|
|
|
|
|
|
Alternative Medicine and Holistic Health |
|
|
|
Getting into The Zone with The Alexander Technique
Have you ever attempted to perform a simple act and completely failed? From completely mistiming a shot to losing balance at a crucial moment, the outcome may have fallen short of our intention and expectation. In contrast there are times when everything goes just right, every act is carried out to perfection with little perceived effort. Why should this be the case? If we are capable of achieving feats of brilliance one moment, why do we fail so comprehensively the next? What condition is present one moment and gone the next? Athletes refer to the later as 'The Zone ' and spend their lives trying to reach this subliminal level. The elusiveness of the zone gives us a clue into its nature. Athletes experiencing these moments cannot explain how they came to be there, and report that the state is lost as soon as they become aware of being in it. From their observations it appears that 'being in the zone' involves integration of the conscious and unconscious aspects of movement, that is the voluntary decision to act and the reflex that facilitates the action. Becoming conscious of the moment seems to destroy it. A comparable situation is the act of falling asleep, as soon as we become aware we are about to fall asleep we interrupt the process. We cannot do anything to directly make ourselves fall asleep. All we can do is to stop doing what may be preventing the process. At an early age I learnt you do not fall asleep any quicker on Christmas Eve by closing you eyes tighter. The zone is described in a paper titled: The Achievement Zone as: - ... a special place where performance is exceptional and consistent, automatic and flowing. An athlete is able to ignore all the pressures and let his or her body deliver the performance that has been learned so well. Competition is fun and exciting. (Murphy, 1996) Sport Psychologist, Kenneth Ravizza, conducted one of the first studies into the zone in 1977 called: 'A subjective study of the athlete's greatest moment in sport'. He studied the experiences of twenty top athletes during their moments of glory and found that the experience was: - ? temporary and of relatively short duration; non-voluntary and not induced at will; and unique. He found that it required many years of practice before they could enter the zone. He defines the common characteristics of the experience as: - ? focusing on the present moment, effortless merging of action and awareness, loss of personal ego, sense of control, clear feedback, and an intrinsic reward system." A study conducted at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, questioned athletes from a number of sports about their experience in the zone. In a paper titled: 'The Zone : Evidence of A Universal Phenomenon for Athletes Across Sports', by Young and Pain (1999), the conclusion drawn was that regardless of the sport, athletes appear to experience the same 'heightened state of consciousness'. The participants used words such as "peak", "perfect moments", "mindfulness" and "flow" to describe their time in the zone. The words "let", "flow" and "mindfulness" are not generally associated with effort and pushing to the limit. Could being in 'the zone' involve a state of non-interference with movement? A balanced state that promotes optimum integration of the postural reflexes, consciousness and appropriate use of learnt patterns. This could explain why it requires years of practice before the zone is experienced. Unfortunately because we are unaware of how we interfere with the natural mechanisms, time spent in the zone is rare and brief. If we learn to first identify what it is we do to interfere, and then how to prevent it, we may increase our chances of making the zone. One of the best methods to experience 'being in the moment' is The Alexander Technique, a much undervalued thought and movement system. Using these technique sports people regardless of ability can learn to develop awareness skills that can help identify performance-limiting habits. It is only once we have become conscious of these habits can we then start to change them. Athletes who have trained using The Alexander Technique include Matthew Pincent and his gold medal UK rowing crew at the Athens Olympice 2004. For further information see www.artofperformance.co.uk Roy Palmer is a teacher of The Alexander Technique and specialises working with sports people to help improve performance whilst reducing the risk of injury. He writes for many internet forums and magazines and is the author of 'The Performance Paradox':Challenging the conventional methods of Sports Training and Exercise. For further information visit the website at http://www.artofperformance.co.uk
MORE RESOURCES:
Alternative Health - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
The Benefits of Drinking Mangosteen (XanGo) Benefits of Drinking XanGo:The Mangosteen fruit (XanGo's main ingredient) is unique because of its antioxidants and Xanthones. 43 Xanthones have been found thus far in the Mangosteen. A Natural Body Detox Can Dramatically Improve Your Health Detoxification therapy is a completely natural and necessary process to get you healthy and feeling your best! If you've never done an official detox program, you are long overdue for a cleansing experience that will renew your energy, reduce food cravings, improve your metabolism, give you radiant skin, better your sleep, and strengthen your immune system.What is detoxification?Detoxification is the process of either clearing toxins from the body or neutralizing them. A Constipation Home Remedy - Cayenne Cayenne is a constipation home remedy that is effective in producing peristalsis in your colon and aids digestion. It can be used regularly at every meal and when needed for constipation. Natural Alternatives vs. Prescription Drugs Natural Alternatives: A growing phenomenon across this world which is a very diverse concept yet very divine and instrumental in healing health diseases. It might be thought as any health care which is not a part of the mainstream medical establishment. Roundworm and Parasitic Infections A parasite is an organism that lives off, and generally within, a host body. This can include your body, or the body of an animal, like your pet. Bath Time For Your Alzheimer's Patient Caring for an Alzheimer's patient is one of the most difficult things you can do. It involves a lot of energy, time and patience. Homeopathy Homeopathy is a form of alternative medicine used for over 200 years. Introduced to America in the early 1800s, homeopathy is based on the Law of Similars ("like cures like"). 1st Textbook on Sleep Psychiatry An informative textbook confirming a newly established field: Sleep PsychiatryBook Review by Nikos M. Linardakis, M. Dopamine Relieves Pain - Try Encouraging Your Subconscious To Supply It Dopamine has long been known to be linked to positive experiences such as eating and sex. But it's now known to be released when you're in pain, so you may want to try increasing your supply of it--naturally. Sweet Sustenance "The difference between sugar addiciton and narcotic addiction is largely one of degree." - William Dufty, Sugar Blues. 5 Ways to Deal With ADHD With an increasing number of our youths suffering ADHD, stress syndromes, unemployment, depression, drug use, crime and higher rates of youth suicide than ever before, today's parents and teachers are finding their roles more and more difficult.According to renowned family relationships specialist, Marguerite Clancy, there are no overnight solutions for issues such as ADHD, but there are a few quick things struggling parents can do now to start dealing with it:1) Get into a routine and stick to it (try to include fun times and laughter)2) Set up a punching bag or get your child playing a sport3) Be consistent with discipline and offer rewards where appropriate4) Use positive language, keep directions short, maintain calm5) Agree on consequences for behaviour together"There are many options available to parents and carers. Plain Soap as a Natural Method of Infection Prevention It is estimated that 80 percent of communicable illnesses are spread through touch but only about 30 percent of adults wash their hands after using the toilet and still fewer wash thoroughly. The very people who ought to know better are among the worst offenders. Nerve Pain: Try Using Visualizations And You May Get Some Relief "Neuropathic" means nerve damage and refers to nerve pain. So far there's very little that science can do about it. Health - Its All in the Mind Do you ever listen to other people's conversations? I mean when you're standing at a bus stop, or having a drink in a caf after a hard morning's shopping. You know, those people whose voices are just a little too loud and you can't really help listening; after all you are on your own, and other people's lives are quite interesting. Exploring the Mystery of Aromatherapy Through Biotechnology Aromatherapy originated in Ancient Egypt. About a hundred years ago, a pharmacist from France used an innovative method which led to a breakthrough in aromatherapy techniques. How Visualization Is Different from What You May Have Tried for Pain Relief You've probably tried everything you can think of to ease your chronic pain. But chances are that in your search for relief you haven't tried anything quite like visualization statements. Hypnosis Way of General Indications of Deceit When the subject is changed, he's in a better, more relaxed mood. The guilty wants the subject changed; the innocent always wants a further exchange of information. The Health Care Crisis - and a Solution We are presently facing a health care crisis that is getting more dire every day. Health care costs are increasing so rapidly that many companies who offered free health insurance to their employees are now passing a lot of the high cost on to their employees. 3 Natural Cures For A Migraine Headache Only a migraine sufferer understands the pain. Regardless of how the migraine starts the end result is the same - excrutiating pain that renders you helpless. Health and Anti-Aging Some words about anti-aging and disease preventionThe aging process is for the greater part no mystery anymore. It consists for a great part of daily damages done on the macroscopic, tissue, cellular and genetic levels.
|
| home | Iridology | "Mind Machines" | "Alternative Health" site map | Iridology Site Map | "Alternative Botox" |
| © 2000 - 2008 |
