Take a mindful approach to exercise and watch the concerns of life begin to melt away in the moment. (Photos.com)
Though widely publicized, these remain the least important attributes associated with the training of dance, martial arts, yoga, therapeutic holistic exercise techniques, massage, physical rehabilitation, resistance training, and much more. In and amongst all of them, the most important common denominator is the mind. From the decision to begin, through the resolve to continue, explore, and master anything. It is the mind that is most involved and receives the lion’s share of benefit.
Currently the world is experiencing an economic crisis, which has drastically altered the living standards for many and effected most of us in one way or another. Throughout history mankind has struggled to make sense of the world. We have struggled to survive and prosper in it. Health and individual wellness are a constant priority, whether we are wealthy or dwell in squalor. The challenges of maintaining health and morale visit us all regardless of our social station. Our minds are the most important tools to overcoming adversity. Exercise training develops our minds in myriad ways to do it.
The human being is strengthened and maintained by pressure. The mind is sharpened in the crucible of completing tasks. The mind is a like a bone. Without the pressure of gravity a bone will lose calcium, which degrades its integrity and renders it unable to support its own weight. This makes a bone useless for what it was designed. The mind is similar. It needs activity to maintain proper function.
Exercise is as much for the mind as it is for the body, catalyzing harmony between thought and action. However, exercise does not just keep the mind busy. In modern life we can also be too involved mentally. Training can serve the function of mental release by internalizing focus. Opening the inner world enables us to rest and release from the multiple-demand tasks that strain us to the brink, especially those that are not apparently solvable. Too much or too little and we have the same problem: The motivation to train and overcoming boredom.
Repetition is an unavoidable feature of training and learning in general. It is how behavior is reinforced and skill is honed. Boredom can be a negative by-product of repetition.
In long distance activities like running, cycling, and swimming, the adept is able to overcome boredom by being fully present, paying attention to the detail of each step, each stroke. Through total immersion in tasks, we are able to constantly adjust and refine. The concerns of our lives melt away enabled by the ability to focus exclusively on what one is doing.
These abilities are translatable into our lives and make them better. Toil becomes meditation. Like a gardener who cares to make each row identical to the next, a painter––each stroke the same, a craftsman––each piece infused with the quality of his mastery. These are things that have residual reverberations that improve us all.
Imagine a world where everyone takes pride in the quality of what they are doing and has the presence of mind to focus while they are doing it. Personally, I would feel better on a train, plane, or in an automobile.
Have a question? Ask Fitness Expert Emory M. Moore Jr., founder of Embora and the EM Technique, at info@embora.com.
