What a great month this has been thus far!  Your energy and excitement for the “Four Corners of Wellness” has been great.  You are trying new things and sharing what excites and intrigues you most about your wellness journey.  So with that in mind, drumroll please…..

The Get Lively community has spoken and selected FITNESS and MINDFULNESS as the finalists for our “March Lively-ness” contest.  So what does that mean for you?  Well, it means that you have a chance to win either a custom video workout or a book from a leading expert on mindfulness, but you have to vote one more time to determine the winner!

So you know the drill, on the Facebook posted that is embedded below:

1. Click “like”
2. COMMENT with your vote for either Fitness or Mindfulness
3. Click “share” to add to your page

That’s it!  The winner will be announced on April 1!

But in the meantime, let’s take a “mindful” moment to consider how to incorporate mindfulness into your fitness practice with these three tips:

1. Feel your breath.  Feel your lungs expand during the inhalation and feel your abdominals contract and pull back to your spine during the exhalation.  Breathing alone is a fantastic core exercise and tapping into your breath will not only condition your muscles, but it will bring you into the present moment, which is where you strive to be.
2. Park your issues.  So often our workouts are consumed by thoughts running through our heads of what we need to do after we are done exercising.  A yoga class can easily become a wasteland of re-writing your “to do” list in your head.  Park these thoughts at the door and commit to focusing on your physical being during your workout.  Ask yourself: what muscles am I working and am I feeling them right now?  Am I using my breath to deepen the muscle contraction?  Am I focusing on getting the most out of the this time that I have dedicated to strengthening and caring for my body?  I promise, your to do list will be waiting at the door.
3. Express gratitude for the ability to move.  And by move that might mean a one inch leg lift, it might mean breathing deeply, or it might mean running five miles.  Whatever it is that you are able to do, express gratitude for that ability.  Bringing gratitude into your physical practice will energize your soul and encourage your body and mind to stick with it, even when faced with challenges.

I would love to hear how you are all bringing mindfulness into your fitness practice, please share in the comments below…. after you cast your vote, of course!