Focus Turns Exercise Into Mind/Body Training by Joan Kent, PhD

Focus Turns Exercise Into Mind/Body Training
By Joan Kent, PhD

Which activities count as mind/body training? Yoga and t’ai chi come to mind. Weight lifting? Why or why not?

Some would submit that almost any activity could be a mind/body workout, depending on how it’s approached.

Some time ago, my coach and I co-wrote a 2-part post called “The Tao of Training.” It outlined the differences between exercise and training – and suggested that the primary distinguishing element of training is consciousness.

From that to mind/body training is a short leap, since bringing consciousness to any workout would most likely make it a mind/body activity.

Do You Dissociate When You Work Out?

It’s almost impossible to discuss consciousness without including focus.

When some – maybe most – people exercise, their focus is not on what they’re doing. They may be thinking about work, calls they need to make, plans for the weekend – anything but the workout. That type of focus is called “dissociated.” It takes no practice because it’s our default whenever we’re not disciplined.

Dissociated focus, I was taught, has no place in training.

Recently, it came to my attention that dissociated focus is being taught to indoor cycling instructors in their certification trainings. Apparently, it’s a method of getting cycling participants to work harder by taking their minds off the discomfort of hard cycling.

Because my first cycling certification was quite some time ago, that surprised me. I never learned that.

Certifications aside, most of my cycling instruction came from my excellent athletic coach. He always told us to focus on exactly what we were doing. That type of focus is called “associated.”

Associated Focus May Be External Or Internal

External focus includes anything going on in the room: the instructor’s voice, the sound of pedals turning, whatever’s in your visual field.

Internal focus pertains to what’s happening in your body: sweating, body temp, the feel of clothing against skin, heart rate, breathing.

Associated focus may be wide – taking in as much information as possible regarding what we see, hear, feel and so on – or it might be narrow – zeroing in on one thing, such as the pedal stroke or even one segment of the pedal stroke, such as the upstroke.

Wide or narrow, external or internal, the key is not to attach a thought process to it, but to “go sensory” and experience it through our senses.

My coach taught us to approach hard training by being aware of all that’s happening – in the muscles, with heart rate, with breathing, and more – but not to think about any of it.

He loved to say that we defeat ourselves mentally long before we’re defeated physically. Our coach taught us to feel everything, and then transcend it.

“It’s not that it doesn’t hurt, it’s just that it doesn’t matter,” he said one day during tough, big-gear climbs. I immortalized the saying on a boxful of t-shirts.

Dying Is Easy. Transcendence Is Hard.

As great as transcendence sounds, it didn’t always work for me. I would find myself striving to get into that transcendent state, and then striving to stay there. The striving itself was antithetical to the state.

Striving for transcendence also linked “good” or “bad” with whichever state I was in at any moment. If I felt discomfort, was I doing it wrong?

My solution came from a non-cycling environment – a workshop with Zen master Genpo Roshi.

By modifying one of Roshi’s techniques, I discovered the key to keeping my focus associated during hard efforts. (For those who might want to try it or teach it, it’s helpful to practice first during a moderate-intensity workout.)

No Attachments, No Aversions

The Zen behind this technique is No Attachments, No Aversions.

Visualize a triangle superimposed on your body. The lower left corner is the part of you that feels the discomfort or pain and reacts to it:

“This sucks. If it hurts now, what will it feel like in 5 more minutes? Why did I come to this class today?” And so on.

The lower right corner is the part of you that transcends the pain/discomfort and rises above physical limitations.

Now bring those two points together at the apex of the triangle, directly over your head. Clear your mind of thought, and train with absolutely no preference.

With no preference, there’s no striving to reach the transcendent state.

Is It Okay To Prefer No Preference?

One moment you might transcend the discomfort. There’s no attachment to that, no holding onto it because it’s better. Experience it for as long as it happens.

The next moment, you might find yourself feeling the pain, or reacting to it. If that occurs, there’s no resistance – either to the pain or to the reaction. Experience it with no aversion and let it pass through. Whatever happens is absolutely okay.

The state of No Preference is the ultimate mind/body state – or more accurately, it’s a no-mind/body state.

In a very real sense, there is no emotion, just energy. Appreciate it; let it happen and pass through.

Using this technique, I can stay connected, associated with what’s happening. Because any state is okay, I don’t strive, fight the moment, or resist what is. I never feel I’m doing it wrong.

When cycling participants started asking me to run through “the triangle” during classes I taught, including classes I subbed for the coach, I knew it worked for others, too.

This method is in the moment and fully conscious. There’s no fear of difficulty, because it truly doesn’t matter. Whatever happens is okay.

I encourage you to try this, and expect it will work well for your workouts.

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I help clients work with their food to change brain chemistry — and that has huge implications. Improvements such as better health, better moods, and better focus and training are just a few. On October 3 & 4, I’ll be running a 2-day immersion to help you change your food and even quit sugar — finally and for good. Please visit www.LastResortNutrition.com for more information, or contact me at drjoan@FoodAddictionSolutions.com