Can you remember the last time your mind and body were in perfect harmony?
I love this feeling.
It's like the flow state when writing code, but for mind and body.
Just focusing on the current movement and the goal.
I know of three activities that give me this feeling: yoga, martial arts, and dancing.
With all three, I can get lost in the moment. There's pursuit of perfection (towards what the instructor says) mixed with exploring my body and listening to my feelings.
For martial arts, there's more a pursuit of perfection within the possibilities my body gives me.
When doing Yoga, it's much more about feeling into my body and to savor every movement within the current asana.
And when dancing, there's a constant switch between practicing single movements to perfection and completely letting my creativity flow.
I don't get this feeling with regular workouts. There it's just me tricking my body into doing just one more repetition. Which can still be satisfying.
Whatever you do, I hope you have one activity where you regularly get mind and body in harmony. I'd love to know yours, just hit reply!
“Me thinks that the minute my legs begin to move my thoughts begin to flow, as if I had given vent to the stream at the lower end and consequently new fountains flowed into it at the upper.” – David Thoreau
Reading Recommendations
Accepting Anxiety in Order to Tame It
“There’s a funny thing about anxiety: all of us experience it, and all of us think we shouldn’t be experiencing it.”
The Secret to Happily Ever After
“The next time your partner does that irritating thing, ask yourself: What’s more important to you, being right or being happy?”
Things You Should Never Do, Part I
“Netscape 6.0 is finally going into its first public beta. There never was a version 5.0. The last major release, version 4.0, was released almost three years ago. Three years is an awfully long time in the Internet world. During this time, Netscape sat by, helplessly, as their market share plummeted. It's a bit smarmy…”
Weekly Mindfulness Practice
Before doing your next meditation practice, do a short walking meditation.
Take a short path of 20 steps that you can go in one direction. Walk these steps slowly and pay attention to each step.
How does each step feel? Can you feel the foot rising, moving, and then falling?
Go back and forth slowly and mindfully for a few minutes.
Then sit down on the floor, if possible in a meditation posture, and start your meditation practice.
End Note
If you enjoy this newsletter, please share it with someone you know. Just forward them this email.
Have a great week
Simon
PS: What do you think about this? Please hit reply and let me know. I'm curious!