Personal trainer tips: The importance of Mindfulness

With everyone having such busy lifestyles it can be hard to be mindful of what’s going on around you. Do you ever take ten minutes to acknowledge how you’re feeling, check in with your thoughts, and relax?

If you pay more attention to the present moment you can start to improve your mental wellbeing and reduce any stress and anxiety.

Here are some tips from us, to help improve your mindfulness:

Meditation:

Take some time in the day to meditate, it doesn’t have to be a lot of time, but mindful meditation can massively help reduce stress. There are various phone apps including ‘Headspace’ that you can use to achieve this.

If you can, meditate at the start of the day to help reflect and get you in a positive frame of mind for the day ahead.

R&R (Rest & Recovery) activities:

Aside from meditating, there are lots of low intensity activities you can do which will complement your higher intensity training well, and will also leave you feeling happy and positive once you’ve done them.

We suggest:

Restorative yoga, going for a massage or sauna, foam rolling, taking naps, taking a bath, leisure, walking in nature, laughing, meeting with friends, cuddling/physical affection, reading, and drinking herbal tea.

I bet at least three of these activities made you smile, so think how much happier you’ll be when you actually get a couple of them into your week.

Take breaks:

A lot of people will work through their breaks and lunch breaks, plus work on their laptop and mobiles both to and from work. Take some time away; use your breaks to actually take a break!

When you don't take regular breaks, you’re not giving your brain a chance to rest. This isn’t sustainable. Take that break, you’ll feel refreshed and more able to relax if you have some time to yourself, even if it’s just half an hour away from your desk at lunchtime.

Eat well and slowly:

Apart from the obvious negative benefits of eating sugary/high fat foods, they can also leave you not feeling great emotionally: you may feel lethargic and lacking energy after consuming such foods. Healthier food will make you feel energised and will power the mind to help you feel positive and at ease.

You should also enjoy and appreciate your food, so don’t force your food down as quickly as possible with the laptop on the arm rest and the TV on in front of you! Enjoy eating, take in the flavours and the experience of feeling sated, don’t rush it!

If you need any further guidance, you can get in touch with our expert personal trainers in Bristol by calling 0117 403 7600, or email info@efitbristol.co.uk

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