How To Make Your Exercise Time Spiritually Fulfilling

 You may be planning for a long time to exercise daily but have yet to be able to start. The thought of exercising may not bring you enough enthusiasm. What if you can view the process holistically and incorporate some spiritual flavour? Sometimes when we change our perspective, we enjoy and gain more of a job. Exercise usually brings to our mind pain, sweat and exhaustion. However, exercise is associated with a sense of fulfilment, energized and enhanced living for some. Whatever the outcome, exercise is essential for our daily life, and we all must do some kind of exercise every day. However, exercise time can be immensely fruitful and fulfilling if we add a spiritual flavour. By spiritual flavour, we mean surrendering our efforts and the fruits to the Almighty and doing it with the spirit of selfless service.

Keep spirituality at the core:

During exercise, we usually push ourselves for better performance, which causes exhaustion. We cannot continue for long if our mind is fixed on exhaustion. On the other hand, if we can take our minds away from that exhaustion, our endurance will be greater. When systematically diverted from exhaustion, the mind can be fixed on a spiritual aspect of life. A favourable spiritual outlook: our body is the gift of the Almighty, and we exercise for its maintenance. Therefore we do it as a service to the Almighty. This outlook has to be practised consciously and repeatedly day after day until it turns into a habit.

When preparing for exercise, the mind has to be cleared of all distractions and disturbing thoughts. If the mind is empty, spiritual thought can penetrate easily. Further, the mind has to be concentrated on the body parts being exercised and it should be thought that the body parts are being energized through the exercise. Another way to be spiritually driven while exercising is to devote all the results to the Almighty and seek His blessings for success.

Breathe effectively:

The breathing process during exercise requires particular focus. Breathing in and breathing out should be done consciously. With each inhalation, you should think of taking all the goodness of nature and cosmic energy into your system. With each exhalation, you should think of all impurities being removed from your system.

If you can keep your mental focus at the point between your eyebrows or the point usually called ‘Christ Consciousness’, then a surge of spirituality will flow in you, and you can keep your concentration much longer.

When exercising outdoors, your exercise regimen can be fruitful by incorporating nature into your thought process. With each breath in, you can imagine yourself taking in all the goodness of nature, and with each breath out, you can imagine releasing the toxins from your body.

The process of releasing toxins during exercise or detoxification is of utmost importance. You can actively monitor this exercise while doing your physical activity. With each inhalation, imagine that the goodness of nature and fresh oxygen is infused into your system. With each exhalation, imagine the toxins being expelled from your system.

Focus on the process rather than the result:

While exercising, you should concentrate on the process rather than the result. Suppose you are focusing on losing weight rather than enjoying the period of exercise. Then your concentration will be hampered, and you will be unable to carry on for long. But, exercising as a service to your body will help you sustain the motivation. Imagination is a key factor in experiencing spiritual fulfilment during regular exercise. While exercising a particular body part, imagining that part is receiving stimulus from cosmic energy is beneficial. When you focus on the exercise, your body movements and the feeling from within, you keep going for a more extended period with a higher energy level. It keeps your enthusiasm intact and makes you a fan of the exercise. This is the ideal way to go.

Exercise as part of your spiritual routine:

True spirituality is not experienced only in prayers at a particular time. It is an ongoing process throughout the day amidst various activities. Your mind must be aligned to spiritual thought in a continuous process. When you see exercise as a part of this spiritual quest, you are bound to get an additional impetus. Seeing your body as a gift of the Almighty and exercise as a service to your body will make your understanding more transparent. You will have more respect for your body and will look at exercise from a holistic viewpoint.

Spirituality is the magic touch that transforms any part of our activity. The same is true with exercise also. If you want to overcome the drudgery of mechanical repetition, explore the spiritual dimension in your exercise and try to cherish it from within. You will be surprised to find how enthusiastically you can perform and sustain your energy throughout the session.

Soak in the feeling after its completion:

When you finish your exercise regimen, you should relax and concentrate on the goodness of daily practice. Focus on how exercise makes you a better person day by day. Exercise instils the virtue of health and fitness in you, and you should be proud of that achievement. Surrendering the result of the practice to the Almighty leads to a better appreciation of the performance. The benefits of exercise can be much more significant if done with the devotion of surrendering to the Almighty. It is then possible to holistically achieve the dual benefits of body and mind.