The Mind

The Sun is the star that symbolizes the brain and the heart. It is the center of this solar system just as the heart and the brain are the centers of our body’s system. Though the Sun is the source of courage, energy, and harmony of the orderly motions in the system, it is not contemplative or thinking. Your mind can be like the Sun: it can keep everything in your body in working order without analyzing the motions.

The state of your mind is very important. “Your state of mind influences the effect of an exercise,” Eric N. Franklin reminds us in Conditioning For Dance (2004). In the book The Rock Warrior’s Way (2003) Arno Ilgner writes, “Our performance is greatly affected by the subconscious hidden parts of our mind.” Furthermore Ilgner writes, “We must become aware of mental processes that are subtle, taken for granted, hidden, or overlooked. Consciousness of our mental processes is the first step in understanding how they affect our performance.” Though our minds are always thinking, we seldom recognize and control our thoughts.

One essential key to being able to understand our thoughts is to slow down our thinking dialogue enough to become aware of each thought. The mind is one part of our body that many people use to an excessive extent. All day, and even at night if you dream, your mind is buzzing with conscious, subconscious and unconscious thoughts. For most people, when exercising, it is best to relax the brain and let the mind meditate. There is plenty of value in not thinking. Stopping your thoughts can allow them to be clearer when you do want to think intensively.

Meditation is a widely used, ancient form of mental relaxation. “Meditation means opening yourself to truth. And sometimes the truth hurts,” writes Dharma Singh Khalsa in Meditation As Medicine (2002). The author also writes, “Meditation is excellent at removing the obscuring screens of your own personal concerns, and letting you see things the way they really are.” However, for some people it is hard to stop the thinking patterns when sitting and doing nothing. However, when exercising intensely it is easier for most people to stop thinking and merely be present while in motion.

Feel every sensation and breath deeply while exercising. Don’t actively think. If thoughts arise, let them pass with ease and clear your mind again. This type of active meditation can help you achieve the ability to meditate anywhere. Another type of meditation is to concentrate your thoughts on a single object of your choice and hold it still in your mind.

If you practice a life threatening or exhilarating physical exercise, then there is a certain type of relaxed and alert state of mind that will allow you to perform with more mastery. This type of mental state is often referred to as the warrior state of mind. Arno Ilgner writes in The Rock Warrior’s Way (2003), “The warrior hones his body and mind. If he does not he will not live long.” According to Ilgner this is because “[h]e must perform with absolute mastery and calm in the face of horrendous mortal danger.” An extremely active, yet calm state of awareness is involved in the warrior’s mind. This type of awareness is attention without the distraction of fear. Sometimes fear is necessary for survival. However, often it is illusory. An illusionary fear can create unnecessary worry and stress.

Depending on the nature of the exercise, you may want to focus on the meditative mind or the warrior mind. Either way, tranquillity and attention are essential mental states. Even in the calmest meditation you should have alert awareness, and in the peak of performance keep your mind calm. These states will greatly effect your emotional and spiritual states of being as well.

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