Mindful Lifting is Canada’s first integrated meditation and weightlifting program, the product of a partnership between Modern Meditators and Lat’sOn Training.
> Mindful Lifting is a 7 week program designed to equip students with the tools to incorporate meditation and mindfulness into a workout.
> Mindfulness stimulates progress by promoting better access to the body’s true physical capabilities – via – exploring one’s inner space thoroughly.
AFTER ACTION REPORT
Day 1 <Intro> – Sunday April 30th 2017 –Kid/Youth Program
Purpose
– Mindful lifting for kids is dedicated to fostering quality movement patterns and strength in young people, to develop good habits at an early age.
Overview
– Brief informational introduction
– Guided meditation
– Breathing exercise
– Physical movement preparation
– MINDFUL Kettlebell Deadlifts, Planks, Skipping
– Cool down: guided meditation, finally: music and dancing just for fun!
Conclusion/results
– The kids responded very positively to all of the material in the program
– It would be very beneficial for them to have more sessions going forward to further ingrain the ideas
– They were engaged and asked questions
– Excellent way to debut the program and test its practicality
Day 2<Heart Chakra> – Monday May 8th 2017 at 530pm – Adult Program
Purpose
– Mindful Lifting is dedicated to fostering focus and attention to detail within and between sets of powerlifting movements, utilizing meditation and related techniques to silence any unwanted noise in the mind, thus bettering your lifts.
Overview
– intro to mindfulness and meditation
– 5 brain/body questions were introduced (to give the students a quantifiable way to track EXACTLY how they feel before coming in to a session)
– 3 minute meditation after showing them the left to right breathing technique
– 5 minute movement prep and talked about continuing good breathing and how to build on movement complexity in a way that facilitates good learning cognitively
– Cues for visualization and forethought were given that were specific to each exercise
Conclusion/Results
– Perfect cross section of age and movement abilities in the three students
– The pace of the working sets was slowed down but that was to be expected and actually aided in the lifters being way more engaged and mindful during and between sets
– There is still room for improvement on the three instructors fostering an atmosphere for the students, but there was a good air of quiet thoughtfulness throughout the 55 minute session
The program explores physical and emotional barriers, how they affect movement patterns and how to overcome them. You will learn how to better utilize breath awareness, positive affirmations and visualization techniques to improve lifting. Classes start with a short breathing/meditation section, followed by a warm up, then the lifting section and ending with a brief stretch and cool down meditation.
Mindful lifting is recommended for anyone ranging from beginners wanting to learn new movement to experienced lifters seeking to break their training plateaus. By the end of the course, you will see desirable results with your weightlifting goals, which will directly translate to the way you move in your everyday physical activities and will have armed yourself with a skill in mindfulness and meditation that will be with you for life.
To ensure the utmost individual attention, groups are capped at 6 people. It is a 1 hour class, once a week, for 7 weeks, taking place on a different day each week, starting on a Sunday and ending on a Saturday.
*Sessions are available in English, Spanish & Portuguese*
“The brain is the be all and end all of human movement. Mindfulness can be a pivotal tool when it comes to weightlifting because it allows us to eventually stem the tide of stress, fear and anxiety, thus allowing us to break plateaus. The only mechanism that will tell you that the barbell is any heavier is your mind. Your body has no clue how heavy it is.”— Tyler Lees-Schmut
