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Mindfulness: Slow down
Should health and fitness operators now be adding mindfulness practices to their standard offering, supporting members’ mental wellbeing as part of their overall health? Kath Hudson reports
Many of your members and staff will be suffering from the effects of stress, as global issues exacerbate their day-to-day difficulties and all but the most privileged feel the impact of inflation.
Untreated stress can manifest in physical ways, meaning that gaining mastery of the mind is crucial to coping with these troubling times, but while meditation apps boomed during the early parts of the pandemic, many people still find it hard to engage with this practice.
A UK study found that giving teenagers mindfulness lessons at school wasn’t an optimal use of time, as many found it boring, with few continuing the technique at home.
There’s an opportunity for health clubs to teach the foundations of meditation to give members the tools to continue the practice at home, as well as offering a space to sit with others, benefiting from the energy of the group and a safe space.
Many operators are already adding meditation and mindfulness to their offering.
Classes which introduce people to the concept of mindfulness can include a range of guided meditations to help people live in the moment and be still. Taking this route means connecting with members from a new vantage point, as the instructors’ role has traditionally been to pep members up and get them feeling energised, whereas this is all about slowing down.
Clubs tend to be stimulating environments, but creating a calm, serene space for mindfulness classes could attract a new clientele, as well as offering a welcome break for members who rush from appointment to appointment all day, then to the gym after work, and then back to domestic chores, not realising their nervous systems are overloaded and they’re on the brink of burnout.
Going with the flow
For some members, meditation and mindfulness might be a bit ‘woo woo’, but there are compelling reasons for all of us to develop a mindfulness practice, not just for mental resilience, but also to optimise athletic performance.
Several studies have shown that mindfulness helps people to get into Flow State by training them to be in the here and now, and not to act on critical thoughts which can cause performance to come crashing down.
During Flow, the prefrontal cortex of the brain – which is in charge of thinking and planning – becomes less active, in turn allowing the parts of the brain which are responsible for skills and focus to function better.
The upshot of this is that if your members get into Flow State while they’re working out, they’ll find the experience more enjoyable and will find it easier to meet their goals. This can lead them to achieving another optimal state: mastery.
Research on athletes across a range of sports has found that Flow occurs in five stages. It begins with an event, which provides the athlete with positive feedback and leads to an increase in confidence. This confidence boost pushes the athlete to set new challenges and move their performance up a notch.
This could yield great by-products for health clubs: members who are managing to achieve Flow State and mastery will enjoy their workouts more, feel motivated and will keep coming back.
On the following pages, HCM talks to operators who are delivering mindfulness programmes and classes to find out more about the benefits.
The demand for meditation classes is increasing, as more of our members discover its many health benefits, including reducing stress, developed concentration and increased awareness.
David Lloyd Clubs offers a variety of meditations with different focuses, including affirmations, positivity or productivity which allow a personalised approach. One of our signature classes, Spirit, is a dynamic workout fusing Pilates and yoga, finishing with a mindful sound meditation which can be more appropriate for beginners looking for an all-round mind and body experience. For members who prefer to practice outside of the club, we have a library of virtual content available on the David Lloyd app.
Interest in mindfulness and wellbeing has heightened since the start of COVID, with our clubs supplying nearly 400 more classes each month than before the pandemic. Everyday life was put on pause during the lockdowns and so a lot of people turned to mindfulness to stay positive.
We’ve also noticed more members trying meditation classes, having never previously stepped into our exercise studios. Looking at first time users from March 2019 compared to March 2022 there was a 261 per cent increase, proving people want to join the community which these classes create.
The average age for these classes sits between late 40s to early 50s, however, we’ve also seen a 20 per cent increase in under 45s taking part.
We’re noticing a significant increase in interest in mindfulness and meditation. Our regular beginners’ meditation courses, available both in our studio and on our online platform, are always sell-outs, while our weekly meditation class has experienced a 70 per cent increase in uptake since the start of the pandemic. The growth has been mainly focused in the late 20s to early 40s age group.
We’re living in a world where our attention is being pulled in many different directions and we spend a lot of our waking day in a stress response, either worrying about the future or living in the past. As people learn the practices of mindfulness and meditation, they experience relief from these stresses and anxieties.
The benefits can be instant and astonishing. As everyone has different ways of learning – some aural, some visual, some tactile – we give them a range of tools to start a meditation practice.
There are plenty of things to consider when leading a mindfulness or meditation practice. The energy of the teacher will always affect the energy of the room, so taking the time before class to centre and get connected is vital. There needs to be a lead into meditation where the group is given time to wind down and sync with each other’s energy. If people run in late, straight from a stressful day at work it will be nearly impossible for that person to drop straight into a meditation.
It’s far more accessible for people to begin meditation from an already calm space, so I begin my classes with gentle stretches and slow breathwork to help the group connect with themselves and the space they’re in.
The end of the meditation can be as important as the start. Giving people the time to sit with their experiences as they come out of a meditation is very important.
Mindfulness is for everyone and sharing mindfulness from a deep, embodied place is serious business, but should also be fun. Interest in mindfulness is increasing because more people are realising they need to slow down, have space to process their thoughts and commit to self-care.
We meet people where they are and commit to helping them develop a capacity of being OK with this moment, in order to act more thoughtfully and move into the next moment as it unfolds.
We also invite them to bring their whole selves, not leave some part at the door so they can ‘fit in’. We don’t ask people to buy into any ideology or to leave whatever they believe behind. The ask is to be present in just this breath, just this moment. Simple.
Begin here, right now. It’s as easy as paying ‘exquisite attention’ to just one thing – and if you forget, you just return to that place.
Once people begin to experience mindfulness as a basic operating system which can be woven into how they interact with everything and everyone – going beyond a 10-minute meditation on their app to check off the to-do list – it becomes an almost effortless part of the day-to-day. Despite all the hype around mindfulness, it’s not a magic pill. The real benefits come with consistent practice, which is why mindfulness has to become part of lifestyle.
