Help Clients Bring Mindfulness To Their Workouts For Overall Wellbeing
To me, fitness is so much more than getting in 10,000 steps a day or making sure I hit the mat first thing in the morning. Fitness is not only a hobby, a lifestyle, a career, but also a passion… one that keeps my mind and body feeling whole. If you’re not viewing physical fitness through a mix of physical and mental wellbeing, then you’re missing the true potential movement holds.
So it’s time to shift your mindset.
When something you love turns into a job, it can be hard to continue to see it as anything but “work”. But consider this our reminder: as fitness professionals, we’ve been given the privilege to help change people’s lives; both physically and mentally.
It’s our duty to ensure fitness isn’t viewed as a dreaded task getting in the way of what a client really wants to be doing that day. Instead, it’s meant to give them the energy, confidence, and attitude they need to get out there and do what it is they want to do that day. It’s meant to fulfill them; fuel them. And you!
So taking a moment to breathe, thank the body, and get mindful before diving into movement allows the body to prepare itself for what’s to come, while simultaneously clearing the brain of the chaos and distraction that so often fills it throughout the day. It sets the tone that this time is your time and you’ll be grateful to use it as such.
That’s why we feel so good after a workout, isn’t it? For that moment in time – for that 30 minutes, 45 minutes, 60 minutes – we’re in a completely different state of mind. A different world, for that matter.
That little escape is vital to my day to day, especially once I began to look at it as that: an escape.
Which is exactly what I aim to provide for my clients, members, and followers.
Let’s encourage our clients and participants to not only join in on movement because of the transformations their bodies will experience, but also (and more importantly) because of the transformations their minds will experience. Endorphins are a beautiful thing!
In the fitness industry, we become witness to a person’s entire demeanor changing as soon as they’ve completed that previously dreaded sweat session. Sure, they’ve done some good for their body by pushing it physically, but what they’ve done for their mind is just as powerful… and empowering.
An anxiety-ridden brain is popping off with feel-good chemicals. Stressors from the workday are melting away. Clarity returns to a once foggy brain. The positive mental and emotional side effects from physical fitness are actually what bring a lot of people to start incorporating the practice into their daily routines in the first place.
When we look at movement as a way to celebrate our bodies and nourish our minds, it changes the entire purpose with which we step into our workout, and that is always my number one goal for everyone.
