation: Your reliable client is suddenly late, and she arrives
breathless and frazzled. It’s your job to not only provide the best and
safest workout
possible but also help her feel better. Much of our daily lives
are spent in our
heads, focused on what we’re thinking and doing rather than
how we’re feeling.
With all the demands of work and home and family (often
tripled around
holiday months), we’re often required to stay one full step
ahead just to get
through the day and allow our clients to get through their day,
too. The problem
is that when we navigate through life led by our thoughts
alone, we miss out
on a world of information available to the body and spirit.
So
you should try meditation… really! Whether you are attempting it
or you are leading
a faithful client down this road, expect it to feel awkward
at first. Prop
them up comfortably against a wall or in a cross-legged position,
and ask them to
try and relax their minds. You might say something like,
“Become acutely
aware of everything around you, but don’t allow anything
to alter your
state of mind. Accept whatever comes up, and kindly banish all
thoughts,
breathing deeply only through the nose. Instead of using energy
to let the
distractions add up, fight inner restlessness by repeating a loving
phrase or imaging
a scene of peacefulness.” Allow clients to sit for several
minutes either
before or after (or both) the physical workout begins.
There
are multiple benefits to performing regular meditation:
- Stimulates your parasympathetic nervous system,
which helps the body
repair and
rebuild.
- Clears your mind for improved clarity and better
sleep.
- Refines your ability to focus on goals and
solutions.
- Boosts the immune system by slowing production of
stress hormones.
Ask the
client to sit in a comfortable position, close their eyes and slow
their breath.
Practice this type of breathing, which focuses on deeper inhalations,
and then apply it
to the posture below during the final stretch with your
clients. On every
inhale through the nose, open and expand your chest (and
heart), then keep
that expansiveness during the exhale. Try to make inhales
slightly longer in
duration than the exhales, maybe in a ratio of six seconds to
four seconds, or
even 10 to eight. Once you have the hang of it, work them
into this
cool-down stretch in order to sustain longer inhales:
Bridge:
Lie back with knees bent and feet fl at to floor. Straighten arms
at your sides
(palms down), and lift hips, walking your shoulders under your
body. Close your eyes, and practice expanding the breath for a minute or
two.
Beth
Shaw is the founder and creator of YogaFit Training Systems Inc. (www.yogafit.com)
and is the author of YOGAFIT. Beth presents at all major yoga and
fitness
conferences worldwide, and she is a frequent contributor to fitness magazines
and a huge animal
rights advocate. She holds a BA in Business from Long
Island University and numerous yoga, fitness and mind/body certifications.
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