Is there a way to develop mental strength?

Discussion in 'General Martial Arts Discussion' started by jaksun, Apr 21, 2019.

  1. Grond

    Grond Valued Member

    As far as mediation, I've read a few books on various forms of it. A common theme among the most popular types is awareness and control of breathing, which is directly tied to anxiety.
    I
    don't really meditate according to the traditional definitions, but when I feel anxious about an thought, emotion, or memory the first thing I try to do is think of nothing but breathing. Sure enough the anxiety always passes. Doesn't seem to matter what the cause was.

    I used to get nervous even hitting the heavy bag solo, wondering if other people thought I looked like a total flake. Even worse sparring. But now I find that just breathing right and only thinking of that pretty much annihilates any feeling of nervousness, vanity, lack of confidence, or worry. I don't know if it's the oxygen, or focusing on critical life sustaining things or what. I just know it works better than any Xanax I ever took.
     
    David Harrison likes this.
  2. Grond

    Grond Valued Member

    As far as mediation, I've read a few books on various forms of it. A common theme among the most popular types is awareness and control of breathing, which is directly tied to anxiety, which is really just a kind of physical response to fear.

    I don't meditate according to the traditional definitions, but when I feel anxious about a thought, emotion, or memory the first thing I try to do is think of nothing but breathing. Sure enough the anxiety always passes. Doesn't seem to matter what the cause was.

    I used to get nervous even hitting the heavy bag solo, wondering if other people thought I looked like a total flake. Even worse sparring. But now I find that just breathing right and only thinking of that pretty much annihilates any feeling of nervousness, vanity, lack of confidence, or worry. I don't know if it's the oxygen, or focusing on critical life sustaining things or what. I just know it works better than any Xanax I ever took.
     
  3. David Harrison

    David Harrison MAPper without portfolio

    You still have to put the work into transferring those skills.

    There are physiological effects that make that easier, there are skills you can transfer to your inner life in general, but it is not a given that these practices will give you mental fortitude, adaptability or self-discipline in other areas of your life.
     
    Grond likes this.
  4. David Harrison

    David Harrison MAPper without portfolio

    Panic is a feedback loop between the nervous system and cardiovascular system. By bringing your awareness to your breathing you bring an amount of control on that feedback loop. Not only do you regulate your breathing, and so cardiovascular system, but you also provide a focus for your mind.

    I think the best example of this is seeing people who haven't learnt to control their breath under pressure in sparring compared to people who have. The adrenaline surging through them contracts their muscles and gives an increased need for oxygen, but they are holding their breath a lot of the time; this exacerbates their panic and their mind is unable to process simple stimuli, this tension and lack of oxygen leads quickly to exhaustion which adds to the panic. A vicious circle.

    It's amazing how keeping a small portion of your mind aware of the breath can break that feedback loop.
     
    axelb, Grond and Simon like this.
  5. Xue Sheng

    Xue Sheng All weight is underside

    yup, just like any other training
     
  6. Grond

    Grond Valued Member

    Sorry for the double post, I don't know how that happened.

    Something else occurred to me after that post, was that when I go for massage therapy to work out knots and stuff, the music and lighting have a big impact on my ability to relax. If anyone here has had a good post workout deep muscle rub, you know it can be a painful time, often breathing through the "pain" for a solid hour. Nothing like an hour of mild physical torture to improve mental fortitude :)

    I put quotes there because it's different from injury pain, more like the discomfort caused by your natural tendency to tense up when you sense you are about to hurt. When I get deep tissues unwound, and I know it's not going to be pleasant and I tense up, and it actually makes it worse because of that. My therapist will say "relax" but good luck with that...it hurts! Hence where the mood music and low lighting come in, they help me relax and steady my breathing, which sure enough works against my natural inclination to tense up.

    I read somewhere long ago this was part of what pregnant women practice for birthing. They have to breathe through pain and have to control tension for hours and sometimes days of labor pain.
     
    Last edited: May 9, 2019

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