As I watched the Wimbledon tennis final at the weekend it was quite obvious that we were witnessing two players of incredible skill. it was amazing to watch and I particularly admired the way they made it look so easy! How could they hit the ball with such power and move around the court at such speed and still look relaxed & in control?
The answer is…they have excellent Gong Fu (Kung Fu).
You may be asking what the heck does kung fu have to do with the Wimbledon tennis final?
There is a huge misconception over what kung fu actually means. first of all it does not mean martial art or fighting. This is a complete mis-translation. Instead it should be correctly translated as developing a skill over time through persistant hard work and effort.
A concert pianist, artist, ballerina, writer can all display good kung fu. Roger Federer and Novak Djokovich have spent years practising, training and honing their skill to get them to the top of their game and have excellent kung fu.
Relaxation is like any other skill..it needs to be practised everyday, persistantly over days, weeks and years to become proficient at it, to get to the point where you can relax no-matter where or what you’re doing.
Unfortunately alot of us up until now have been practising the reverse. When we are not fully conscious we are not aware of when we get caught up in a cycle of stress and our body and mind tighten up. We get swept away on the wave of overpowering emotions, caught up in the story we then project and lost in the emotional drama.
Over time we can become very experienced at getting caught up in this habitual cycle and it is often only seen at the last minute when a migraine appears that we are forced to address the situation. But instead of addressing the root of the problem i.e our ‘reactivity’ to a situation,and letting go of the tension in our body, this is generally ignored and instead a painkiller is taken.
The wonderful thing is though that it doesn’t have to be this way.
Like any skill, relaxation can be learned and through regular practise you can become…surprise surprise…really good at it!
By becoming more aware of your body you will begin to notice when you are in the stress cycle and when your body starts to tighten up. You will then be in a powerful position to release and let go of that tension, releasing you from the grip of the stress response.
You’ll start to notice how much better you feel. More in control, more relaxed and definately more energised.
So just like Novak Djokovich, you too can become a champion! A relaxation champion.
Have a great day and let me know how you are getting on.
Rob
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