Connect
HOW MINDFULNESS CAN TRANSFORM YOUR WORKOUT: A CHAT WITH BARRE3’S SADIE LINCOLN AND HEADSPACE’S ANDY PUDDICOMBE
If you’ve never incorporated mindfulness into your fitness regimen, the prospect can feel daunting. Where do I start? How do I know if I’m doing it correctly? And why, exactly, am I doing this again?
We sat down with Sadie Lincoln, CEO and Co-founder of barre3, and Andy Puddicombe, Co-founder of Headspace, for a conversation on the why behind mindfulness.
Q: Andy, you describe meditation as “exercise for the mind.” Why do we need to exercise our minds, and what are the benefits?
ANDY: When we train our mind through meditation, we actually increase blood flow to areas of the brain that are important for self-regulation and feelings of wellbeing. This in turn leads to a process called neurosplasticity, where the cortex in those areas gets thicker and stronger. This is similar to when we train the body, focusing on specific muscles. Of course, in order to experience those benefits, it’s important that we meditate regularly, just as it is with physical exercise.
Q: A lot of us feel like our brains are constantly in action, thinking nonstop. That already feels like a lot of exercise for the brain—do we really need more?
ANDY: When we meditate, we are training, or exercising, a very specific aspect of the mind: that of awareness and compassion. We are not looking to exercise the thinking mind—that gets plenty of exercise already! Instead, we are learning to step back from all that inner dialogue to witness it from a place of calm, clarity, empathy, and understanding. When we practice in this way, we not only experience greater peace of mind, but typically more focus, increased compassion, less anxiety and stress, and less reactivity, too.
Q: Sadie, If someone has never practiced mindfulness while working out, what can they expect to feel?
SADIE: In my experience working with thousands of clients, mindfulness combined with movement is a complete game-changer because it is incredibly empowering and invigorating. I have clients who come up to me after class and tell me they didn’t want the workout to end. I also hear over and over again from self-proclaimed non-fitness types that barre3 taught them to love exercise.
Q: When you first began your fitness career, the focus was purely physical. What changes did you notice in your body and mind when you started incorporating mindfulness into your workouts?
SADIE: The biggest change for me was learning to relax into the struggle of exercise and to find calm even in the face of chaos. Barre3 is a butt-kicker! But it doesn’t feel hard because I have learned to observe and honor the burn I feel in my legs and have gratitude for what my body is capable of each day. This is much different from how I approached exercise before my mindfulness practice. I used to grit my teeth, watch the clock, and count down as fast as I could so I could move on to the next move. Today, I surrender to the experience and greet these moments with a playful and curious attitude.
Q: Let’s be honest: A lot of people feel like failures when they try to meditate because they have guilt and shame around not doing it “right.” Andy, can you talk about that?
ANDY: There is no such thing as right or wrong meditation, there is only distracted or not-distracted. We are distracted a lot to begin with. As we practice more, we are distracted a little less. Over time, we find greater stability in this non-distractedness. Part of the problem comes from the misconception that meditation is all about stopping thoughts or clearing the mind. This is not only inaccurate, but it adds a lot of pressure to the exercise. All we are doing is creating a framework in which we can sit back and witness thoughts from a place of calm and clarity, from awareness. When we do this, thoughts tend to slow down a little anyway.
Q: Andy, from your perspective, what are the benefits of applying mindfulness to movement?
ANDY: It is impossible to engage in conscious movement without the presence of awareness. So often we move through habit, through our conditioned patterns, half-lost in thought. Often we may not even realize that this is taking place. But when we bring awareness or mindfulness into our physical activity, we start to see these patterns more clearly, offering us the opportunity to pause, let go of that pattern, and consciously apply a new direction. We also tend to find that quality of flow more easily, where we are moving with relaxed focus. This approach can not only help reduce the risk of injury, it can also transform our ability, whilst increasing our enjoyment of an activity.
Q: Sadie, you’ve talked about how being mindful during our workout helps us build much more than muscle. How can this elevate our workout?
SADIE: At barre3, we view each workout as a way to practice living our lives intentionally and with purpose. Sure we build muscle and sweat, but we also build our “be-present” muscle and our ability to inhabit our bodies and life in a powerful way. When we work out on autopilot and without the discipline of focusing inward, we miss out on the gift of body wisdom and learning to be empowered from within.
Q: In many ways it’s a revolutionary way of approaching fitness.
SADIE: Exactly. Intentional movement is at the heart of our vision to redefine what success in fitness is. Instead of working out to get a desired future outcome, we set the intention to work out in a way that honors what your body needs in the moment. Barre3 is a practice of being at home and safe in your body, just as it is. This is a new way of thinking about exercise, and I believe this shift will transform our relationship with fitness in a very positive and remarkable way. Exercise doesn’t need to be a chore. Exercise can be something that is personal and incredibly rewarding.
Q: Andy, how can meditation help with this goal of feeling at home in our bodies just as they are?
ANDY: This is very much in keeping with underlying philosophy of meditation and Headspace. We are not trying to change something or fix anything; instead, we are getting comfortable in our own skin, becoming more at ease with our mind as it is in this moment, no longer chasing an alternative reality. When we do this, it just so happens that we tend to experience a lot of positive benefits. One of the biggest, and also often the most unexpected, is an increased sense of harmony with those around us. In becoming more at ease with our own mind, we better understand what others might going through, allowing us to meet them where they are with empathy, understanding and respect.
Q: Let’s think big for a second. Mindfulness is such a personal act, but its effects extend far beyond the individual practicing it. Can you imagine a world in which mindfulness were at the forefront? What would that look like?
ANDY: Take a moment to consider an area of life that you care deeply about. Perhaps it’s family, or business, poverty, injustice, government, whatever means something to you. Now consider how that area of society would change if the lens of awareness and compassion were applied to it in a very pragmatic way. How might it transform through the qualities of greater calm, clarity, understanding, and empathy? I’ve witnessed this transformation in individuals, institutions, even entire communities. It is nothing short of life-changing. But the starting point is for each of us to take responsibility for our part in this reality, to tame our own mind, so that we may better serve others.
SADIE: I can imagine a world where every woman is safe and at home in her body. I believe mindfulness is at the center of this vision and I know it to be true because I witness it every day at barre3.
Ready to feel the impact of mindfulness and movement in the barre3 class? Join us in-studio or press play to an online workout today!
If you’ve never incorporated mindfulness into your fitness regimen, the prospect can feel daunting. Where do I start? How do I know if I’m doing it correctly? And why, exactly, am I doing this again?
We sat down with Sadie Lincoln, CEO and Co-founder of barre3, and Andy Puddicombe, Co-founder of Headspace, for a conversation on the why behind mindfulness.
Q: Andy, you describe meditation as “exercise for the mind.” Why do we need to exercise our minds, and what are the benefits?
ANDY: When we train our mind through meditation, we actually increase blood flow to areas of the brain that are important for self-regulation and feelings of wellbeing. This in turn leads to a process called neurosplasticity, where the cortex in those areas gets thicker and stronger. This is similar to when we train the body, focusing on specific muscles. Of course, in order to experience those benefits, it’s important that we meditate regularly, just as it is with physical exercise.
Q: A lot of us feel like our brains are constantly in action, thinking nonstop. That already feels like a lot of exercise for the brain—do we really need more?
ANDY: When we meditate, we are training, or exercising, a very specific aspect of the mind: that of awareness and compassion. We are not looking to exercise the thinking mind—that gets plenty of exercise already! Instead, we are learning to step back from all that inner dialogue to witness it from a place of calm, clarity, empathy, and understanding. When we practice in this way, we not only experience greater peace of mind, but typically more focus, increased compassion, less anxiety and stress, and less reactivity, too.
Q: Sadie, If someone has never practiced mindfulness while working out, what can they expect to feel?
SADIE: In my experience working with thousands of clients, mindfulness combined with movement is a complete game-changer because it is incredibly empowering and invigorating. I have clients who come up to me after class and tell me they didn’t want the workout to end. I also hear over and over again from self-proclaimed non-fitness types that barre3 taught them to love exercise.
Q: When you first began your fitness career, the focus was purely physical. What changes did you notice in your body and mind when you started incorporating mindfulness into your workouts?
SADIE: The biggest change for me was learning to relax into the struggle of exercise and to find calm even in the face of chaos. Barre3 is a butt-kicker! But it doesn’t feel hard because I have learned to observe and honor the burn I feel in my legs and have gratitude for what my body is capable of each day. This is much different from how I approached exercise before my mindfulness practice. I used to grit my teeth, watch the clock, and count down as fast as I could so I could move on to the next move. Today, I surrender to the experience and greet these moments with a playful and curious attitude.
Q: Let’s be honest: A lot of people feel like failures when they try to meditate because they have guilt and shame around not doing it “right.” Andy, can you talk about that?
ANDY: There is no such thing as right or wrong meditation, there is only distracted or not-distracted. We are distracted a lot to begin with. As we practice more, we are distracted a little less. Over time, we find greater stability in this non-distractedness. Part of the problem comes from the misconception that meditation is all about stopping thoughts or clearing the mind. This is not only inaccurate, but it adds a lot of pressure to the exercise. All we are doing is creating a framework in which we can sit back and witness thoughts from a place of calm and clarity, from awareness. When we do this, thoughts tend to slow down a little anyway.
Q: Andy, from your perspective, what are the benefits of applying mindfulness to movement?
ANDY: It is impossible to engage in conscious movement without the presence of awareness. So often we move through habit, through our conditioned patterns, half-lost in thought. Often we may not even realize that this is taking place. But when we bring awareness or mindfulness into our physical activity, we start to see these patterns more clearly, offering us the opportunity to pause, let go of that pattern, and consciously apply a new direction. We also tend to find that quality of flow more easily, where we are moving with relaxed focus. This approach can not only help reduce the risk of injury, it can also transform our ability, whilst increasing our enjoyment of an activity.
Q: Sadie, you’ve talked about how being mindful during our workout helps us build much more than muscle. How can this elevate our workout?
SADIE: At barre3, we view each workout as a way to practice living our lives intentionally and with purpose. Sure we build muscle and sweat, but we also build our “be-present” muscle and our ability to inhabit our bodies and life in a powerful way. When we work out on autopilot and without the discipline of focusing inward, we miss out on the gift of body wisdom and learning to be empowered from within.
Q: In many ways it’s a revolutionary way of approaching fitness.
SADIE: Exactly. Intentional movement is at the heart of our vision to redefine what success in fitness is. Instead of working out to get a desired future outcome, we set the intention to work out in a way that honors what your body needs in the moment. Barre3 is a practice of being at home and safe in your body, just as it is. This is a new way of thinking about exercise, and I believe this shift will transform our relationship with fitness in a very positive and remarkable way. Exercise doesn’t need to be a chore. Exercise can be something that is personal and incredibly rewarding.
Q: Andy, how can meditation help with this goal of feeling at home in our bodies just as they are?
ANDY: This is very much in keeping with underlying philosophy of meditation and Headspace. We are not trying to change something or fix anything; instead, we are getting comfortable in our own skin, becoming more at ease with our mind as it is in this moment, no longer chasing an alternative reality. When we do this, it just so happens that we tend to experience a lot of positive benefits. One of the biggest, and also often the most unexpected, is an increased sense of harmony with those around us. In becoming more at ease with our own mind, we better understand what others might going through, allowing us to meet them where they are with empathy, understanding and respect.
Q: Let’s think big for a second. Mindfulness is such a personal act, but its effects extend far beyond the individual practicing it. Can you imagine a world in which mindfulness were at the forefront? What would that look like?
ANDY: Take a moment to consider an area of life that you care deeply about. Perhaps it’s family, or business, poverty, injustice, government, whatever means something to you. Now consider how that area of society would change if the lens of awareness and compassion were applied to it in a very pragmatic way. How might it transform through the qualities of greater calm, clarity, understanding, and empathy? I’ve witnessed this transformation in individuals, institutions, even entire communities. It is nothing short of life-changing. But the starting point is for each of us to take responsibility for our part in this reality, to tame our own mind, so that we may better serve others.
SADIE: I can imagine a world where every woman is safe and at home in her body. I believe mindfulness is at the center of this vision and I know it to be true because I witness it every day at barre3.
Ready to feel the impact of mindfulness and movement in the barre3 class? Join us in-studio or press play to an online workout today!
