Well, it doesn’t have to be rugby, any movement will do, nor meditation, you could just focus your attention on something different. It doesn’t have to be Tai Chi, but its half way between rugby and meditation and its how I found this tip out. As a kid I went from the Rugby pitch, to Tai Chi class every Monday and quickly started to wonder at how these experiences changed my perspective of life.
Changing what your body is doing (with or without a conscious intention), changes the environment of the brain. When you change the brain’s environment, you change it’s point of view.
There are physiological reasons why this happens. Its not just curious and reliable, its how it works.
The brain operates to create a point of view, within an overall narrative about our relationship to what is happening in the world (the story of me). It is also the nexus of the central and peripheral nervous system.
Making the link between the story and the nexus: the story of me is how our nerves summarise what is happening in our body and “out there” in this nexus, creating a sensory and cognitive conscious flow that we experience.
Nerves flow into the nexus, nerves flow out of the nexus. Within the cortices inside the nexus the story is guessed, based on the in and out-bound waves of information. Within the nexus, the brain is always compiling, constantly generating and receiving new patterns within the in and out bound waves.
Wowzers: it’s a bit of a miracle.
And yet, this point of view can become really unstable and distorted in choppy seas. When this happens the brain can get involved, making even more choppy seas, as it motivates our bodies to dance around randomly in search of somewhere safer than the here and now.
Why is this important?
If you are told you need a different perspective on your challenges, or “the problem is the way you are seeing the problem”, or its all about your mindset, well, that’s somewhat true but also useless in circumstances where we most need it - when the personal pressure, and emotional response is intense.
In choppy seas, it is harder for the brain to get a stable point of view, or find a new vantage point to see the bigger picture, or even to look at things from a better angle.
The body is the answer, although you have to work as a whole, and the stories are important too.
Come along to the next session of my “Dealing with Difficult” Masterclass, as we come to the conclusion of the first series by tackling one of the most fundamental skills in psychological flexibility: how to get perspective.
I will unpack the neuroscience and practical application of different versions of Rugby, Tai Chi and Meditation for changing our points of view in the middle of a storm.
For practical stuff like when and where the masterclass is happening click here. (zoom, 12.50pm BST, 10th April). Or hit the green button and I will send you the links.
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