What do you practice?
Every athlete, academic, and people in general have one or more things they can and should be good at. No matter your hobby, sport, or life's calling, the key is practice. Wise teachers tell us "practice, practice, practice." I have heard it in everything from martial arts to volleyball to making quilts.
Martha Graham, modern dancer from The Village in New York City, was key character in a book by Mikhail ~ called simply, Flow. Runners know it, Shannon A knows it, and undoubtedly you are familiar with this concept yourself.
Flow is the state in which the brain shuts off and the spirit and body take over in any pursuit, be it writing, running, or learning a trade. Even cleaning your house can put you into the flow. I distinctly remember one year turning on bob Marley to sweep and do the dishes, and it made all the difference. PRetty soon, I stopped the self-talk and started working. Next thing I know the house was clean. *Grin*.
Some practice meditation or prayer. While I do not have years of practice at either, I sense that these are at the heart of flow. Prayer is pretty specific and I often here it defined as a conversation with God or something similar. If that is what you think of, then for the purposes of this discussion, try letting go of that description and imagine the benefots of such actions. Think about your practice, be it athletic, artistic, spiritual or otherwise. as you stop thinking about many other things and start to focus, something takes over. You are "in the zone."
I would like to hear your opoions. How do you think the concepts of meditation or flow relate t this photo of the volleyball players? What experiences with flow come to mind for yourself?
Best,
Kate
Martha Graham, modern dancer from The Village in New York City, was key character in a book by Mikhail ~ called simply, Flow. Runners know it, Shannon A knows it, and undoubtedly you are familiar with this concept yourself.
Flow is the state in which the brain shuts off and the spirit and body take over in any pursuit, be it writing, running, or learning a trade. Even cleaning your house can put you into the flow. I distinctly remember one year turning on bob Marley to sweep and do the dishes, and it made all the difference. PRetty soon, I stopped the self-talk and started working. Next thing I know the house was clean. *Grin*.
Some practice meditation or prayer. While I do not have years of practice at either, I sense that these are at the heart of flow. Prayer is pretty specific and I often here it defined as a conversation with God or something similar. If that is what you think of, then for the purposes of this discussion, try letting go of that description and imagine the benefots of such actions. Think about your practice, be it athletic, artistic, spiritual or otherwise. as you stop thinking about many other things and start to focus, something takes over. You are "in the zone."
I would like to hear your opoions. How do you think the concepts of meditation or flow relate t this photo of the volleyball players? What experiences with flow come to mind for yourself?
Best,
Kate
