Should you Meditate before or after Exercise?


Be it aerobic or anaerobic, workouts have a lot of benefits like weight control, better mood, and enhanced sleep. Along with these edges, some individuals may also face issues like heart complications and exhaustion when the workout level steps up. Some people believe in meditation after a workout session while others prefer it prior. Both of these practices may have some admirable ups and downs.


People are often confused with queries like Should I meditate before or after workout. While manifesting one working answer may be complicated, we here listed valuable insights to enlighten you with the probable solution. 

What is meditation used for?

Meditation steps out to bring about fitness in physic as well as the mind. It is marked out that meditation can have the power to develop gray matter and other frontal regions. With this, the individual can enhance with attributes like better learning, cognition, and memory. Also, it is seen that the meditative practices can address anxiety, depression, and anxiety. 


The above insights make it clear how mindfulness can bring about serenity in the self. These edges can impact and get handy in areas like workplace pressures, workouts stress, and other life-related anxieties. 


Effects of Meditation before or after workout

Workout and meditation are two interesting approaches that can be linked or treated as different practices. Individuals can employ both of these techniques to ensure positive well-being. Combining meditation and workouts can actually give favorable results. 


While workouts focus on boosting endurance and flexibility, meditation can help to bring about balance and relieve stress. A research by B.L. Alderman [1] studied the effect of combining meditation and exercise. The study on fifty-two participants showed that a combination of 30-minute meditation and 30-minute aerobic exercise reduces depression, and rumination thereby leading to enhanced brain activity. 


Looking into applying both of these procedures together, multiple queries may arise. A popular query is Should i meditate before or after workout. To understand what chronology would work for you, let us look into different combinations here:


Meditation after Workout

Meditation after workout is often treated as a relaxing session. The physical stress and breath can impact an individual through the rest of the day. In these cases, a quick Vipassana session can relieve stress. If the objective is just about relaxation, one may opt for any comfortable posture to relieve pains. Evidently, the motto is to bring focus to the breath. Along with these insights, here are some quick tips that we suggest to make your cognitive session productive:

  • Start with as short as five minutes of practice. Note that consistency is more important than time.

  • Rest your legs and hands while you meditate. This will rejuvenate the power lost in the workout.

  • If you are breathing heavily, continue the practice till you observe the breath pattern turned normal.

  • Keep away from distractions for a while.



Meditation before workout 

Comprehending the effects of meditation after workout may not always mean that meditation has no effect before exercise. Some people can prefer mindfulness just before starting workouts to think about the day peacefully. Also, it can warm up the muscles to make it ready to stretch. 


Workout sessions may often result in excitement. Accordingly, meditating after can be arduous for some people. They can schedule mindfulness before to make out the best of the combination. 


So, Should I meditate before or after workout?

Meditation and cardio are both important regimes that an individual can opt for. Choosing the perfect set can be as difficult as choosing one among them. 


Based on the above insights, we suggest you meditate after a workout session. This chronology can smoothen out the aberration caused by heavy workouts.  Also, the individual can start the day well.


Nonetheless, putting meditation before can also be helpful for people who are looking for a good start for their exercise. Here we have tabulated our insights for your quick reference:



MEDITATION BEFORE WORKOUT

MEDITATION AFTER WORKOUT

Advantages

  • Stretches the body before exercise

  • Helps to plan the workout and the day with a peaceful mind

  • Relaxes the body and relieves pain after exercise

  • Helps to rejuvenate for the day after a hectic workout

For those 

Who are looking to address their excitement and anxiety for the day.

Who are looking to finish out workout smoothly 

What Meditation Technique(s) work

Stretching meditation, Walking Meditation

Breathe therapies  and Vipassana



Concluding thoughts 

When properly planned, both meditation and workout sessions go hand in hand. This process is made simple with the above insights. Based on your need, you may choose to put meditation before or after exercise. Check out the quick summary provided above and share this with all the health enthusiasts to make them healthier. Evidently, we cannot forget the magical powers of meditation



References:

[1] Alderman, B. L., Olson, R. L., Brush, C. J., & Shors, T. J. (2016). MAP training: combining meditation and aerobic exercise reduces depression and rumination while enhancing synchronized brain activity. Translational psychiatry6(2), e726-e726.

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