I’m standing at the bottom of the hill. My heart rate has dropped down to about 140bpm, my breathing is full and even again. I have decided what I will work on next.
I take a deep breath feel through my body and relax. I take another breath and imagine my focus for the next sprint to the top – I picture my spine stretching upwards while I maintain both relaxation from my arms through my shoulders, into my body then into the ground arms combined with speed and intensity right until the top. I picture where I plan to stop, smile and recover before jogging down for the next sprint.
Another deep breath and I kick off to start the sprint. One step after another, my legs feel heavier as I climb, my heart accelerates. The desire to tense up and fight the fatigue arrives. I do not raise my eyes, one step at a time, lifting my spine, relaxing my arms and shoulder down into the ground. One step at a time, there is so much to perfect in each step.
I reach the top, smile, breath lift my eyes open to the glory of trees and sky while thanking myself for the work I’ve done. I feel my metabolism has kicked itself up a notch, an inner fire turning fat into heat and action. I imagine how my body learns and adapts to the exercise, then jog back down for another round.
If you feel caught in an endless track of action spurred by the pressure of cramped schedules, hounded by inner dialogue then you can use your training to create a new healthier habit.
Our lives cycle through phases of planning, preparation, action and recuperation. You can deliberately incorporate this in how you train, and through regular practise make it a part of your daily life, and use this to break the headless chicken haboit of endless action. It is a more efficient way to reach where you want to go, and enjoy the process of getteing there.
1. Planning. Whenever you train you can take a moment be aware of the goal that you want to achieve, and what it will be like when you reach it. That can be for a whole session or just an individual exercise as I have described above.
2. Preparation. Once you know what you are going for then you can picture the key elements, feel them, and describe them to yourself. These are the most important aspects of body use that allow for efficient, elegant action.
3. Action. Then launch yourself into the exercise. Pay attention to what is important in the moment, the key elements of body use. Develop your trust that this will take you to where you want to be at the end.
4. Recuperation. Once you arrive at your destination then it is time to acknowledge and celebrate what you have achieved, to enjoy and learn from it. Settle into a moment of appreciation and simple being before choosing or designing the next goal.
It may take some time to develop your goals, and take practise to picture them swiftly and clearly. I will go into some detail on this in a future post. It is important to know what the appropriate focus of attention is during the action. Teachers and mentors are helpful here – as different foci will bring very different results, and sometimes the most effective foci are not always obvious.
Like any other skill it is useful to put practise these steps in easier conditions at first, and then learn to apply the process in more challenging ones as your familiarity and ability develop.
Now you have read this post. Congratulations, you have successfully made your way through my prose! Now what is next? What result are you going for, and what will you pay attention to take you there?
