johnmdemarco posted on May 21, 2010 19:36
At my gym there are four, large flat-screen televisions in the very front, hanging above the area where the stretch mats and exercise balls are positioned. A few feet further away begin the double rows of treadmills, followed by another row of stair-stepping types of apparatuses. Along the sidewall are a series of recumbent and stationary bicycles.
The televisions are always on mute, the real-time transcripts scrolling across the bottom of the screens. I’m usually reading a book when I’m doing my cardio upon a recumbent bike, but occasionally I look up and take note of the weather or one of the political news stories. I catch the scroll, in the midst of pedal-powered adrenaline and iPod-pumping music, and typically feel my emotions stirring in one direction or another. Near the end of the workout, when I’m lying on the mat doing my stretches and crunches, my head is perfectly positioned to glance up and catch more news scroll. I’m in the cool-down phase at this point, and am less likely to feel the emotional fluctuations.
I’m thinking tonight about the distinctions between how I mentally and emotionally respond to the news when I am in heart rate increase mode vs. relaxed, cool-down mode. The former is more aggressive, the latter more meditative. Both are needed for a quality exercise program, just as there is a time for exertion and a time for rest in many other activities. Stress, and then recovery. Waking, and then sleeping. Eating, and digesting.
I like the notion of being in a relaxed mode in my mind even when engaging in high-energy activities, of remaining even-keeled and non-reactive despite the external stimuli or the project at hand.
Many of the books I’ve read and re-read across the past year emphasize the notion of practicing seeing things as they simply are, without being caught in their duality or judging them with any extremity. I’m learning to practice this with my glances up at the flat gym televisions, to not be swept away in the drama of the news and the spin doctors. To be honest, I’m learning to practice this in many settings across the day. I will be practicing for a while, and then some more after that.