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LEARNING OUTCOMES
Define the concepts of mindfulness and mind-body fitness.
Describe the most common mind-body fitness disciplines, including their country of origin; age; approach to and methods of training the body in terms of cardiovascular strength, flexibility, and balance; and how they incorporate equipment, if at all.
Describe breathing techniques from the most common mind-body disciplines, including their purpose, technique, and applicability to improving overall wellness.
Explain how to introduce components of mind-body exercise into traditional fitness training regimens by manipulating a mental, breathing, and speed focus.
Define some aspects of mind-body training that can be implemented within traditional group fitness and personal training settings.
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ANCILLARY LINK
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VIGNETTE
Tanya, a young mother of three small boys, has been working with Dennis, a personal trainer at a local fitness studio, since the birth of her first son 7 years ago. During this time, Dennis has helped Tanya manage her weight and regain her fitness level after each of her three pregnancies, and the two of them have developed a tremendous amount of rapport over the years. Her current regimen consists of 2 days of resistance training with Dennis, as well as three or four evening walks each week. She is getting bored with her walking routine and asks Dennis for some ideas for incorporating mind-body exercise into her program because she has read many good things about yoga in various parenting magazines.
Dennis encourages the idea of adding variety and mindfulness to Tanya's exercise program and asks if she is willing to replace two of her weekly walks with mind-body workouts under the supervision of Elijah, a yoga instructor who works at the studio. Dennis suggests that she continue walking at least two nights a week, as the cardiorespiratory benefits of moderate-intensity walking will not be derived from the yoga program. In addition, Dennis tells Tanya that he will also add some mindful elements to her two resistance training sessions each week.
What is the best way for Dennis to incorporate those elements into Tanya's workouts, and what benefits can she expect from participating in the yoga sessions?
When Dennis and Tanya meet the following week, Dennis asks her if she enjoyed her first beginner's yoga class, and Tanya tells him that she loved it. While discussing Tanya's experience, Dennis finds that she particularly enjoyed the meditative and breathing-focused elements of the class, as well as the mental challenge involved in achieving and maintaining certain poses. To draw some of that experience into Tanya's resistance training sessions, Dennis decides to add some yogic breathing exercises into the warm-up and cool-down portions of their sessions together, and to end each session with a few minutes of meditative visualization that ...