"I was 17 and at the time I was a professional motocross rider and I remember this period as one of the most stressful of my life.
I had to participate in the Under 21 World Championships, I came from a very difficult season in which I was always required to give 100% in all.
The severe stress caused by this constant pressure soon turned into something even more pressing.
Panic attacks came into my life and my breathing started to get shorter and shorter.
It is from this. moment that I began to bring into my life, thanks also to the teachings of a great master of the time, the practice of meditation; the art that taught me to keep stress away and bring slow, full lungs into my days " .
I did meditation every day and here's what happened
Later I started practicing bodybuilding first as a simple hobby and then turning it into my job.
It was the early 90s and still concepts like stress and cortisol didn't have today's resonance.
Currently the researches have become stronger and, the cases examined, have shown how, precisely in meditation, it is possible to find the many benefits that can do a lot; even in sport.
Meditation is the practice of observing one's own breath.
Discipline that can change our behaviors, affect the brain and regulate emotions
Per years now, meditation has no longer only embraced the sphere of psychological well-being.
In fact, many studies have confirmed that this discipline is able to bring various benefits to our life
- it brings down the levels of inflammation in the brain
- improves the immune system
- fights stress
- relieves physical pain
The benefits of meditation for sports
From these premises it is therefore easy to understand that meditation is a practice that also leads to improving sports performance.
It reduces stress and negative hormones such as cortisol and, in an anabolic battle between testosterone (anabolic) and cortisol (catabolic), it will be the discipline able to keep the latter low with the advantage of increasing muscle mass and being performing. in sport.
Thanks to meditation it is also possible to increase the pain threshold and sustain very intense workouts.
It is focusing on the here and now, a training that teaches you to enjoy the present moment and put your mind in order
The benefits come only through daily practice as if it were a real workout.
You have to train yourself to get to your center where the alpha waves of the brain; the slower waves that are reached with meditation allow us to change the biochemistry of our body and reach the center.
The leading meditation experts all agree that it takes at least 15 minutes to be distributed in 3 moments of the day and that the more the exercise is done consistently, the more you are able to reach your center in less time. (even less than 10 seconds).
In this regard, Jose Silva, a well-known American scholar of the '60s of alpha, theta and delta waves, has shown, thanks to daily practice, to be able to reach theta waves, which are generally reached only during sleep, even when awake.
It has also been shown that, once the alpa and theta waves are reached, the levels of intuition increase dramatically and it is, in this precise phase, that people are able to visualize their successes and reach them more easily.
In this regard, there are many illustrious people from sport, business and the entertainment world, who have visualized their success immersed in meditation, reaching it for real.
Among the well-known who have tried the benefits of meditation we cannot fail to mention:
- Steve Jobs who couldn't stop meditating to develop his ideas.
He started meditating at a very young age, remaining faithful to this discipline throughout his life and coming to introduce meditation within all Apple offices. - In tennis Maria Sharapova and Andy Murray
- Cristiano Ronaldo in Calcium practicing meditation to promote the release of stress (muscle tension) by increasing elasticity and with it recovery and peace
Many studies have shown that meditation, in addition to decreasing stress, leads to an improvement in the immune system and an increase in testosterone .
In particular, research published in the Perspectives on Phychological Science journal shows how meditation:
- strengthen the immune system
- reduce blood pressure
- improve cognitive function
Other researches, however, observe how those who practice meditation on a regular basis, after only 4 months, have a clearly favorable hormonal profile compared to those who do not meditate and how their ability to recover from intense physical exertion or injuries are clearly superior.
A study conducted on strength athletes, on the other hand, where we all know that post workout and during workout pain are always present elements, it was observed that those who meditate are able to withstand this pain much better than those who have never devoted time to this practice. .
Even for injuries , meditation can really do a lot, above all, activate the repair mechanisms in a much faster way.
By causing vasodilation and getting nutrients and blood rich in other factors to the rupture sites, it accelerates healing in an optimal way.
Meditation: what happens to the mind
To benefit from meditation is also the mental aspect both in sport and in everyday life; a benefit that can also come as a result of an injury.
Several studies on injured elite athletes have, in fact, shown how it was possible to make them perform, mentally, a physical performance through the visualization of a race or a workout and how much, at the end of the convalescence period, the athletes were performing and with a very fast recovery.
Another study, however, showed that, since meditation can improve sleep and REM sleep , it is also able to increase recovery.
Indeed, full mental physical recoveryoccurs mainly in deep sleep; the aspect that meditation is capable of improving.
Furthermore, with biochemical monitoring, an increase in blood glutathione levels and a reduction in interleukin 6 have been shown ; a very powerful stress marker.
Continuous meditation is also capable of improving both willpower and inner strength ; this feature improves the mental attitude of the person under pressure.
Conclusions
Unfortunately, despite the great benefits and fields of application that have led meditation to position itself on wider fields of action, there are still many who consider it a futile practice and who are not very clear about the real benefits that this discipline is able to offer.
Everyone faces difficult and stressful moments in their own way: many practice sports, others engage in long walks but each one is moved by the desire to put their lives in order.
After all, the benefits of meditation are precisely these: decrease stress, increase self-confidence and find inner peace.
And do you usually meditate? Did you know the benefits of this discipline?
Let us know everything in the comments !!!
Sources:
Vincent Lakhiani; Meditation
Charles Poliquin; Certification bio signature modulation
