This article originally appeared in the December 2016 issue of SELF.
And meditation has many proven health benefits, such as reduced anxiety and weight management.
Adding those powerful tools to a fitness practice is more than a buzzy trend.
Eva Jauss
Its a game changer.
Youve probably heard people callrunning, or any workout for that matter, their therapy.
(Maybe youve even said the same thing!)
So what is it about this new category of classes that makes them different?
The 50-minute session starts and ends with meditation.
All the focus is on how you feel and finding the energy in your own body.
Other classes with a similar purpose have sprung up.
Theres something about being really in it, mind and body, that pushes you harder.
It features repetitive, uberchallenging movesthink burpees for the length of an entire songinterspersed with contemplative periods.
Theres grunting, shaking…its out-there, but, devotees say, itworks.
We use the physical body to engage the mind, says Toomey.
We ask students to stay cognizant of what they think and feel in moments of intensity.
The result is a cathartic, purifying, calming release.
The postclass vibes are very peaceful.
It takes serious aerobic fitness, yes, but also tough-as-steel mental strength and colossal willpower.
Students sweat and work hardall while getting profoundly, blissfully lost in movement.
These workouts are a way for women to fuel themselves with good stuff that incorporates spirituality and physical effort.
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Studies suggest the benefits described by Machin are not unusual.
When you end a session in a tough, unpleasant place, you may take that with you.
Nondepressed participants also reported mood-lifting results, such as fewer negative, ruminating thoughts.
Now I can handle things better.
Throughout class Delmonico prompts students to release negative, toxic thoughts.
Hundreds ofappshave made it possible to meditate during your commute.
These days it’s possible for you to seek inner peace en masse.
Our culture has become very tense and anxious, she says.
Everything is so nonstop and outcome-oriented, with no self-reflecting or appreciation of the process.
As a result, Machin says, many people feel depleted.
Theres this fatigue and self-talk that were never doing enough, she says.
In other words, it couldnt be a better time for this kind of hybrid experience to become mainstream.
We want to go beyond a superficial aesthetic payoff and find more meaningful benefits.
And thats why these workouts have a tremendous amount to offer.
They create an experience where students feel so much more than burning muscles and a racing heart.
Its like moving prayer for me, says Morton, the COC devotee.
Its changed my life.
Im happier and more at home in this skin than Ive ever been.
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