From: MR PORTER The Journal - Wednesday Apr 01, 2020 01:30 pm
Mr Porter - The Spotlight
Four calming exercises to try, courtesy of Mr Ryan Willms
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Four Exercises To Build Calm Into Your Workout
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Four Exercises To Build Calm Into Your Workout
Words by Mr Ryan Willms
It’s easy to overdo it when it comes to exercise and movement. We generally stress ourselves with work, social engagements, diet and lack of sleep, so piling on a rigorous workout has the potential, in some cases, to do more harm than good. I’ve spent a disproportionate amount of time doing rather than being, and it’s taken me a while to fully integrate mediation and recovery into my daily exercise practices. Once I took the leap, however, it brought clarity and energy to my life.

Exercise and movement expert Mr Paul Chek has pioneered many concepts in the health and wellness industry, and “working in” is one of these. The basic idea is that by carefully controlling our heart rate and breathing, while moving, we can accumulate energy and build vitality as a counter-balance to the intensive stresses of strength training or running. Much of this working in has been gleaned from qigong and tai chi. “Qi” simply means energy and “gong” means practice. By making an energy practice a part of your routine, it can help with stress, sleep, digestion and recovery, which will bring you closer to holistic harmony, inside and out. There are many working-in practices to choose from, but the four below are among my favourites and I use at least one of them daily.

 
01. Zen swing
 
Four Exercises To Build Calm Into Your Workout
The Zen swing is one of my favourite working-in movements. It’s hard to do wrong, but there are a few ways in which you can optimise its restorative effects. This movement is designed to move all the joints in your body, move your cerebral spinal fluid and mobilise your fascia, ligaments and tendons throughout. Ideally, you’ll shift about 70 per cent of your body weight onto one leg and then back to the other as your arms swing from side to side. You can close your eyes or keep a gentle gaze on the horizon and, if you can find time, do it at sunrise or sunset to align your mind, heart and gut into a relaxing and calming state.
02. Brain gym
 
Four Exercises To Build Calm Into Your Workout
The right side of the brain controls the left side of the body and the left side of the brain controls the right side of the body. If the left and right hemispheres don’t talk to one another, it can contribute to anxiety, cloudy cognition and poor memory. This light movement is great to get both sides of the mind working together with your body and with your breath. As you exhale, take your elbow across your body to meet your opposite knee and as you inhale, reach up and expand. Exhale and reach the other elbow across your body to your other knee at the pace of your breath. Aim for 10 to 20 reps.
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AT HOME WITH MR PORTER

Chef Mr Éric Riper shares his home-cooking tips and the comfort food he's turning to right now.
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