The Mindful Athlete
How much of your training is focused on the body? For most of us, it’s a lot. We measure kilometres, track heart rates and monitor splits. We build endurance, speed, and strength with precision and dedication. But here’s something to consider: how often are you truly connected to your body while you train?
It’s easy to get lost in our heads. The endless swirl of thoughts—planning, judging, worrying, replaying can take over without us even noticing. And when our mind is elsewhere, it disconnects us from our bodies, and from the moment we’re actually in.
Ask yourself:
- Are you listening to your breath?
- Can you feel your feet as they make contact with the ground?
- Are you aware of the way your body moves and adjusts with each step, stride, or stretch?
- Or are you so caught up in thought that your body becomes an afterthought?
Tuning In, Not Tuning Out
What happens if you start tuning into your body truly paying attention as you move through training? That awareness can shift everything. It brings focus. It brings presence. And in that presence, performance begins to change. Not in a rushed or forceful way, but through a deeper connection that helps you move with intention rather than tension. This is where meditation enters the picture.
Meditation Isn’t Just Sitting Still
Meditation is often misunderstood as sitting quietly with a blank mind (you and I both know that the mind is never blank – the nature of the mind is to think). But really, it’s a practice of focused attention. It’s about coming back to the breath. Noticing the sounds around you. Feeling the ground beneath your feet. It’s choosing to be here, instead of tangled in the chaos of a congested mind.
When you become deeply engaged in what you’re doing so present that everything else quiets down—you’re in a meditative state. That’s mindfulness. That’s where power lives.
“When you become deeply involved in an activity, you find yourself in a meditative state’.
Running, when combined with meditation, becomes more than just exercise. It becomes a practice of awareness. It becomes a way to train both body and mind. The repetition of each footfall, the rhythm of your breath it’s all a pattern that guides you into the now.
Repetition Builds Strength
Both running and meditation rely on repetition. And that repetition isn’t about boredom—it’s about depth. Repetition creates familiarity. Familiarity creates confidence. And confidence builds strength. The more you return to a practice whether it’s breath work, stillness, or steady pacing—the more you create a foundation of calm and clarity that supports you, not just in training, but in life.
A Stronger You, From the Inside Out
Mindfulness helps build focus. It helps you stay grounded. And perhaps most importantly, it helps foster compassion for your body, for your efforts, for wherever you are on your journey. So, next time you head out to train, don’t leave your mind behind but don’t let it run the show either. Instead, bring your attention inward. Connect. Listen. Breathe.
Because the most powerful athlete is not just physically trained—but fully present.
