Yes, I make bold claims: benefits of movement
The skills and insight gained through practice serve us everywhere for the rest of our lives. Once we taste this wisdom, the world opens. We truly see a child’s smile, taste our food, and smell the flowers more than just figuratively. Actions as simple as sensing which foot goes through the door first, feeling your hand grip the racquet, or noticing one breath all the way through can train the mind.
Once you get that, it can change your life in the same positive, helpful way it changed mine.
That’s a bold claim.
Yes, and I’m not the only one making it.
Let’s look at the science.
Before I talk about the benefits of combining movement with meditation, let’s look at the well-researched benefits of movement alone.5 Those of us who already enjoy a movement form already know. We experience them! If you haven’t embraced movement (yet) or don’t know about the ways movement improves your life, here are some benefits:
Physical
• Lowers blood pressure
• Improves bone health
• Reduces blood sugar
• Enhances weight loss
• Improves cardiovascular health
• Increases breathing and lung capacity
• Manages menopausal symptoms
• Slows the aging process
• Provides pain relief
