The Perfect Time To Meditate Is Right After a Run

June 10, 2025 | By DLake

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It’s so obvious, but I never did it until a few months ago.

“All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.”

– Blaise Pascal, 17th-century French mathematician, physicist, and philosopher.

There are a lot of things in life that I learn, and I’m like, “Wow, I didn’t know that.” This is not one of those things.

A lot of people (including myself) struggle to give their time towards meditating, being mindful or even just sitting still and reflecting while breathing in a controlled manner.

Meditation and mindfulness are quite trendy now, but like most things, it’s a tough habit to make sticky.

I know some folks are allergic to the thought of “sitting quietly with their thoughts”, so here is a quick way to hack your brain to not think of it as mental punishment. And instead like a recovery treat that may help you perform better post-workout.

My Meditation Back Story

Meditation, for me, always seemed like what the woo-woo hippies would do. I remember telling a friend, “I don’t need to meditate; I drive, ride my bike, and run. I’m good”. While those activities force me to just focus on the thing in front of me, those things are not really meditating and being fully mindful.

Most folks, again including myself, think of me as a pretty upbeat person. But back in 2012, I had a 30-year-old life crisis and developed some very unrealistic expectation about a career in music that didn’t pan out. What followed was a wave of mild depression/severe sadness. Whilr talking to a great friend, he said matter-of-factly, “Daren, bruh… you just need to meditate.” It hit me hard, and without an app or any guidance, I just sat down half crossed legged and figured it all out. Starting at two minutes per day and then building up to 5-10 minutes. I’ve been meditating on/off for 12 years and consistently for the last six. Most days between 5-20 minutes and sometimes even multiple times per day.

I have ADHD, and this is one behavioral tactic to avoid medicine and keep me at a baseline to avoid ADHD anxiety ridden spirals

Proper sleep, diet, and, you guessed it, exercise are also a few other ways to keep that monkey in my mind from causing more chaos. Stacking meditation after your workout makes so much sense from a sequential and scientific place.

Science To Back That Up

So, on the Huberman Labs Podcast with expert exercise scientist Dr Andy Galpin, they spoke about down-regulation breathing in their recovery episode.

And the best time to do it was right after a workout. Downregulation breathing after a run helps shift the nervous system from a sympathetic (fight-or-flight) state to a parasympathetic (rest-and-digest) state, promoting faster recovery and reducing stress hormones like cortisol.

From the studies he cited, the below is one of the best ways to do it:

• Time: 4-7 mins
• Place: Either a towel over your head, in a dark room, or just your eyes closed
• Method: Box breathing, double inhale, and fast in, slow out, and most preferably through the nose, are all effective

I also got the post workout sequence idea from Mark Sisson’s (Mark’s Daily Apple) weekly newsletter, who said he struggles to meditate and this works well for him

Try It Yourself

If you’re someone who struggles with just sitting still, all you have to do is start at two minutes with controlled, focused breathing right after your run. There are a million apps that can help you with this. Then, look to add one minute per week and try to get it up to 7-10 minutes.

Boom, that’s it—no chasing thoughts, clearing the brain, or any of those more complex meditation techniques. You can do that later if you choose. With this entry level method you’ll still be getting the main benefits of the down-regulation breathing post-workout while laying down the foundation for mindfulness and meditation in the future.

Hell, you can even try habit stacking it to right after you stretch. Then, it’s a nice transition from moving vigorously to gentle movement to rest.

Let me know how you go.