Recently, I discussed the impact of approach as a powerful determinant in the quality of your experience when you train. In that blog, I identified characteristics of your approach to each training session that ensure a quality experience and an effective training session. I also discussed the carry-over effect that such a quality experience can have on many areas of your life. To review that blog: http://www.totalimmersion.net/blog/Totally-Immersed-Beyond-Swimming-Part-1.html

How many times have you felt distracted as you undertake an activity such as swimming by some issue that your mind just can’t let go of? A quiet mindful approach is so valuable; yet IT can be so elusive and intangible to establish. Somehow, each of us must learn to navigate our unique individual path to establish that quiet, attentive and curious mind that ensures we gain maximum value in our training – indeed that we gain maximum value in any of life‘s experiences. Ah, but the mind can be a slippery and crafty thing. If it is distracted or distressed, it will almost certainly impede effective progress in any activity.

The most effective way to draw your mind into a calm state is through meditation. For those of us who live the multi-tasking life so typical of modern western society, meditation is "the dreaded M word" – a much resisted process of sitting quietly while your mind creates an endless commentary about the things you are not getting done… while you sit and do nothing! Of all the forms of practice and training that I have tried, sitting meditation is the most challenging. Give me a century bike ride or a 2-hour pool session any day, but please don‘t ask me to sit still! I’ll do the dishes – anything!

Meditation is a practice of disengaging the mind from it’s incessant commentary of judgments, opinions, desires and aversions. This disengagement assures a calm, attentive and curious mental state – what practitioners call beginner’s mind. Sitting in meditation can be elusive in producing the desired result, but each time you sit, you have the opportunity to gain a little more proficiency at "volume control" – the ability to turn down the volume of that little voice in the back of your head. The simple yet daunting process of sitting and focusing on your breath is the most effective way to learn this mental volume control.

I am able to approach most of my athletic training sessions with a beginner’s mind – yet I rarely practice sitting meditation. So can you! I use moving meditation to find and control the volume of my little voice. In fact, swim training – or any form of endurance training – provides you with a great opportunity to gain proficiency at volume control through moving meditation. This is a significant element of Total Immersion – the "swim meditation" of mindful training.

To consistently attain the curiosity, attentiveness and brilliance of a beginner’s mind when you train, you must be familiar with the "landscape" of disengaging from the incessant mental commentary, of turning down the volume. You can do this through complete absorption in movement and the pursuit of graceful excellence. Most paramount in this pursuit is your balance. Scientific research has revealed that up to ninety percent of your neurological energy is invested in maintaining balance for your body. As TI practitioners, we all know the precedence of balance in efficient swimming. It is our foundation!

When you deeply engage your sense of balance, your mind will disengage from superfluous activities like incessant commentary. A deep contemplation and investigation of balance will cause your mind to quieten and awaken. Your body must relax to gain sensitivity. You are rewarded with precise balance and greater efficiency and ease. There is absolutely no limit to the degree of precision and sensitivity you can develop in your balance. I get tremendous inspiration from watching BMX bikers, skateboarders, skiers, gymnasts, acrobats, etc. Few of these athletes practice sitting meditation, yet they demonstrate the possibilities of excellent balance through mindful attention and brilliance.

Bottom line: The reward for an earnest pursuit of excellence in balance includes proficiency in mental volume control.

For over 30 years I have practiced T’ai Chi. This practice is the very best investment I have made in my life! T’ai Chi is a powerful form of moving meditation, that uses flowing slow-motion movements that challenge and develop balance through a deep investigation – a deep inner listening to my body‘s proprioception. It’s been the best way for me to develop mental-noise volume control, as well as great balance – physically, mentally and emotionally. Currently, I am in the early stages of collaborating with Total Immersion to produce a DVD we will call "TI Chi for Athletes". While the traditional movement forms are complex and require months or years of consistent practice to memorize, this DVD will enable anyone to experience a deep moving meditation using simple repetitive movements derived from the traditional forms. I have distilled and refined these moving meditations over the decades I have taught.

Until the DVD is available, you can begin your own deep investigation of balance outside of your swim training with a very simple practice: Walk very very slowly. Keep your spine straight, your chin tucked, lengthen the back of your neck and keep your knees bent. Keep your strides short but shoulder width. Coordinate your slow walking with slow breathing – inhaling for 1 or 2 steps, exhaling for 1 or 2 steps.

For a deeper investigation of balance, do this slow walking meditation with your eyes closed. A firm level floor works best. Avoid thick carpet; it provides an unstable surface that makes balance difficult. It’s possible to practice this walking meditation even if you can do only 4 or 5 strides before turning around. Concentrate on deeply relaxing the joints and muscles of your hips, legs and feet, as this deep relaxation greatly enhances your balance.

Just 10-20 minutes a day of this kind of slow-moving balance practice will familiarize you with the meditative process of disengaging from the little voice. Enjoy the serenity!

Shane Eversfield is Head Coach of the Lake Placid Total Immersion Swim Studio (http://www.totalimmersion.net/learn-ti/228), and author of Zendurance. Currently, he is working on an e-book of triathlon cycling technique that will be marketed through Total Immersion. Shane@totalimmersion.net 518.837.5300