Benefits of Meditation
“Our life is shaped by our mind, for we become what we think.” - Buddha
When it comes to being an athlete, there’s a lot to handle. Whether that be dealing with the stress & anxiety from school work, having to memorize/recall plays; & not to mention the fatigue that is experienced after a hard practice or competition.
What if I told you there was a simple tool that would help you manage all those aforementioned variables? Let me tell you about the wonderful benefits of meditation & how YOU can utilize this tool.
Now, some of you might be thinking, “how do I even meditate?” There are many ways to go about it, & we’ll touch on that later. I want to start out by highlighting what meditation does for your brain. A recent NYU Center for Neural Science research report stated,
“Meditation has shown to be affective at decreasing levels of depression, anxiety, pain, psychological stress, and substance abuse. Other benefits reported include decreased blood pressure and inflammation, and improved immune function” (Basso et al., 2019).
This finding indicates the positive outcomes of implementing daily meditation, & further provides reasons to adopt the practice. Wait, the benefits don’t stop there. Let’s take a look at a few other reasons why you should meditate.
Have you ever felt like there was a “fog” in your head impeding your focus? Or you just couldn’t remember where you were supposed to be during a play? If so, here’s another great reason to begin meditating. The behavioural brain research team notes,
"Approximately 10 min of meditation done both before encoding and before retrieval of a Remember-Know Task increased the ability to recognize previously seen images. This study also showed that 10 min of meditation prior to reading a passage of text increased free recall memory of this text” (Basso et al., 2019).
Basically, if you take the time to meditate before practice, a game, or test - you’re more likely to have better memory. Think about how great of an advantage this is over your opponent. Being able to recall their moves & capitalize on situations. So, what are some ways we can meditate?
This study followed a regimen that required at least 13 minutes of continued meditation every day for 8-weeks. Keeping that in mind, here are a few ways you can go about this practice:
Mindfulness - With eyes closed, start by focusing on your breath. Allow thoughts to come & go, then draw attention back to your breathing. Repeat this cycle while attempting to increase the amount of time spent focused on your breath before another thought enters.
Body Scan - Completely relax your body with eyes closed. Starting from your toes, begin to do a “scan” slowly all the way up to the tip of your head. Almost as if you are stepping into a pool of water.
Box Breathing - Laying down with eyes closed & hands on the stomach, take a 4 second inhale through your nose. Hold for 4 seconds. Exhale through the nose for 4 seconds. Hold for 4 seconds. Repeat this cycle.
7 Eleven Breathing - Similar to box breathing, however there are no holds. Inhale for 7 seconds & slowly exhale for 11 seconds. Repeat this cycle.
Make Your Own - The beauty of meditation is your freedom to control your thoughts & feelings. Find what’s best for you, be creative, & enjoy yourself!
New Wave Performance places a huge priority on mental health. We believe that athletes are humans first & support them in any way we can. If you or someone you know is expressing symptoms of depression, anxiety, mood swings, or any other mental health concern - seek help from a mental health professional. An example of which would be a licenced therapist or an online resource like Better Help.
“Quiet the mind, & the soul will begin to speak.” - Buddha
