If anybody had advised me 12 months in the past, that I’ll be immerging myself in +2°C water on a freezing chilly -4°C New Years Day morning in 2025, I’d have severely questioned their psychological well being. And but right here I used to be, stepping right into a small native river canal and even having fun with myself whereas doing it. So what occurred? And what the hell does this should do with badminton in any case?
Introduction
As with lots of people after they cross the 40 years mark, I couldn’t assist however noticing that my physique and thoughts began displaying indicators of change. Some small well being points began kreeping in, I hold having a number of respiratory infections in the course of the chilly seasons and I used to be having some points with sleep. And since I’m not the sort to easily settle for these issues as unavoidable and god given, I began researching and dipping my toes into various things that I discovered alongside the best way. And the extra I did so, the extra enjoyable I discovered in that mindfulness stuff.
So in the event you haven’t left this thread but, you is likely to be enthusiastic about my experiences with a few of the stuff that I attempted and perhaps some suggestions and beginning factors if you’re fully new to the matter and need to try if this could possibly be one thing for you too.
Disclaimer: I’m very removed from contemplating myself even remotely an knowledgeable in these subjects. I’ll solely share my very private experiences with the stuff that I’ve tried thus far to perhaps give a few of you a sure start line if you wish to give it a attempt for your self. Let’s understand that all people is completely different and all people will make completely different experiences with this.
Let’s begin with…
Meditation
It’s virtually been a stunning 10 years after I began this thread, coping with points to relax after a practise and even match session:
https://www.badmintoncentral.com/fo…s-to-calm-down-after-evening-sessions.157053/
And even when there was loads of good recommendation, none of them appear to be the true sport changer for me. And after speaking to a pal who’s deep into Yoga and meditation for years now, I made a decision to present it a go. However the place to start out?! In the event you search YouTube you’ll discover loads of newbie tutorials and naturally a gazillion guided meditation movies for actually each scenario in life leading to large possibility paralysis.
That very same pal directed me to a mini collection in Netflix referred to as “Headspace” which was then my door opener:
Every episode reveals the fundamentals of a selected type of meditation and on the finish of every episode there’s a 5-7 minutes guided meditation based mostly on the approach proven within the episode. Very straightforward to know and to comply with and to me an ideal method to get in contact with the entire matter. Additionally they have a YouTube channel with a great deal of guided meditations for all kinds of events.
So I went on and I attempted to implement meditation to wind down after a night badminton session. And the outcomes I acquired have been nothing however gorgeous. For me personally, I discovered the simplest meditations for that objective to be type of physique scan meditations. The best one for me was this one right here that I can extremely suggest if you wish to give it a attempt (it’s in German, sorry…):
I’ve discovered {that a} approach referred to as “non-sleep deep relaxation” (NSDR) very lately that appears to be very comparable and I actually like this video as effectively:
Spending 15-20 minutes on a kind of meditations simply mendacity or sitting down on the sofa helps me scale back my coronary heart fee and my total stress stage considerably. I nonetheless want a while to completely relax and having the ability to fall asleep, however the meditation clearly can velocity up this course of and particularly helps to shut my fascinated by the earlier match conditions in the course of the session.
As a little bit of background to the NSDR routines, they’re based mostly on a method referred to as Yoga Nidra:
Up to now I’ve solely dipped my toes into that entire space, however these appear to have loads of potential. In the event you additionally need to give it a go, right here’s a starter:
I’ve completed this routine as a substitute of taking a nap on a day after I felt very exhausted and drained within the afternoon and it felt as if I had really taken a very good nap. My entire physique and mind felt vitalized and re-energized with out the tiredness I normally really feel after a day nap. So that is one thing I can be digging into deeper. I can think about this being tremendous helpful throughout a break on an extended match day.
Earlier than I proceed with issues like respiration workouts or chilly publicity, I’d prefer to take a break right here and cut up this large cake into a number of smaller slices. And I’d extremely respect some suggestions if anybody discovered it to be helpful as much as right here and naturally it could be very fascinating to listen to from others who’ve want to share their very own experiences with mediation.
