Welcome to our second mindfulness exercise: Sitting meditation. Take just five minutes to give this exercise a go and I promise you’ll feel instantly calmer and more relaxed. Plus your golf game should benefit too.
If you missed our first mindfulness exercise, walking meditation, you might want to give that one a go first. That’s usually an easier place to start and a good way to practice switching off and really becoming aware of what you sense and feel.
The benefits of practising mindfulness are well documented; it reduces anxiety and stress and can even decrease pain. And meditation specifically has been shown to improve learning, attention and memory by strengthening specific areas of the brain.
So if you find yourself running out of concentration on the back nine, regularly practising this sitting meditation exercise might help.
Sitting meditation
Try this exercise for a few minutes to start with, working your way up to five minutes.
- Sit with your back straight. This could be cross-legged or on a chair with your feet flat on the floor – whatever feels comfortable to you.
- Take a deep breath in through your nose, and slowly breathe out through your mouth.
- Try not to focus on anything other than your breath moving in and out.
- If you become distracted, don’t try to resist your thought. Notice it, let it wash over, then focus again on your breathing.
Give this simple exercise a go and let us know how you get on. And look out for more mindfulness exercises coming soon!
