THE TRAINING HOLY GRAIL
Ever got involved in something so deeply that nothing else seemed to matter and you completely lost track of time?
Ever heard of ‘flow state’? It is a mental state of mind where a person is performing an activity and is fully immersed in a feeling of energised focus, with full involvement in the process of the activity, involving effortless concentration and enjoyment.
This is known as being in a state of ‘Flow’ and can also happen when a person’s skills are fully involved in overcoming a challenge that is just about manageable and so it acts as a magnet for learning new skills and increasing challenges. This little space between boredom and anxiety is the holy grail of training.
The other night I was riding and my partner called over to me and tapped his watch. “You’ve been riding 45 minutes straight and it’s time you cooled her down”! I was working on maintaining rhythm in the trot and had got so engrossed that I lost track of time. I was in FLOW!
It was exhilarating and a great place to be – I did however, get told off for taking advantage of my little mare’s good will.
Gotta take the rough with the smooth, eh?
Patricia – The Dressage Tipster
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