Meditation and volleyball
My last semester at the U of A I took a class on Buddhism. I really enjoyed the class and took an interest in eastern philosophy in general. The meditation aspect particularly caught my attention. I haven't had any formal training but I've read up on the subject of meditation a little bit. There are many types of meditation, I have focused on 'vipassana' meditation which loosely translates to insight meditation.
The basic idea behind it is to gain insight into the nature of reality to ultimately attain enlightenment. The method is kind of like a concentration exercise. You sit calmly and let your mind come to rest while focusing solely on one thing...people usually use their breath as their focal point. After a some practice you should feel a sense of tranquility fall over your body. Through years of practice the illusion of your former sense of reality is supposed to slowly disintegrate.
Personally I have been practicing this form of meditation for about a year now off and on. I enjoy the practice quite a bit. The 'feeling of tranquility' that you experience is not really something you can describe, you kind of have to experience it yourself. While I have not had any break throughs into the true nature of reality, I do think that I am benefitting in many ways from this practice.
One benefit of interest has been my increased ability to focus and concentrate. I feel like i am better able to zero in on my thought process at any given time to highten my concentration. I'm not talking about a massive ability improvement here but i think a slight improvement has occured for sure. I am trying to translate my practice into my volleyball game. In between points during a game I occasionally try to calm my mind and focus on my breath, if only for a second or two. I actually do this before every serve I do. I really don't know if this is helping my volleyball performance or not but this has been my best year serving wise at least.
Anyways I would definitly recommend this practice to anyone in any walk of life. You don't have to be a monk or a religious fanatic to meditate...you don't have to believe in anything. I feel that the benefits are endless (decreases anxiety, hightens concentration, increases overall happiness and peacefulness). It doesn't have to take up much time either. Personally I do it right before I go to bed at night for 15-30 mins. Lately I try to meditate 5-6 times a week.
For more info check out the link on Buddhist meditation.
My last semester at the U of A I took a class on Buddhism. I really enjoyed the class and took an interest in eastern philosophy in general. The meditation aspect particularly caught my attention. I haven't had any formal training but I've read up on the subject of meditation a little bit. There are many types of meditation, I have focused on 'vipassana' meditation which loosely translates to insight meditation.
The basic idea behind it is to gain insight into the nature of reality to ultimately attain enlightenment. The method is kind of like a concentration exercise. You sit calmly and let your mind come to rest while focusing solely on one thing...people usually use their breath as their focal point. After a some practice you should feel a sense of tranquility fall over your body. Through years of practice the illusion of your former sense of reality is supposed to slowly disintegrate.
Personally I have been practicing this form of meditation for about a year now off and on. I enjoy the practice quite a bit. The 'feeling of tranquility' that you experience is not really something you can describe, you kind of have to experience it yourself. While I have not had any break throughs into the true nature of reality, I do think that I am benefitting in many ways from this practice.
One benefit of interest has been my increased ability to focus and concentrate. I feel like i am better able to zero in on my thought process at any given time to highten my concentration. I'm not talking about a massive ability improvement here but i think a slight improvement has occured for sure. I am trying to translate my practice into my volleyball game. In between points during a game I occasionally try to calm my mind and focus on my breath, if only for a second or two. I actually do this before every serve I do. I really don't know if this is helping my volleyball performance or not but this has been my best year serving wise at least.
Anyways I would definitly recommend this practice to anyone in any walk of life. You don't have to be a monk or a religious fanatic to meditate...you don't have to believe in anything. I feel that the benefits are endless (decreases anxiety, hightens concentration, increases overall happiness and peacefulness). It doesn't have to take up much time either. Personally I do it right before I go to bed at night for 15-30 mins. Lately I try to meditate 5-6 times a week.
For more info check out the link on Buddhist meditation.
posted by Kinger at 9:18 PM
2 Comments:
Hey Kinger...something is working for you because you have taken over for the last 2 games when it counts for your team. I can't be there today for the game but have fun with Aaron, Chad, and the rest of the boys luck in reaching the finals.
tak
Post a Comment
<< Home