Better mental health starts with Headspace. Unrivaled expertise to make life feel a little easier, using guided meditations, mindfulness tips, focus tools, sleep support, and dedicated programs.
Hi and welcome to day one of the recovery pack. Now, rest and recovery in sports is probably the most underrated and neglected aspect of training. The truth is, the more intense your exercise and competition, the greater the need for rest and recovery, the body simply will not perform at its optimum level if it's not given enough rest. Now of course, there's two different types of rest and recovery. There's the short term, immediately after an event, and then there's the long term, how do you build in a pattern of rest and recovery over the long term? Whether that's part of your training cycle, part of your off season, your rest cycle. These next 10 days are really how to approach that in such a way that it starts to feel productive rather than feeling lazy and unproductive when you're not doing something, instead, recognizing the benefits and understanding how rest impacts performance. Now the exercise we're going to use is a visualization exercise. So if you haven't done any of that before make sure you watch the visualization video first. As always, I'll lead you through the exercise. But to start off with, just make sure you're sitting comfortably. Whether that's on a chair or on a bench, on the floor, eyes open, and nice soft focus. And when you're ready, just starting with some big deep breaths. Breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth. And with the next out breath, just gently closing the eyes. Just feeling the weight of the body pressing down. And just starting to notice the different sounds in the space around you. And just bringing the attention back to the body now, starting to notice how the body feels right now. A big part of rest and recovery is learning to listen to the body. So starting at the top of the head just gently scan down towards the toes noticing what feels comfortable, what feels uncomfortable. We're not trying to change anything, we're just listening and noticing how the body feels. And as you become more aware of those different sensations in the body, starting to notice the movement of the breath, that rising and falling sensation the body creates as it breathes. Sort of a more subtle sensation. And just taking a moment to notice the rhythm of the breathing right now. Now having focused the mind in that way, just like you to imagine a really strong ray of sunshine just beaming down from above your head down into the body. (indistinct) though it was very warm, comforting. I'd like you to imagine it almost has a liquid quality in the sense that it flows. We're going to imagine almost as though the body is like a vase or a jug just filling up with this quality, and as it does so, it just washes away any discomfort, any toxins, any lactate, whatever it may be that's built up in the body and instead...
Details
About your teachers
- More about Andy
A former Buddhist monk, Andy has guided people in meditation and mindfulness for 20 years. In his mission to make these practices accessible to all, he co-created the Headspace app in 2010.
- More about Eve
Eve is a mindfulness teacher, overseeing Headspace’s meditation curriculum. She is passionate about sharing meditation to help others feel less stressed and experience more compassion in their lives.
- More about Dora
As a meditation teacher, Dora encourages others to live, breathe, and be with the fullness of their experiences. She loves meditation’s power to create community and bring clarity to people’s minds.
- More about Kessonga
Kessonga has been an acupuncturists, therapist, and meditation teacher, working to bring mindfulness to the diverse populations of the world.
- More about Rosie
Rosie Acosta has studied yoga and mindfulness for more than 20 years and taught for over a decade. Rosie’s mission is to help others overcome adversity and experience radical love.
Look after your mind
Proven guided meditations and programs to help you stress less, sleep more soundly, and better navigate life’s challenges
Science-backed
Studies show that using Headspace for 30 days can reduce stress, increase resilience, and improve overall well-being
Explore 1000+ expert-led exercises
Access our library of meditations, breathing exercises, and guidance videos for stress, sleep, focus, everyday anxiety , parenting, and more.
Member reviews
Hear from some of our members
Your app brings so much peace and tolerance to our home.
Rachel
UK
Changing my thoughts has allowed me to change my life.
Davide
London
The stress and loneliness courses … taught me how to comfort myself.
Alicia
Canada
Headspace provides me with … a connection to myself, and a disconnection from negative thoughts, feelings, and sensations.
Keri
UK
Related to 'Sports Recovery'
- © 2024 Headspace Inc.
- Terms & conditions
- Privacy policy
- Consumer Health Data
- Your privacy choices
- CA Privacy Notice