Learning to Meditate through Exercise

By dougnau on Apr 25, 2009 in Personal Growth, Stress Coaching, Wellness Coaching

Over the past 5 years I’ve been a student of quieting the mind. At the core of meditation, one learns to lessen the running conversations in our head by focusing on the breath, a word, an object etc., all the while and allowing the thoughts that flow in and out of our consciousness to simply pass. The result, a profound quieting of the mind and the capacity to draw from that capability at times of distress. In turn, numerous studies have proven the physical health effects of this practice which include lowered blood pressure, a better capacity to manage stress, improved blood flow to the extremities, and a reduction in anxiety.

While I’ve dabbled in the art of meditation myself, I’ve struggled to make the practice a regular part of my life. I have, however, spent nearly all of my life practicing different forms of exercise and upon a recent 40 mile solo bike ride through the local hills and farmlands of Placer County, CA., I was able to clearly define the relationship between these two activities.

Why is repetitive exercise similar to Meditation?

At 7:30 Saturday morning, five minutes after leaving my house, I was on the well paved rural country roads devoid of traffic. The only distractions to my incessant pedaling were the occasional dog barking at me (luckily all were within the farmhouse fences), the few cars passing by, and the beauty of nature that I was one with as the sun was rising. I am no Lance Armstrong, and as I began my 40 mile ride, I recognized that I’d have a good 2.5 + hours on this particular journey and within the beauty of the scenery I began to think about life. Wasn’t this a fantastic opportunity (away from the kids, work, people) to think about where my life was headed and what could I do next in my journey of personal growth. Terrific – I had 2.5 hours to make some real progress!

A minute passed pondering the topic, a beautiful bird distracts me, peddle up the hill, peddle and gain acceleration downhill, breathe, grab some water, peddle. Where was I? 15 minutes later – oh yes – about the future… Another uphill, focus on peddling, feel the fresh air, grab some water, I’ve gone 8 miles.

You get the idea. 2 hours and 45 minutes passed and I admit that I had no success during this time thinking about any of the plans in my personal life journey, and I probably spent 2+ hours of that time thinking about nothing other than pedaling, observing the scenery, watching my path and being one with the bicycle.

I admit that during my ride, I had the inspiration to write this article, however I had no success thinking about it for more than a few seconds. In fact, the meditative state that I experienced on the ride was only brought about because I couldn’t think about what the article would entail. I was 100% focused on the simple goal of keeping the legs moving with the occasional distraction from an external stimulus (ie: a big rig driving by), and a few wandering thoughts that lasted only moments.

Does repetitive exercise really have the same result as meditation?

I do not know of any existing studies that have looked at repetitive exercise and compared its physiological effects to those one experiences with meditation. Certainly its a difficult analysis to perform because exercise inherently lowers blood pressure, burns calories to help reduce weight, reduces stress, improves circulation, releases feel good endorphins and improves mood. So if someone practiced repetitive exercise for 30 minutes 5x/week, would one be experiencing the benefits of meditation or the physical counterpart of exercise? I don’t know that anyone knows that answer, but I do know that the results ascertained are real regardless of what is happening.

From the non-physical perspective, I can attest that one definitely can have a very similar (if not identical) result from repetitive exercise as they would from practicing meditation because all people that exercise, no matter what that exercise is, tend to shift their consciousness away from the ‘worries and tribulations’ of every day life, to something much simpler during that time. How many people worry about their children while on their 5th mile on the treadmill? If they do, usually that worry dwindles quickly. In essence the repetitive motion and physical exertion is a forced meditation (or focus on one thing). The most significant difference I can see is the learned capacity for one to induce a calming/meditative state at any time regardless of the situation. For example, the practice of meditation or calming principles behind it can be used when flying to Europe (or in nearly any situation), whereas putting on the running shoes to go for a jog is not nearly as simple to conjure up.

What about other forms of exercise?

I’ve been involved with exercise and sport my whole life. I can only speak from my personal experience in competitive sport and repetitive exercise as I draw these conclusions. Keep in mind however I am drawing from over 30 years of practice and personal experience. I’ve spent a significant amount of my life playing tennis, basketball, baseball, soccer, running, cycling, and strength training. From the perspective of your induced mental and emotional state, there is a difference between repetitive exercise and competitive sport.

My primary sport was tennis. I can attest to being 100% focused on the sport when I played competitively (and even sometimes recreationally). Tennis, like basketball, baseball, and soccer, were all accompanied with a flurry of emotion which fueled success. I’d experience excitement, anger, frustration, elation and would regularly scream at myself to get ‘fired up’. While thoughts of the world outside the tennis court, soccer field etc., were few and far between, I was experiencing a world of life itself within that venue.

Running and cycling on the other hand (and I suspect other repetitive sports like rowing do the same), have the unique quality of drawing the participant back to one particular focus. Pulling, pedaling, moving the legs. The mind is forced not to wander too far from the task at hand and there’s little room for pause and thoughts that do not support you in achieving the goal. While non-repetitive sport can have a fantastic physical benefit, it does little to induce a meditative state.

Is being in ‘The Zone’ similar to being in a Meditative State?

Have you ever been in ‘The Zone’? On the tennis courts I can recall a handful of occasions over my life in which I was in the zone (and these were 15 years ago). The experience was so powerful that I can clearly remember what it was like. This being said, being in ‘The Zone’, which is far less controllable and almost impossible to ‘induce’, is much different from being in a meditative state.

When I was in the zone, in tennis I could do no wrong. My timing was impeccable, my reactions stellar, my choices perfect, and my body explosive. Its a state I never learned to induce at will despite playing the sport 3 hours per day for 15 years. In the zone, even if I missed a shot (which would be rare in that state), it would be greeted with a laugh because one knew they could do no wrong. This is what its like to be in the zone. I recall that it was almost as if the sport were playing itself when I were in the zone. The sport was passing through me as if I were not even present. I’d be thinking about the beach, the cute girl watching the match, anything and everything, with little focus on the sport which was coming so easily at that moment. You get the idea, being in the zone is a sweet state, but its much different than the focus and quieting that meditation and repetitive sport can provide. The good news is that its much easier to hop on a bike in the country than to be in the zone on the tennis courts!

How do I use exercise to learn meditation?

So you’ve wanted to meditate or glean the benefits of meditation. You’ve found it difficult to get the hang of it because your mind keeps wandering. Consider starting with repetitive exercise. Turn off the TV so that you are not distracted by needless thought while you’re practicing this. Observe what happens to the mind. Focus on observing your thoughts. Notice that you’ll struggle with that focus. My guess is that within 30 seconds your mind will be back on pedaling or jogging (or your exercise of focus). As soon as you lose the thought, you are in essence in a state of meditation. As soon as you can refocus on your thoughts – you no longer have a quiet meditative mind. Notice the difference, once you think about it, you are no longer in it!

After you finish your exercise (make it 20-30 minutes to start), think back to what happened during the run/ride/repetitive sport of preference. Where were your thoughts? If you can only think of a few that ran in and out of your mind (which is likely), you’ve experienced what it is like to quiet the mind. Imagine the thoughts that may have run through your mind if you just sat in a room and were told not to think for 20-30 minutes. The conversation in your head would start by being wildly creative, flowing from the email you received this morning, to the stock market, to your parents health, to the wild scene you saw on Jerry Springer last night. Notice the difference.

Once you’ve done this you’ve seen the power of repetitive exercise in quieting the mind. Use this experience as your launching pad to understanding the experience and process of meditating.

Be Well