Finding Headspace

I just wanted to take a minute to discuss the elephant in the room nobody is talking about: Mental Health. In this time of great uncertainty and heavy isolation it’s safe to say we are more at risk from degrading in our mental health than our physical. 

Society has made a lot of progress in this arena, but talking about our thoughts and feelings can still seem very taboo. Trust me, as a male who grew up playing sports and spent a lot of time coaching Division 1 College Athletics I know what it’s like to feel the pressure to be “tough” and put on an act. I’ve done a lot of unlearning over the years to become confident and comfortable talking about my feelings

First I want to say if you are struggling with anything, all of us coaches are here for you as we go through this time of isolation from our normal community.  

Secondly I want to share a great way to stay in a healthy mental space: practicing mindfulness. Which is simply the practice of being present in the moment. This can be done a number of ways through meditation, breath work, yoga or just being still. 

With all the spare time, it is a great opportunity to practice mindfulness and disconnect from all the inputs we normally have in life. Because we are more connected than ever it can often be hard to just sit still. 

If you have never done this I highly recommend the app called “Headspace”. I have used it personally and we also used it while I was at Clemson with athletes in post workout sessions. It is guided meditation and breath work which makes it super easy to get started if this is new to you. 

The idea is if we can learn to sit and be still we can relax and destress. Not only will meditation and mindfulness help you be present, but learning a breath practice can help lower stress. Something as simple as the way you breath can actually take you into a parasympathetic (relaxed) state. 

This is important to lower our daily stress levels and can also help promote recovery with training (which is why we used it post workout with teams at Clemson). Working out puts us in a sympathetic or upregulated state and we can only begin to recover once we get back to that parasympathetic state. Meditation, mindfulness and breath work can help us downregulate faster. 

The app has a free beginner trial and you can choose to start with 5 or 10 minutes sessions. I hope this helps and if you have any more questions about these topics please reach out!

Here is a link to the app: Headspace.

-Coach Taylor