I know what you’re thinking. Conscious Fitness? Surely not. Read on to find out how The Conscious Professional’s Fitness & Lifestyle Consultant, Will Pike puts two and two together…
THE DISEMBODIMENT CRISIS
Let’s face it; the fitness industry may be one of the last places to go for consciousness. In fact, it may just be the last place to go for any form of connection with our inner selves.
Years of focusing on shredding kilo after kilo of fat and building inch after inch of bicep size has made the fitness industry lose sight of it’s true purpose. It’s gotten lost in its identification with appearances and external results, when at its heart there is a burning desire for connection and love.
There is a clear crisis of disembodiment: we are seeing and living our bodies through our minds, instead of experiencing them in their full beauty. It’s blatantly visible in whichever gym you step foot in: row after row of grunting individuals, struggling their way through gruelling exercises and checking themselves out in the mirrors, while living their entire workouts within the confines of their minds, wrapped up in their thoughts, feelings and beliefs.
It’s no wonder people struggle to keep fit and health.
WHAT IS CONSCIOUS FITNESS?
If you look at the definition of the word “conscious”, you’ll see that it means to be “in the knowledge of something”. In this case, to know and connect to two things: your heart and your body.
Recent studies by the Institute of HeartMath are showing how important our hearts are, and how not listening to them leads to illness, disease and premature death. In fact, it’s now understood that the way you feel about yourself and the way you live your life have more impact on your body than food and movement!
So I daresay, connecting to your heart is crucial to your health. But even further than that: knowing what is in your heart and what you truly love is the only way to guarantee motivation in your fitness. Many of us spend years attempting to create our perfect body, in the idealistic view that this will bring us happiness and peace: what we fail to understand is that infinite love, compassion and wisdom is contained within our hearts, ready for us to access at a moments notice.
However, conscious fitness also integrates another essential element: connection to your body. It goes beyond simply exercising and feeding it; it means developing a strong and intimate relationship with it, knowing its needs and limitations inside out, and embracing it fully, perceived imperfections and all. It means learning to be fully embodied, fully mindful and fully present at each moment, living and experiencing it deeply, with all the emotions, sensations and feelings that may bring.
That for me is what conscious fitness is about: aligning your heart, mind and body in your quest for health and happiness. The question is, are you ready?
HOW TO BE MORE CONSCIOUS IN YOUR FITNESS
Over my years of research and experience, I have developed a method called love:Fitness, which helps people create healthier lives through five essential principles applied to four areas: life, mindset, movement and food.
Here is a brief overview of each principle, and how you can begin to implement each one to begin your journey towards conscious fitness:
1. Find Inspired Motivation: learn to understand what you truly enjoy, for example which activities, exercises, or recipes you love. They will bring you into a state of coherence i.e. connection between your heart and your brain, and you’ll want to do more of them.
2. Build a Loving Attitude: detach from the thoughts and feelings that are holding you back and practice connecting to your heart to feel the love and compassion that lies within, for everyone including yourself.
3. Develop Mindful Awareness: practice meditation and mindfulness to boost your awareness of the subconscious behaviours and beliefs that are holding you back from following through with what your heart is telling you.
4. Create Soulful Structures: learn to build a daily routine, workout or eating plan that supports you on your way to what you love. And build strong life structures that allow you to listen and to follow your heart – in every single area.
5. Learn Insightful Knowledge: listen to your heart and body to understand what your needs and wants are, and make a commitment to explore all layers of yourself (with external help if needed).
Love & Health,
Will x
P.S. Whenever you are ready… here are 4 ways we can support your personal and professional Conscious Goals:
1. Access Free Live Meditations & Energy Transmissions
Inside our private Facebook Group, The Conscious Professional Mindful Community where Neil leads live weekly community events. Join now for free.
2. Learn To Meditate With Neil Seligman In Just 10 Days!
Zen in Ten, our flagship online course, is a ten-day mindfulness challenge for people who need to slow down.
3. Work With Neil One-To-One
See if a Conscious Coaching Partnership is right for you. Book a 15-minute discovery call with Neil here.
4. Bring The Conscious Professional To Your Business
See if The Conscious Professional training and coaching programmes are right for your team or workplace. Book a call here.
The Conscious Professional is dedicated to delivering inspiring corporate mindfulness and professional resilience training, conscious leadership coaching and workplace wellbeing services at the level of professional excellence. Thank you for following our blog.