Top 5 Ways Athletes Benefit from Meditating

Meditation is simply taking the time to quiet the mind and to be still without distractions. You can meditate with a specific purpose, or you can just let your thoughts wander. Make reflecting and meditating a habit by scheduling time for it daily. If you’re an athlete, there are numerous benefits that you can get from meditating

Top 5 Benefits of Meditation For Athletes

1. It will help you stay calm and balanced. Because most things you do are “for time” or are at “max intensity.”  With meditation, you can just BE and actually take your time, slow down, and relax.  The benefits from calming your mind, and giving yourself a mental break are huge. You’ll be able to sort through your thoughts and focus your attention on what matters most. This practice will actually help you to focus better when you’re in the gym because you’ll have a clearer mind that is less distracted on the irrelevant.
2. It will help you feel less anxious and stressed. One of the biggest benefits of meditating is to reduce your stress levels. If you’re incredibly motivated to reach your goals, then you are likely working your ass off and you feel a bit of pressure. You place expectations on yourself, and want to live up to your capabilities. Meditating can help to reduce your stress, and eliminate unnecessary pressures, expectations, and harmful thought patterns.
3. It will help you recover. You’re likely already prioritizing recovery strategies that help your body, but it’s also imperative to practice mental rejuvenation. If you’re coming off of a challenging training cycle or event, then you can set up some mental recovery to help you bounce back quicker. When you could use a break from training, spend some extra time meditating, relaxing, and pursuing other passions that help you feel rejuvenated.  This will help to restore your mind so that you can hit your training hard again after a couple of days off.
4. It will help you to be more adaptable. If you want to compete with the best, you have to learn how to channel your thoughts so that they help you and don’t hold you back. When you can control your emotions and attitudes, you’ll be able to get the most out of your abilities. Meditating helps you tune into your thoughts and therefore you’re more aware of which ones are impacting you.  Mental awareness is an incredibly valuable asset to performance.

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