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I'm skeptical of articles like this because they tend to draw conclusions from studies that only provide weak correlations. The only concrete evidence I can fin

I'm skeptical of articles like this because they tend to draw conclusions from studies that only provide weak correlations. The only concrete evidence I can find is that meditation can help some people relax and temporarily reduce their stress levels. My experience confirms this but I prefer other means of achieving the same effect (like exercising).

VLM 13y ago
"I prefer other means of achieving the same effect (like exercising)." Other than the obvious muscle workout aspect, I found weightlifting to be highly meditative. Highly structured repeated form every other day, breath control, counting reps/sets, stare at the wall, repeat. I do a fair amount of hiking / snowshoeing and that can be somewhat meditative. If you relax as you stroll down the trail and let your mind wander intentionally into pure nothingness rather than getting stuck on something specific... My wife does Tai Chi and from what I see from the outside and from occasionally playing long, its basically slowly moving meditation. Obviously if you define exercise as "soccer" or "bouldering" then this analogy is not going to work terribly well.
- irishcoffee 13y ago
  I agree with you about weightlifting and its meditative properties. I've also found that going against what you usually seen in a gym and NOT wearing headphones actually helps even more. The background noise is just that, background noise, as opposed to a focused sound. I also rock climb, and I have found that it is possible to achieve the same state while bouldering or rope climbing, as long as the route is below skill level by a decent margin. I'll run the same bouldering route 4x and not even think about it, I just kind of "zone out" and let my body do the work.
  - gknoy 13y ago
    I always enjoyed doing archery, alone, at dusk. With no other shooters, you can go at a pace that feels good, and let your thoughts settle only on one's actions at hand. This is something which I sorely miss doing.

VLM 13y ago

"I prefer other means of achieving the same effect (like exercising)." Other than the obvious muscle workout aspect, I found weightlifting to be highly meditative. Highly structured repeated form every other day, breath control, counting reps/sets, stare at the wall, repeat. I do a fair amount of hiking / snowshoeing and that can be somewhat meditative. If you relax as you stroll down the trail and let your mind wander intentionally into pure nothingness rather than getting stuck on something specific... My wife does Tai Chi and from what I see from the outside and from occasionally playing long, its basically slowly moving meditation. Obviously if you define exercise as "soccer" or "bouldering" then this analogy is not going to work terribly well.

irishcoffee 13y ago
I agree with you about weightlifting and its meditative properties. I've also found that going against what you usually seen in a gym and NOT wearing headphones actually helps even more. The background noise is just that, background noise, as opposed to a focused sound. I also rock climb, and I have found that it is possible to achieve the same state while bouldering or rope climbing, as long as the route is below skill level by a decent margin. I'll run the same bouldering route 4x and not even think about it, I just kind of "zone out" and let my body do the work.
- gknoy 13y ago
  I always enjoyed doing archery, alone, at dusk. With no other shooters, you can go at a pace that feels good, and let your thoughts settle only on one's actions at hand. This is something which I sorely miss doing.