- strength,
- balance, and
- flexibility.
For many years those three served me well, and I focused on finding balance within the triangle they defined. And then I started studying martial arts. And two more concepts were added to my movement arts vocabulary:
- speed, and
- power.
Speed is easy enough to define. But it really took hiking the Appalachian Trail to grasp fully what was meant by power.
While hiking the trail, I had many dreams where I was given tips and tricks on how to make my hike more effective and enjoyable. I also was able to observe many deer and bears very close, in their natural states. To see a deer bound gracefully through the forest is one of the most beautiful movements I can ever imagine.
The message I got, from both dreams and nature, was to reduce my movements to their pure essences. That all extra wobbling, vibration, or sloppiness of movement is, in effect, wasted energy. And this is how I came to meditate on the concept of Power.
I started really examining my stride, and working on perfecting its form. Keeping my spine erect, my head level, and my heart forward. Moving my feet one step at a time with conscious intent, and firm footing.
Within the timeframe of one month, my quads had been tuned into highly efficient machines with cables of steel. I knew how to walk solidly with a heavy load on my back.
Upon my return to civilization, I knew I needed to continue exercising, since I had really enjoyed the benefits while on the trail (calmness, lower heart rate, ability to breath deeply and fully, general feeling of wellness, ability to eat as much as I wanted and still lose weight :). So I put together a basic exercise program that I've been doing 6 days a week ever since.
Just as with the trail, I started to really slow down the exercises, and to focus on perfecting the actual forms. I found that this was making my workouts harder and harder without increasing the reps. For instance, doing sit-ups without jerking the head and arms up at the start, keeping the heart forward and spine perfectly rigid for the whole movement. Or doing push-ups in extreme slow motion, being sure to keep the entire body rigid, and coming *all* the way down until nose and pelvis are barely touching the floor, then up slowly. But after a while, I wasn't sure that these slow motion exercises were helping me at all.
Then yesterday morning, I was in a bit of a rush, and decided to do all my normal exercises as fast as possible, with no cool down breaks. I was startled by how easy it was! And then I understood what had happened: by training in slow motion, I had built tremendous amounts of power, while at the same time training my muscle memory in perfect form.
So, then, the definition of power: being able to inject a maximum amount of energy and intention into a movement, so that when and if it comes into contact with something else, it will literally pass through it because its force is so strong.
What really brought this all together for me was learning the guitar. I've applied the same concepts. To work on chord progressions, I practice at like one tenth normal speed... and be sure to let the chords resonate for the maximum amount of time; then, when I speed up to normal speed, the strumming patterns fit right in, because my body already has the perfect timing nailed down for the transitions.
