Meditation Biking OR 4 Steps to a More Relaxed Ride

I rode my bike down to the lake today. The trip is a decent ride about 9 miles each way. My bike doesn't have gears. Its a 60's Schwinn Cruiser with coaster brakes. I don't listen to music when I ride and without gears my mind starts to drift to the subtleties of biking. I start to think about all the different sensations that are happening in my body. I start trying to dissect the automatic and investigate things a bit more, in hopes of making the ride more enjoyable. Here's a few things I noticed today :)

 

1. RELAX
Since I'm on a cruiser, I'm sitting nearly straight up. When my posture is right I can release nearly all the tension in my back and just stay suspended in the seat, pretty much by the curvature of my spine. This makes for more effortless riding. If I end up more hunched over, I lean into the handle bars, the more I lean into the handle bars, the more my forearms, shoulders, and back muscles engage creating tension. The same thing happens with gripping the handlebars. I'm always trying to use the lightest, most relaxed grip on the handlebars as possible. To me, gripping the bars tighter doesn't create more control, it just creates tension. I let the bars stay loose in my grip and if I go over a rough patch of road, only then do I engage a firmer grip.

2. BREATH
When riding I try and keep my breaths as even as possible. Chest breathing promotes tension and anxiety - two things I never want while I'm riding my bike, especially through traffic. I'm always trying to use stomach/abdomen breathing as it promotes deeper breaths. Not only are the deeper breaths especially helpful going up hills but deeper breathing is also more relaxing, making for a more enjoyable ride.

3. PEDALING IN 4 PARTS
I notice that, of course, there's the down motion in pedaling and up motion in pedaling, but there's also the 2 ends nobody thinks about as much: the transition of the down into the up and the transition of the up into the down. Today riding along the lake paths, I tried to be mindful of keeping these transitions as smooth as possible - trying to avoid any 'stops' or 'jerkiness' between the down and up motions.

4. PEDALING AND (NOT)PEDALING
I push down on the pedals and the bike goes, sure, every one knows that :) but paying attention to my legs as the pedal goes up seems just as important as the force used to press down. As I'm nearing the end of the down motion, I try to make sure I guide my leg through the transition described above and then I try and release as much muscle tension in my leg as possible - simply letting the pedal guide my foot back to the top. By keeping my legs alternating this 'empty' state, I seem to have more stamina and push especially on hills.

Paying close attention to the subtle interaction between my bike and I as well as the inner workings of my body during a ride helps create a more meditative experience. My mind can then unwind at the same time I'm exercising my body. I usually arrive at my destination feeling more relaxed than if my mind is simply focused on the route or my time.

It'd be cool to hear what inner workings you pay attention to on your rides or what you think about the above 4 ruminations. Leave a comment on the blog or hit up my Facebook page :)


-Shane Olivo
The New Loud

5 Ways Tai Chi Has Made My Life (and Jiu Jitsu) Better

I've been practicing Tai Chi about 4 years now. I love it. It has become one of my passions. Last year I also started training Brazilian Jiu Jitsu at Neutral Ground in Milwaukee.  About 6-7 months ago Jon Friedland, the owner of Neutral Ground, gave me the opportunity to teach a Sunday night Tai Chi class there.

One day I saw one of my fellow Jiu Jitsu brothers at a concert and I was telling him about my Tai Chi class . He asked me how I got into Tai Chi and what I felt the benefits were. In the concert atmosphere it was hard to put together any concrete thoughts so I answered with a very generic "Uh… I don't know. I like it." - Hahahahaha


I feel like these are 2 really good questions though, so I thought I'd take the time to answer them here. Each question is pretty important, so I've decided to separate them into 2 different blogs :) This is part 2 of 2 and focuses on 5 things Tai Chi has done for me in life (and in Jiu Jitsu :) ).

1. Tai Chi makes my body feel electric and alive.
After doing my Tai Chi form my body feels as if I have heightened sensitivity from the inside out. I'm sure some would describe this as 'chi', but I'm more western and the concept of 'chi' just doesn't quite resonate with me as much as some people. Maybe my blood is flowing more or more freely into areas normally constricted by everyday postures such as desk sitting or couch lounging. Maybe its the deep breathing that oxygenates my blood more or maybe its the much needed relaxation my muscles need. I'm sure its a combination of all of those and probably 1000 other things that create that tingle-ey, vibrant feeling that happens through my whole body while doing Tai Chi.

2. Tai Chi calms me down.
Since I started doing Tai Chi, I am able to better control my emotions. This isn't to say I don't get into arguments with people or get upset ever. But when arguments pop up now, I feel more 'in control' of myself and my ego than before I started Tai Chi. Also any post conflict stress seems to melt away almost immediately. Leaving me with a clear mind to examine the situation and hopefully gain perspective from it.

3. Tai Chi trains my body to be more relaxed and flexible.
At Brazilian Jiu Jitsu class people are always remarking about how flexible I am. I don't really practice a whole lot of stretching. Mostly my body is flexible from keeping the muscles relaxed. When my muscles are relaxed there is way more flexibility than a stressed or tensed muscle. In life, this 'muscle state awareness' helps you breakdown and dissect which muscles you actually NEED for any given task. Even in things like driving or cooking there are unnecessarily tensed muscle groups which lead to body stress. In BJJ terms, this extra flexibility might give you an extra few seconds to think of an escape or way out of a bad position before tapping. Or maybe someone doesn't have a submission on properly, relaxation gives you the extra flexibility that you need to not tap on something that isn't done correctly.

4. Tai Chi makes me more aware of my own body
The Tai Chi I do focuses on one 'basic' 37 posture form. The form is refined first from the external/physical aspects - body alignment and positioning. Because the process is an endless refinement of one set of movements, there is a meditative quality that comes into play as you begin to work on the internal aspects of the form such as breathing or muscle states or being aware of your 'center' and balance. This all adds to a heightened body awareness not only when doing the form, but in all aspects of life - walking, driving, rolling at Jiu Jitsu.

5. Tai Chi gives me a fresh perspectives on life
Tai Chi was originally developed from Daoist philosophies. If I find I'm having trouble with something and need new perspective I tend to examine it through a Tai Chi 'lens' where I can put to work the principles of staying relaxed, not trying to meet force with force, and keeping with the 'flow' in all aspects of my life from work to relationships to Jiu Jitsu.

Even after 4+ years, I feel my Tai Chi is just developing. Yet even so,  the benefits above (in addition to countless others) have already enriched my life so much that I will always be on my Tai Chi journey :)

-Shane Olivo
The New Loud

2 Simple Steps to Letting Go OR How To Save The Next Taco Night From A Stupid Argument

I can start obsessing about things fairly easily. Like my girlfriend won't return a message or text and it starts this feedback loop in my head. I wonder what she's doing that she didn't respond. I start to feel small and unimportant, my ego starts to get hurt, I start to get pissed. In reality all I'm doing at that point is drinking past or future poisons. Almost anything that is messing with your present can be traced to the illusions that are the past and future playing tricks on you.

So this is what I'm working on now: Eliminate any possible past or futures that are negatively effecting my present, my NOW.

I learned a trick which works really great for this. When I find myself getting upset because of projections or memories or regrets, I simply ask myself 2 questions:

1. What are you feeling NOW?

The first question has to do with the moment. What am I feeling right this second? What I want to be feeling is happiness or whatever my version of 'happy' is. So if I'm not feeling happy or content or positive, I determine how I'm feeling and then move on to the 2nd question.

2. Is there anything missing?

Why am I feeling like I'm feeling and how is it messing with my NOW? What is missing that I am not happy or content? Then I go through a list of things.

For instance: I inadvertently start a fight with my special lady on Taco Night about attention that I feel I've been missing (past) and attention I feel like I should receive (future).

These regrets or negative projections are simply past and future poisons. I can't go back in "time" and add the attention I was missing and by focusing on negative things yet to come or uncertainties I am simply making myself miserable thus causing a fight and totally messing up my present, my NOW.

Ahhh my NOW… what really IS my NOW?

My NOW, Taco Night, should've been a blast! (I mean how can you mess up Taco Night?!? There was even Patron… I'm big stupid.) In fact, after stripping away the illusions and tricks of the past and future, most situations are not inherently bad, they're actually pretty good. Even during the mundane, I become more attuned to my present circumstance which creates a kind of wonder that brings pleasure and happiness. I am walking and begin enjoying the weather (no matter what weather it is). I am driving and begin to enjoy the music I'm playing in the car or the response of the vehicle to the slightest movements of the controls.

Without the past and future gremlins mucking things about, life begins to really open up. But just like anything, it takes practice. I'll still have my fair share of ruined NOWs while this new line of "thinking" becomes more automatic.

At least the next Taco Night will be safe :)

-The New Loud