February at Valesco!

Steady the Chaos - Concentration in Practice

With the CrossFit Open underway, it’s been great to see everyone throwing down on the dancefloor to find out what they’re made of while sharing in the experience of a community pushing together. Like every year, it’s been a mind-blowing couple of weeks so far. I’ve certainly enjoyed testing my own limits… currently struggling to type with my 26.2 T-Rex arms which now have the fine motor skills of overcooked noodles.

While these workouts come wrapped in a bit of drama and leader board excitement, they’re ultimately another chance for us to move, and practice where we place our focus when things start to get uncomfortable.

Are you still focussing on what you’re reading? Are you checking your phone?

In moments like these the mind tends to drift, focus can wane and be pulled away from the task at hand (More so, admittedly, with a judge shouting at you; “NO REP!” and you have no idea why). Sometimes the most useful thing that we can do is to bring our attention back to something simple: breath, posture, the next rep.

Just one small thing to steady the mind can have a profound direct effect on how we respond to fatigue and handle discomfort. It’s in those moments, when things get tough, that real progress can happen.

Some of you may know me as a coach, some as a yoga teacher, and some as both. In my yoga lineage we have this goal of stilling the mind, to attempt to quiet the constant fluctuations that usually pull our attention outwards. One of the ways we work towards this is by bringing attention back to something simple, like the breath or the body or something external to which we focus. Progress in yoga (beyond the poses) might be more abstract than progress in the gym, but interestingly the method can look very similar.

A steadier response to intense stimuli can make challenging moments more manageable, and this compounds with physical adaptations from training (e.g. getting stronger and mentally resilient concurrently), this is beneficial for athletes those of all levels. When our mind steadies, we move better and maintain composure as fatigue builds. Of course, it can seem like it is easier said than done, that’s why bringing attention back to something simple (e.g. breath, posture, the next rep) can be so powerful.

Are you still reading? Do I still have your attention?

 Next time you’re on the rower, the rig, a mat, or under a barbell and suddenly you find yourself wandering around looking for your water bottle 4 minutes into a 5 minute AMRAP, give it a try. Pick one simple point of focus and return to it every time your mind scatters (it will, trust me, we are all human). Notice what shifts when you do, and how it gets just quiet enough to stay with the work instead of fighting it.

 Over time those small moments of attention begin to build. Our ability to maintain clarity can carry over to other areas of our lives, helping us to respond a little more evenly to whatever challenges come our way.

And if your attention has drifted again by now… well, that’s exactly why we practice.

When the workout gets hard, where does your attention go? If it’s drifting toward the thought of a nice calming yoga class… fair enough. You know where to find me, Sundays: 9am St. Werbs and 11am St. Phillips. Bookable on all memberships. I’ll be there… hopefully with fully functioning arms!