{"id":134,"date":"2010-09-25T08:14:27","date_gmt":"2010-09-25T08:14:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/mindfulnessmatters\/2010\/09\/sport-saturday.html"},"modified":"2010-09-25T08:14:27","modified_gmt":"2010-09-25T08:14:27","slug":"sport-saturday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/2010\/09\/sport-saturday.html","title":{"rendered":"Sport Saturday :: Mindfulness in Sport :: The Embodiment of Awakening (Part Four)"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

Sport, like life, can be joyful, and some of this joy comes
\nfrom the quality of attention we bring to the sport, in addition to the
\nactivity being fun. <\/p>\n

However, sometimes we can get caught in a trap of trying
\ntoo hard or of getting tripped up by expectations that are strident and
\nunreasonable. This driven feeling can bring distress into the sports activity. <\/p>\n

Sport becomes work and many of the patterns of feeling and behavior that are
\npresent for us in work get transferred to play. When distress is present, a
\nform of compulsive behavior may be present that may be a consequence of what I
\nterm the Strident Self. <\/p>\n

Any activity is vulnerable to this harsh aspect of
\nself. I have seen this in myself with advanced snowboarding – a pressure that
\nis applied from within the self that is pushing towards a peak experience. The
\nenjoyment of the moment can become supplanted with fretful decisions – which
\ntrail to take, and beating oneself up for not making a great run. There have
\nbeen days when I have come off the mountain bruised and broken, psychologically
\nas well as physically. <\/p>\n

\"buddha_snow.jpg\"<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

I remember this happening one day after a big snowstorm.
\nAfter becoming aware that I was beating myself up and not connecting with the
\npure joy of the experience, I paused and sat down in the trees. I ate some snow
\nand moved my attention from the harsh conversation inside my head to my breath
\nand then the trees laden with snow, and the beauty of the woods and the
\nunbroken snow lying before me. I gave myself permission to be present without
\nexpectations or requirements. <\/p>\n

I invoked the kind of gentle self-awareness that
\nI try to teach my psychotherapy patients and participants in my
\nmindfulness-based stress reduction classes that I teach. That shifting of
\nawareness was enough to take me out of my head and into the moment and the full
\nand indescribable joy of riding the trees in deep powder.<\/p>\n

They say, hot Buddha sweats, cold Buddha shivers, and snow-covered Buddha smiles surfing down the mountain. <\/p>\n

This is something to look forward to as winter approaches. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sport, like life, can be joyful, and some of this joy comes from the quality of attention we bring to the sport, in addition to the activity being fun.  However, sometimes we can get caught in a trap of trying too hard or of getting tripped up by expectations that are strident and unreasonable. 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Dr. Kozak's ability to translate ancient healing traditions into pragmatic applications suitable for modern lifestyles through the use of metaphors have made him a strong voice in healthcare and business. Beginning with a journey to India in the 80\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s where he took the Bodhisattva vows from His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Arnie Dr. Kozak began his lifelong practice in mindfulness meditation. Intent on finding a way to bring the practical healing attributes of mindfulness he began incorporating these techniques in his private practice. In 2002 Dr. Kozak created Exquisite Mind in Burlington, Vermont as a vehicle that could expand his wisdom to larger audiences beyond individual psychotherapy to professionals and corporations, health care providers, public groups and, most recently with Exquisite Mind Golf, amateur and professional golfers. His award-winning new book, Wild Chickens and Petty Tyrants: 108 Metaphors for Mindfulness (Wisdom Publications, 2009) is a thoughtful, funny, and inspiring translation of mindfulness practice through the inventive use of metaphor applicable to our daily lives. In addition to his work with Exquisite Mind, Arnie Kozak, Ph.D., Licensed Psychologist\u00e2\u20ac\u201dDoctorate has been a Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Vermont and is a Clinical Instructor in Psychiatry and Medicine, University of Vermont College of Medicine. He has studied and practiced clinical psychology, meditation, and yoga for more than 25 years. He has studied with several meditation masters, including S. N. Goenka, Larry Rosenberg, Gurumayi Chidvilasananda, and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. After receiving his bachelors degree with honors from Tufts University, he was awarded a Presidential Fellowship to get his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University at Buffalo. He completed his training as a Psychological Fellow at the Harvard Medical School. Prior to founding the Exquisite Mind in 2002, Arnie worked ten years in the private sector for the PKC Corporation consulting on mental health content for this revolutionary software company.","sameAs":["http:\/\/exquisitemind.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/author\/akozak"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/268"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=134"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=134"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=134"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=134"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}