Now more than ever, we are increasingly overloaded with external stimuli regarding the pandemic and the impact it is having on our daily lives, which means creating space to quieten the mind is of more benefit than ever before.
Though we are physically isolating ourselves, our minds are moving at an increased pace. The longer this situation continues, the more people’s minds seek slowness, and so our players and coaches are choosing to turn down the noise regarding the reporting of the current pandemic. As we spoke about last week, while we can’t control the news, we can control what we watch, read and listen to.
We are encouraging our players to turn down the noise and replace it with moments of meditation. Meditation is familiar to our players as it is one of the practices we use regularly to manage the stress of a footy season. Though the practice has been around for over 2600 years, modern science has only recently shown us why we should pay attention. It has been proven to reduce stress, depression and anxiety, lower blood pressure, improve sleep as well as our ability to focus. As we become increasingly stressed during the current pandemic, meditation helps us connect with the parasympathetic system - the safety and recovery system.
Our captain Dyson Heppell spoke recently about how he uses it as part of his daily routine. Here is a link to some meditations that have been made for the current situation and made available free of charge by Headspace which we recommend Bombers fans trial over this period.
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