Embracing recovery will make you a better athlete. Your body is asking you to work in. It’s time to listen and respond.
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You might already know that yoga and meditation can help post-workout recovery, but the dots have to be connected. You have to do more than go to a yoga class, or close your eyes and set a timer. You’ll get very little out of going through the motions of restorative activities — on or off the mat. To optimize recovery, you have to reset your perception of rest and break your habit of resisting it.
It’s how you “work in” that matters. It must become your new normal, a given every day. To do this, you have to bravely endeavor in the opposite direction of your usual mode of operation in order to blend your working out and working in to full advantage. The good news is that you already possess everything you need to recover for real right now. With practice, you can make the process of working in as habitual as working out. And it feels good, too.