Train Your Brain
Mind over Matter: Use your mind to stay off the ‘injured reserve’
Nita Sweeney
Aside from missing a PR (or BQ) by seconds, few things distress a distance athlete more than an injury. While it’s impossible to entirely prevent injury, runners and walkers can use a number of tools to reduce the risk of winding up on the “injured reserve.”
Let’s look at one option you might not have considered: mindfulness.
What the heck is “mindfulness” anyway?
Mindfulness means to pay attention to life experiences nonjudgmentally, in real time.
While the term “mindfulness” includes the word “mind” which might be confused with thinking about something, the definition of mindfulness is nearly the opposite. Rather than thinking about what is happening, you inhabit it, experience it, be with it, as it occurs. And, instead of considering experiences as good or bad, mindfulness practice encourages viewing things more clearly by seeing them as pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral instead.
What benefits does mindfulness have?
Regular practice of mindfulness helps you develop calm, concentration, and clarity. It teaches you to relax, focus, and become aware of what’s actually going in your body and the world around you. The benefits are scientifically proven. And, injury prevention is one of those benefits.
How can mindfulness reduce injury risk?
A number of things increase the odds that you may become injured. These include overuse, misalignment, muscle tension, and bad luck. While mindfulness can’t help with bad luck, it does address the other three.
People who practice mindfulness develop the ability to calm themselves, learn how to focus their mind on a chosen object, and build the ability to see things as they are. Let’s look at these one by one:
Calm
When you think of working out, chances you don’t think of relaxation. Rather, words like “exertion, force, or will” fill your mind.
While you need to develop those other skills, you also need to learn how to relax while you’re moving. It’s an inner relaxation which encourages you to use only the precise amount of force necessary to accomplish the task you are asking your body to do.
When it’s time to push through, you have energy at the ready. Those relaxed muscle are less prone to injury and more effective in helping you meet your goals.
Concentration:
Mindfulness develops focus. With practice, you increase the ability to put your attention where you want it and bring that awareness back when you notice you’ve drifted off.
By being aware of how your body feels in any given moment, you will be more alert to the early warning signals your body gives. You also notice tension and can modify your activity accordingly.
Clarity:
Many of us move as a way to escape, to zone out. We long for that interval in our run or walk when time flies and we’re done before we know it.
The peril with zoning out is that we don’t know what’s going on in our bodies. We may not feel an ache or a pain that could signal an impending injury. We may not realize we’re working too hard for our ability.
How do you develop mindfulness during movement?
Mindfulness in infinitely adaptable. You can do it anywhere at any time. Follow these steps to incorporate mindfulness into your workout:
Choose a movement form.
Choose an interval such as a distance or period of time.
Choose an aspect of experience such as your breath, your foot falls, your arm swing. Sounds and scents and sights work too. This is called the “object of meditation.”
Begin the movement practice. As you move, place your awareness on the object you have chosen.
When your mind wanders (which is normal), gently bring your attention back to your chosen object of meditation.
As best you can, do all of this gently, with no strain and no self-judgment. Be curious and open, interested, and aware.
If your body and/or mind respond, acknowledge that response, then either return to your original object of meditation or intentionally make the response your new object of meditation.
If you forget how to implement this, contact a qualified teacher who will help you remember.
Example:
Because everyone breathes, many mindfulness practices begin by focusing on the breath. During a workout, choose a period of time or distance and notice your breath. There is no need to modify how you breathe. Only be aware of it. Is it shallow or heavy? Does it catch or is it smooth? Is it pleasant or unpleasant?
When (not if) you notice your mind has wandered, gently bring your attention back to your breath. That “returning” is inherent to learning how to be with the reality of what is happening in your mind and body at any time.
Continue to pay attention to your breath for whatever interval you have chosen.
But I’m already injured? Now what?
If the injury gremlin has you in its grips, it is the perfect time to use mindfulness to develop your mental muscles. Unnecessary tension may inhibit your body’s ability to heal. And, fighting internally against your injury only adds more suffering to an already unpleasant situation.
Notice your thoughts and body sensations around the injury. Experience what you are feeling (physically and emotionally) in real time. Yes, it sucks. No, you don’t want to wallow in it. But learning to “be with it” as it is can help.
Train your muscles while you train your mind.
As a general rule, stressed and tight muscles are more prone to injury. Poor form may also contribute. The ability to notice tension or misalignment, in real time, allows you to relax the muscles or adjust your gait and live to run and walk injury free for many years.
Nita Sweeney is an author, mindfulness coach, ultramarathoner, and long-time member of Marathoner in Training. Learn more about Nita on her website at https://nitasweeney.com