Imagination and Movement

Young girl in red against white wall looking up at a mobile of red rectangles of various sizes and dimensions. Mindfulness is noticing with your imagination.
_________________________________________

During class, sometimes we want to rest but we still want to be involved in the lesson.
So take a break and rest!
It’s a good opportunity to exercise your brain by following along in your imagination,
pretending to do the movement in your mind.

Science has shown that when you are performing a certain activity, or if you watch someone else doing that same activity, or if you simply imagine doing that activity, the same part of your brain is active and learning.

This “plasticity” of our brain is a powerful force, and with practice we can learn to take advantage of it.

So, for whatever reason you decide to take a break as the lesson continues, if you still want to take part in some way, pretend you are taking part. A big advantage of working in your imagination is that there are no limits. You can imagine that you are performing the movement perfectly, noticing all the details, feeling all the sensations of this ideal movement in your mind. Imagine what it will feel like. Pretend you are easily and comfortably moving as directed. You will learn as much as you will if you were actually doing the movement. Perhaps even more!

What’s even better, you can use this technique anywhere under any circumstances. It’s a totally transferable skill with no limits. Athletes have been using it for years. So have pilots and astronauts.

So can you.

Photo by Lucia Macedo.

Similar Posts

  • Pausing to Rest

    We often take breaks during class. The movements we do have a lot of new information. By resting every once in a while, we give ourselves time to process that information. Resting lets us integrate new ideas with what we already know, so our movements can become a little bit different, a little bit easier…

  • Noticing and Movement

    After class recently a student asked me,“Is it correct that in these classes looking at the movementis more important than the movement itself?” YES! The movements are important because they are a gateway to learning better movement and balance. But paying attention to how you’re moving and the sensations that arise from your movements is…

  • Teamwork

    My capricious tolerance for discomfort and pain makes solving my pain problems confusing and inconsistent. I can ignore constant pain in my shoulders for a long time, but pain in my hands gets my attention right away. Yet the pain in my hands is tied to the pain in my shoulders. And the pain in…

  • Great Expectations

    Looking at a very simplified picture of human history, it struck me recently that humans have always wanted to get what they want and get it sooner. For millennia this was pretty much only possible for monarchs and the powerful few. Some 100’s of years ago improvement of global conditions gradually started making it conceivable…