Meditation and high intensity interval training (HIIT) go hand in hand if you open yourself up to the opportunity to use physical activity as a meditative process. People get hung up on this idea that meditation is sitting in the lotus position trying to empty your mind while wondering “when is the timer going off? did I set it for a minute? It feels like I’ve been here for twelve hours. Why is this so freaking hard to do?”
The purpose of meditation in to quiet our overactive minds and the energies in our bodies to tap into knowledge and answers that are bigger than our limited thinking. The answers lie deep inside of us under all the lies that society has fed us (and we have accepted) and under the insecurities and limited thinking we all fall victim to.
HIIT is repetitive and rhythmic, just like chanting. “Nam myoho renge kyo” anybody? Buddhist monks have been chanting this (and full texts) for centuries to tune out the chatter in their minds and drop into the inner knowing within themselves. Look at the rhythmic aspect of HIIT and chanting as the same, and approach your workout like a Buddhist monk, with reverence. Focus in on your form and your breath, challenge yourself to move through the moves faster and with better form than you ever have before. Focusing and increasing the level you are performing at will take you to a place where you have no room for outside thought as you focus only on your body.
This focus on the body takes you directly into your subconscious. According to Dr. Joe Dispenza in his book “Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself,” the subconscious mind actually is a set of unconscious patterns programed into your body and set in place by the time you are 35. He suggests that the subconscious mind accounts for 95% of what we actually do, while the conscious mind only accounts for 5%. Since these subconscious patterns are wired into our bodies exercise can be the best way to rewire and meditate effectively to change our subconscious patterns. It can also be the most effective way to rhythmically distract the subconscious mind from its normal functioning long enough for you to get to your truth.
Before you start your work out session think about the answers you need today. Did you snap at your lover? You know you want to make things right, but aren’t sure how to go about it? Are you stuck on that huge presentation at work, knowing its missing a little something to land the way you want it to? Know that you can figure it out. Calmly tell yourself the answer exists and that you will find it. Ask God, the Universe, source energy, that deep knowing of who you are, whatever works for you; calmly ask it for the answer. Say thank you. Let it go and get into the flow of the workout.
The more compound and difficult moves you use, the shorter the breaks, the less chances you give yourself to think. this is good. Here is a workout i have created specifically for this purpose; I would suggest doing these five moves for 50 seconds on 10 seconds off, repeated three times for an intense 15 minute workout/ reprieve from the ego mind.
— Alternating Backward Lunge with Tricep Kickback. Use dumbbells and kickback as you go into the lunge, go back to start, alternate, repeat.
— Burpees without Pushups. Bend at the knees and place your hands flat on the ground, kick your legs back into a tall plank position, jump your feet back up to your hands, spring up into a vertical jump with your hands in the air; repeat
— Alternating Forward Lunge with Bicep Curl. Use dumbbells and curl as you go into the lunge, go back to start, alternate, repeat.
— Pushups- Standard. Hands about shoulder width apart, elbows to the side.
— Squat to Arnold Press. Start with dumbbells in hand, palms facing your chin. Drop into a squat, and as you come back up rotate your palms towards the wall in front of you as you go into a shoulder press above your head. Drop your arms back in front of your face, palms facing your chin as you drop into a squat again. Now start your Arnold press from the squat position on the way back up. Repeat.
