1. Basic principles of mindful movement
2. Inner tuning – smile
3. Inner Movement (Inner Game according to T. Gallwey)
4. The Crouching Tiger analogy
5. Flow, Peak Experiences, Runner’s High
Mindful movement contributes to greater awareness of our
own body and the signals it sends us. It improves muscle
coordination during movement and can help identify and
correct poor movement habits and the pain or other difficulties
associated with them.
Being aware of movement – being aware of our body and
movement – does not mean thinking more or trying harder to
achieve something. It is about relaxing while also focusing the
mind.
• Jon Kabat-Zinn
• Paying attention in a particular way, intentionally, in
the present moment, and non-judgmentally.
• Susan Kaiser Greenland
• Being aware of what is happening as it is
happening.
• Debra Burdick
• Paying attention to what is happening right here
and now, inside us or around us.
Surroundings
Breath
Sensory experiences
Mind
Others
Everything
That which transcends us, beauty, …
A smile is one of the simplest ways to relax muscles throughout the body. In
contrast, negative feelings (fear, stress, …) create tension.
Try to smile at yourself (inwardly, throughout your whole body), not only while
exercising, but also at the people around you.
A smile does not have to be visible if you do not want it to be.
Smiling triggers the release of mood-related neurotransmitters – dopamine,
endorphins and serotonin – and also acts as a mild analgesic.
A smile calms the body, relieves stress and physically triggers relaxation.
One minute of laughter is almost equivalent to an hour of relaxation.
It improves sleep and memory and digestion, thereby also supporting immunity.
It harmonizes the cardiovascular system, accelerates the production of white
blood cells, and improves healing and recovery processes.
Longer-lasting psychological states can manifest themselves in/on
the body – that is true, but it also works the other way around.
By caring for the body, we can also influence our psyche.
For example, consciously maintaining a physical smile has a positive
effect on our inner tuning and our psyche.
I derive the concept of “inner movement” from T. Gallwey’s
theory; in 1972 he published the book Inner Tennis.
Gallwey points out that we need to:
Be properly prepared internally
Perceive without prejudice what is happening in the body – if observation is sufficiently precise and
we give the body a chance, it will adapt itself to produce good performance
Become aware of what predominates in me during movement
and gradually maximize the positive aspects
Let go of preconceptions about myself – listen to Self 2
Let go of fear
Self 1 (associated with the left brain hemisphere) tries to control us in various ways – it dictates what we should
be like and is subject to pressures from our surroundings.
It is as if there were someone inside us dictating what we should be like.
Typical examples are listed below, but try to find and name your own Self 1:
The Instructor
Helpless Harry
Flashy Fred
The Competitor
Mr./Mrs. Fearful (Fearless)
The Critic
Harriet Helper, Nervous Nellie, Julius Judge, …
T. Gallwey argues that if we submit to this self, we will not be able to listen to
our inner self, our body.
Self 2 (associated with the right brain hemisphere) – the
true, often hidden self within us
Self 2 realizes that:
Success does not come from greater effort – on the
contrary, we need to be able to “let go” and “just” perceive.
We need to let go of fear and trust the body, which can
speak to us and adapt if given the chance.
This second self often emerges when a person is tired and
no longer has the strength to maintain the “mask” of Self 1,
or when we learn to work with it consciously.
Awareness of our physicality and awareness of movement often
bring an interesting paradox – a well-executed movement pattern
frequently combines two seemingly contradictory principles:
tension and relaxation.
This paradox can be demonstrated well by a tiger (or cat) lying in
the grass, completely relaxed and warming itself, but the moment
it sees prey it immediately springs into action and all the muscles
it needs for this action become tense – ready for action.
Another good example is a slow-motion shot of an athlete
running a 100-metre sprint (for example, here), where we can see
how muscles that are not currently being contracted can remain
completely relaxed – creating a specific harmony of tension and
relaxation.
The inner setting of the mind is connected with:
Looking forward to it just enough (excessive anticipation often actually diminishes the experience because
it does not match the dreamed-of ideal; the same happens even more strongly if a person does not want to
do something or is not looking forward to it – it then takes a long time to reconsider the situation and admit
that what they are experiencing may be good)
Not having the feeling “I’ve done this a hundred times already” or
“there is nowhere further for me to go with this”
Being fully present in the moment – not going on a trip while spending the first 3 km still thinking about
work, the next 2 km at home dealing with organizational matters, and then several more kilometres thinking
about family relationships, only arriving fully at the trip after about 8 kilometres. It could also happen that
our “head” never catches up.
Do not force it – greater effort will not produce better results
When a person’s right inner setting, abilities and skills
correspond to the movement activity, states described as the
following may occur:
Flow – M. Csikszentmihalyi
Peak Experience – A. Maslow
Runner’s High
In this state, a person becomes immersed in an activity, fully experiencing the moment, not noticing
and yet fully sensing the surroundings; time seems to pass differently, and the activity almost does
itself – with ease. Interestingly, the moment a person realizes they are experiencing a state of flow,
the state ends.
• Gallwey, W. T. (1997). The inner game of tennis: The Classic Guide to the Mental Side of Peak Performance.
Random House Trade Paperbacks.
• Gallwey, W. T., & Kriegel, B. (1977). Inner skiing. Random House.
• MASLOW, Abraham Harold. Náboženství, hodnoty a vrcholné zážitky. Přeložil Irena ŽAMPACHOVÁ. Brno:
Holar, 2017. ISBN 978-80-906731-0-6.
• CSÍKSZENTMIHÁLYI, Mihály. Flow: o štěstí a smyslu života. Přeložil Eva HAUSEROVÁ. Praha: Portál, 2015.
ISBN 978-80-262-0918-8.
• HOGENOVÁ, Anna. Pohyb a tělo: výběr filosofických textů. Praha: Karolinum, 1998. ISBN 80-7184-580-9.
Source of the pictures: unsplash.com