Meditation Philosophy
What is meditation and mindfulness?
Meditation is training the mind.
Meditation is training the mind to attain your performance and well-being goals. In other words, meditation is not leaving your mental game to chance.
What we know about meditation comes from:
thousands of years of ancient wisdom and practices
decades of intensive, peer-reviewed scientific research studies
practical testing and feedback in elite performance environments
Meditation is built on mindfulness.
Mindfulness is a present-moment awareness of what is happening in your mind and body, and an awareness of what is happening around you.
Mindfulness gets you off auto pilot and into a direct and stable experience of what is happening in the present moment.
Mindfulness gives you the chance to begin again, in the direction you consciously choose, in each moment. A chance to put yourself in rhythm with the flow of what is happening.
Mindfulness is a skill that can be developed. It is the foundation of meditation training.
How can meditation be used to train for performance and well-being?
Meditation is strength and conditioning for the mind.
How many times in sports do we hear things like “one play at time” or “just focus on this possession?” All the time.
Or if you are a coach, how many times have you told an athlete to pay attention? Hundreds, maybe thousands of times.
And how many times have you been taught how to pay attention?
Usually, we haven’t been taught the skill of attention and focus. We just expect it to happen and magically be there.
Meditation affects every corner of life.
At Inner Edge Meditation, we believe meditation is fundamental to training for performance AND well-being. When you are meditating, you are training your mind. The impacts of meditation - concentration, stability, feeling connected, more purposeful - will show up across your life.
Meditation training acknowledges that one area of life will affect another and in order to achieve full potential, we need to train for greater well-being and performance. The two are deeply intertwined.
Anyone can use meditation to develop focus and effectiveness.
You cannot be bad at meditation. The biggest myth of meditation is that one is supposed to stop their mind from thinking. That is simply not possible.
Meditation training is creating space in your mind so you can choose how to direct your attention. When habit takes over and you get swept away into unhelpful habits of mind, it is not a problem. In fact, it is an opportunity. Everytime you notice your mind is lost in thought and you choose what to do with your attention, you are strengthening your meditation muscles.
Meditation benefits build over time.
All of us have an inner life of thoughts and emotions, but only some have the skills to work with that inner life to transform it into an Inner Edge.
The benefits of meditation show up as fractional advantages. Meditation training has some early benefits that show up in recovery, such as sleep or winding down after a practice or competition. Deeper and more sustained changes come from regular training that add up over time.
As you continue to train and learn the skills of navigating and eventually catalyzing an Inner Edge, the benefits of meditation such as concentration, stability, and bringing your best to each moment start to show up in your performance.