Technical Lesson #2: Mindfulness Training

Mindfulness Introduction - "Reset"

Rowing is a sport that requires a lot of discipline.

We push our bodies everyday.  We endure extreme cold, and heat, and everything in between. We blister our hands and strain our muscles, and put ourselves through many other physical discomforts that we could easily avoid by staying home. Rowing is just a sport. We don’t have to be here.

But we are here.

Everyday, we show up and we choose how hard we are going to push our bodies. We choose to find that extra gear in the last 500m, we choose to run the extra mile, or spend a few more minutes practicing drills before taking it into the docks.

While our bodies are doing the physical work, our minds are the part of us choosing to be here, and a result they are our most valuable assets.  So today we are going to talk a little bit about training the mind.

Like training the body, training the mind takes consistent concentrated practice over time. Unlike training the body, the results of a trained mind are not always as tangible or visible to the outside world.

But when you look at the highest levels of performance, both in sport and in other pursuits, the calm focus of the expert readying herself for competition is clearly visible. The rower sitting on the starting line at the Olympics is no less nervous then you are during a Manny Flick.  The difference is that through years of high-pressure situations, she has been forced to gain control over her thoughts.

So what is mindfulness?

To be mindful is to be aware of what you are doing while you are doing it. To be cognizant of your physical surroundings and how you relate to them in any given moment. Do you feel the breeze on the back of your neck? Is your face tense with focus or worry? What does the water sound like under the boat?

In sculling we strive to develop a “boat feel” or flow. This requires that we be connected to the boat in every stroke; constantly aware of how our movements are affecting those of the hull underneath us. Further, a master sculler must take note of how the wind and water are effecting the movement of the boat, both while rowing and when sitting still.  When our minds are preoccupied (with stress, or pain, or thoughts of dinner…) then we cannot feel the boat and thus we lose our connection to it and our hope of gaining a flow in our practice. 

In order to be aware of these things we must slow down our thoughts, let go of our stresses and distractions, and allow our senses the space to be present.  In other words we must train our minds to block out distraction in favor of the present moment.  We need a mental reset button – a way to clear our minds from the hectic world happening around us in an effort to regain focus on the task at hand.

We will practice this "reset" together now, and some variation of quiet sitting on a near daily basis for the rest of the season. But ultimately this is your tool, to be used whenever you find yourself anxious, or frazzled, or in need of a perspective check.  

“Reset”

·      Sit cross-legged with your palms on your knees.

·      Sit up tall and relax the shoulders away from the ears.

·      Feel the connection of your sits bone to the ground.

·      Note the heaviness of your body rooted into your seat.

·      Feel the weight of your palms on your knees.

·      Let your shoulders be pulled down by this connection, grounding yourself further.

·      Tuck your chin slightly in towards the chest and relax the muscles of the face.

·      Turn your focus to your breath, noting the rise and fall of your lungs with each breath.

·      Picture the oxygen traveling in with each inhale, reaching every cell in your body

·      And the follow it out as you exhale any remaining tension into the world.

·      If you find your mind drifts away, simply reset your focus on your breathing.

·      1 min Quiet Sitting.

·      Take a deep breath in through your nose

·      Exhale fully through your mouth.

·      Again, deep inhalation through your nose

·      Exhale fully through your mouth.

·      Last time, Inhale through your nose

·      Exhale fully though your mouth.

·      Gently open your eyes. 

 

 

A reset can be done anywhere. In the boat you do not need to let go of your oars to employ a mindfulness practice. Instead focus on the connection of your hands to the oar handles, your toes to the footplate, and your body to the seat. You can run through a reset with as little as three deep focused breaths and quickly regain composure and prepare your mind for the challenges ahead.