How to Use Aerobic Exercise as Meditation

In meditation, you try to let your mind stop thinking and rather just experience the world around you. If you were meditating while sitting in one place, you would focus on how it feels to breathe in and out, how your body feels and what the floor or chair feels like against your body. You would not describe these experiences to yourself, though -- rather than thinking about how your breathing sounds, you would just listen to the sound of your breathing. If you wish, you can meditate while doing aerobic activity -- the principles are the same as with sitting. It is just a matter of focusing your mind correctly while you do so.

Instructions

1. Start slow. If you are going to meditate while jogging, start by just standing in one place and breathing for a while, letting yourself experience all of your body, from the way your feet are placed on the ground to the way your back keeps you upright. Also, let yourself experience the environment around you -- for example, the temperature, the way the wind feels against your skin, any smells in the air.

2. Speed up a little, still letting yourself experience rather than think. In this example, you would start walking while still letting yourself experience rather than think. This means you wouldn't think about what you're going to do when you get home, how tired you are or anything else that can be characterized in words. Rather, just let yourself experience feelings, sensations and emotions. This is a matter of focusing on the world's effect on you rather than the converse: on the way you feel when things happen, not the way you make things happen.

3. Speed up to your usual aerobic exercise pace while following the same principles. If you feel yourself starting to think, focus on something rhythmic and simple, such as your breathing or the sound of your footsteps.

Tips & Warnings

• You won't master this immediately. If you can block out thoughts for just some of your workout to start with, you are making good progress.

References

• Wildmind: Starting the practice
• How to Meditate: Why Learn to Meditate