“Stillness is the Master of Motion”
Many of the sports-people and performing artists who contact me are extremely talented but can often experience difficulty executing fluid motion during competition and performance.
While they may be able to move effortlessly – even masterfully – during practice or rehearsal, their ability to move with fluidity, effortlessness and power is all but lost on stage or in contention, because they have difficulty experiencing a crucial process in the brain as effectively as those players and performers of world-class status.
Simply put, they are unable to quieten their mind and this pervasive form of self-interference is responsible for the anger, turmoil, tears and frustration experienced by golfers, tennis-players and snowboarders as well as dancers, gymnasts, figure-skaters and musicians who sabotage their own best efforts, as they violate the basic laws of how the brain best produces fluid motion in sport and the arts.
For over two decades now sports-scientists and neuroscientists have been coming to the conclusion long held by practitioners of Meditation and Tai Chi – the principle that ‘Stillness is the Master of Motion’ – by studying the brainwaves of world-class athletes and performers and establishing the relationship between alpha-waves, the meditative state and “the Zone”.
Here’s what we know
The Pre-Frontal Cortex (PFC) is the CEO of the brain, responsible for looking at all the thinking processes that occur and making sure that things run smoothly. When first learning a complex motion – like the golf swing, tennis serve or half-pipe routine – the PFC is largely responsible for taking in and analyzing information and helping the muscles of the body execute the motion that is being learned.
However, another part of the brain – the Motor System (MS) – takes over when the motion has been learned and repeated thousands of times during practice, rehearsal and previous performances.
In order to execute complex movement with fluidity, effortlessness and precision when under the pressure of competition or in performance, the signal about the intended motion must go directly to the MS, by-passing the PFC, otherwise the motion will be rendered clumsy, loose and ineffective as the slow-twitch muscles take over and fire in the wrong sequence.
Executing fluid motion has everything to do with a quiet mind, which allows the signal to pass directly to the motor-system, allowing the fast-twitch muscles responsible for explosive and complex action to fire correctly.
This is a process that happens automatically. World-class players do not know they are sending signals directly to the MS, nor do they necessarily know that are switching off the PFC – but they do know how to minimize self-interference and enable the brain and body to communicate with each other effectively, without getting in their own way.
Here’s how to become a world-class athlete or performer
Ch’an (Chinese Zen) Meditation, which compliments Tai Chi practice, is the Eastern art of focusing on the breath and is the fundamental process you need to master, as it has been proven to reduce activity in the PFC shutting down this over-active part of the brain and negating much of the internal dialogue.
The reason for this is that focusing on the breath stops players and performers thinking too much, thus allowing signals about the execution of motion to go directly to the MS.
Research shows that the regular practice of Meditation has the effect of shutting down the part of the brain which processes and analyses information, and this is crucial when you want to perform fluid yet powerful, effortless and precise movement under pressure.
My Free Podcasts for golfers and musicians are available now for you to download and enjoy.
You can also contact me for a free, no-obligation phone or Skype call to discuss how Chi Performance training can help you play and perform to your potential. Simply text or ring 00 44 7986 447 250 or email jayne@chi-performance.com
