Harden Your Body, Ease Your Mind

By P. Myatt Murphy

Count Naturally
One of the things we do grudgingly at the gym is stretch. But forget about the counting-seconds stuff, says Budd Coates, marathoner and contributing editor for Runner's World. Instead, he recommends you count breaths. Ten breaths is all you need for any one stretch to help your mind stay in tune better with your body

Hang Around the Gym Awhile
Instead of skipping your treadmill cool-down and immediately heading for the exit, find a spot in the gym where you can sit and relax for 10 to 15 minutes in silence. "It's easier to achieve total relaxation when your body is in a state of post-exercise fatigue," says Emmet Miller, M.D., author of Deep Healing: The Essence of Mind/Body Medicine. "Just sit and concentrate on your body as it brings itself back to a normal state of being." Feeling your muscles relax and your breath return to normal is a way for your mind to cool down along with your body.


A version of this article originally appeared in Men’s Health.

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