Corporate Fitness and Active Aging

Ever wish you could flip a switch and silence your mind, just like you do with your phone? It’s easy to get caught up in the whirlwind of worries and stress. We’ve all been there—feeling overwhelmed by what we need to do next. But remember those times when you lost track of time, fully immersed in what you were doing? In those moments, you were truly present, enjoying the beauty of now. That’s the magic of mindfulness, and here’s the good news: you can train yourself to access that state more often. 

Mindfulness isn’t just a way to hit pause on a busy mind; it’s a tool that helps you get out of your head and into the present moment. Not only does it improve focus and creativity, but the more mindful we are, the better we handle life's challenges. 

So, what exactly is mindfulness? Simply put, it’s the practice of being fully present in the moment and accepting your experiences without judgment. 

Mindfulness is built on three key pillars: Intention, Attention, and Attitude. Think of these as your mindfulness foundations: 

• Intention is setting a conscious goal to be aware of your inner and outer world. Each day, ask yourself, “How do I want to show up today?” 

• Attention is about focusing on the present, without getting lost in the details or content of a situation. When your mind wanders, gently bring it back. A helpful trick? Focus on your breath while in conversation or during tasks. 

• Attitude is about embracing experiences as they are, with neutrality and without judgment. Cultivating a compassionate, non-judgmental perspective helps us stay grounded and aware. 

By paying attention to what’s happening right now, setting clear intentions, and approaching life with an open, non-judgmental attitude, we can foster a deeper sense of mindfulness in our everyday lives. 

Techniques You Can Try: "Sit and Know You’re Sitting," Body Scan, and Grounding Meditation 

Here are a few mindfulness techniques you might want to explore: Sit and Know You’re Sitting, Body Scan, and Grounding Meditation. 

• Sit and Know You’re Sitting: This practice is about simply sitting with awareness. Find a comfortable seat, close your eyes, and take a few deep breaths to relax. As you breathe in, acknowledge that you’re breathing in. As you breathe out, know that you're breathing out. You can silently say “in” and “out” with each breath to steady your attention. And when your mind inevitably wanders (because it will), bring patience, curiosity, and forgiveness to the moment as you gently return your focus to your breath. 

• Body Scan: This is a powerful way to become aware of the sensations in your body and release hidden stress or tension. You don’t need to “fix” anything during the scan—just notice what’s happening in your body. Here’s how: Close your eyes, take a few long, deep breaths, and let yourself arrive in the present. Relax both your body and your mind. Now, bring your awareness to the crown of your head, moving down to your forehead, eyes, cheeks, and neck. Continue down your shoulders, arms, and all the way to your fingertips. Then, shift awareness to your upper back, shoulder blades, and down your back. Notice the front of your torso, from your chest to your stomach, and move through your hips, legs, and feet. Let your whole body be at ease. Sit quietly with the experience of having a body, and when you’re ready, open your eyes and notice how relaxed you feel. 

One of my favorite quotes is, “Be where your feet are.” To help you ground yourself in the present moment, I want to share a simple, yet effective meditation called the 5-4-3-2-1 technique. This practice is fantastic for bringing your awareness back to the here and now. 

For this meditation, keep your eyes open and take a few deep breaths. As you settle into the present, become aware of your surroundings. With each step, take a moment to pause and fully absorb the experience: 

1. Notice five things you can see. 
2. Identify four things you can feel or touch. 
3. Listen for three things you can hear. 
4. Notice two things you can smell. 
5. Think of one thing you can taste (if you can’t connect with a taste right now, just note a flavor you enjoy). 

This exercise is a beautiful way to anchor yourself and reconnect with the world around you. 

In our busy lives, practicing mindfulness can be a transformative journey. By embodying the principles of intention, attention, and attitude, you can cultivate a deeper sense of peace and live more fully in the present. Remember to grant yourself grace as you progress, it's not about perfection. As you continue this path, you may discover moments of clarity and connection that enhance the quality of your life. So, take a deep breath, “be where your feet are,” and embrace the journey of mindfulness. 

Acute and chronic pain is something almost everyone must deal with in their lifetime whether it is from an injury, overuse, or a degenerative condition such as arthritis. This consideration becomes much more common as exercisers move into the active aging portion of their fitness journey. Meditation in various forms has been shown to provide relief in both acute and chronic situations and in many cases may increase an exerciser’s overall pain tolerance. Techniques that correlate well with pain management are mindfulness meditation, body scans, visualization, guided meditation, and progressive muscle relaxation.

Mindfulness meditation popularized by John Cabot Zinn, PhD focuses on acknowledging the thoughts and emotions connected with pain cycles. Studies have shown that there are specific neural mechanisms at work during this type of meditation that provide analgesic benefits to the body while also triggering endorphins in the brain. Body scanning is another technique used by Zinn and others that incorporates the focus of the mind to scan the body for pain, tension, and discomfort. This technique is best done while lying comfortably on the floor or bed face up and can employ rhythmic breathing to match the pace of bodily scanning.

Guided meditations have been found to be useful in pain management with apps such as Calm and content driven websites like YouTube providing a multitude of options that range from simple spoken word to videos with intricate visuals and binaural beats audio to help reach a deeper state of relaxation and pain relief. A recent study revealed a 77% in pain reduction with the use of binaural beat technology versus the placebo. In addition, simple visualization is also an effective technique in reducing symptoms of pain, most specifically concentrating on the area in distress and focusing on healing and reduction of discomfort in the area.

Progressive relaxation is another option for pain reduction and utilizes breathwork and muscle contractions to ease pain symptoms. This technique can be performed sitting or lying down and involves beginning with the feet and lower legs being strongly contracted with an inhalation and relaxed during the exhalation. Moving all the way up the body, then back down with contractions/inhalations lasting about 5-10 seconds and the relaxation period being double the time or longer based on preference.

Starting out, a person could perform 5 minutes of meditation and slowly work up to 20 minutes a session. Also, throughout the day a ‘mini’ meditation of 30 seconds to a minute may be applied when acute pain flares up. In conclusion, different styles of meditation for self-management of pain are low risk options that are easily available and can also strengthen the mind-body connection while improving overall physical functionality.

Mindful eating is about tuning into your body’s hunger/fullness cues and cravings when eating. One uses mindfulness to acknowledge and honor any physical cues the body is feeling, and eating based off of those signals. So how is mindful eating different from dieting?

Most diets require you to restrict certain foods, food groups, or even a whole macronutrient. They tend to cause a sense of guilt when you do indulge in a particular food that is deemed “off limits,” and often times cause you to binge on those very foods down the road. Mindful eating does not require any restriction. Instead, by listening to your body’s physical cues and cravings, you are allowed to eat what you want, when you want, and stop when fullness is achieved or the craving is satisfied. Many people find that they feel more satisfied, and may even lose weight, when eating mindfully because they are more aware of their body’s signals.

Tips for Mindful Eating:

• Learn to differentiate between hunger and non-hunger cues. Are you hungry or bored?
• Eat when you feel hungry, do so slowly, and put down the fork when you feel full.
• Eat without distractions – turn off the TV, put down social media, and focus on your food.
• Learn to avoid phrases like “guilt” and “guilt-free” when talking about food. Food is not tied to morality, and therefore should not make you feel guilty.
• Appreciate your food – engage your senses by observing smells and flavors.
• Eat to maintain overall well-being – what foods will make you feel good? Eating cake all day every day will taste great at first, but it will get old very fast. You may find that your body begins to crave vegetables or lean proteins instead, as they will make you feel good afterwards.

How are you choosing healthy when it comes to food choices?  Do you find yourself being mindful at meals?

Sometimes it’s hard to juggle all the daily responsibilities in life. Balancing work responsibilities can be difficult enough but trying to also maintain a social life at the same time can feel impossible. Being able to manage your time can be invaluable in many ways. There many benefits of having time management skills and having the right strategies can improve your skills. 

To start, time management is a process in which you plan and control the amount of time dedicated to certain tasks. This will in turn boost your efficiency, effectiveness, and productivity during the day. Controlling your time will allow you to become better at organizing and in turn will help you control your time both personally and professionally. Having the necessary skills to manage your time has different benefits for people, including:

• Increased time for self
• Improved feeling of accomplishment
• Improved self esteem
• Increased satisfaction in life

The more you can limit work stress and the more time you spend on yourself, the happier you will be. So how do we improve our time management skills? Here are some strategies you can implement:

1. Know How You Spend Your Time: Making a time log of what you do during a day can help determine how you are already using your time. Over the span of a week or two, record everything you did in a 15-30 minute interval. Evaluate how you used that time. What time of the day are you most motivated? What tasks took the most time? Where do you value your time the most? Reflect on if you’re investing your time wisely, or if you need to reinvest time in other things.
2. Set Priorities: Distinguishing what is urgent and what is important determines whether you’re managing your time effectively. Some of the most important tasks are not the urgent tasks, but that does not mean that you should let the urgent tasks control your life. Determining what tasks must be done can help you gain control of your life while reducing the amount of tasks that may become urgent.
3. Use a Planning Tool: Utilizing a planning tool can increase your productivity. Writing down  tasks, making notes on your schedule, and jotting down items to remember can free up brain space to focus on other, more important tasks. Review your calendar daily, synchronize your apps if you use two different types of planning tools, and always have a backup. Some examples of a planning tool: Time Trackers, Time Savers, Calendars, Task Managers, Habit Developers, etc.  
4. Get Organized: You can’t manage your time if you’re disorganized, and research has shown that clutter has a  negative impact on perceived well-being.
5. Stop Multi-Tasking: Humans in general are not efficient at multi-tasking. Studies show that multi-tasking doesn’t save time or increase efficiency. In fact, it does the opposite. Routine multi-tasking may lead to difficulty concentrating and maintaining focus.

Time management is a skill that can be vital to one’s success. What are some other strategies that you have found to help manage your time?