Sports as a form of Meditation

[Toad]

I have been playing a lot of roller hockey lately. I find roller blading to be so relaxing. After I finish, I feel very calm and happy. Almost kind of like when I meditate. I forget about my problems and my mind seems more focused.

What do you guys think? Can sports or physical activity be measured as a form of meditation?

 

[Cryss Winters]

Meditation is such a loosely used word, nowadays, I'm sure you could call it that.

 

[Toad]

Well what is achieved from meditation? A clear mind? More focus? I get that from roller blading. So I guess to me, it is meditation.

However, people who use meditation to achieve enlightenment may disagree.

 

[Ermine]

I think you're talking about a different meditation than the conventional sort, but I agree. Skiing or taking a walk is perfect for clearing my mind.

 

[Citizen X]

They do, but it has to be something that you like. I cannot for the life of me feel good with myself playing soccer or something like that. The only team group physical activities I enjoy are airsoft and paintball gun battles.

I train in Krav Maga. In case you don't know it, it is a form of close quarters combat used by the Israeli Defense Force and various militaries and law enforcement agencies around the world, but obviously, there is a civilian branch, which is the one I train in. It is very intense, very brutal and very violent but that's the way if you want to survive being jumped with a knife or attacked by a couple of gangbangers. or held at gunpoint by some maniac who's going to kill you regardless if you gave him all your money.

After each training sessions I feel calm and good with myself, but I specially feel good when I get to have a sparing session against another student. These are very brutal sessions, we use everything we got (with limitations, obviously, you don't want to gauge the other guy's eyes or break his larynx) ranging from punches and kicks to judo locks and ground based combat. Some of these sparings can get really intense.

I started to really know myself after this. You really don't start knowing what you are made off until you fight somebody, and I'm not talking about tough physical crap, but really inner knowledge. That's my opinion, anyway.

I ride my bike whenever I have a chance, long rides, they clear my mind. I love to walk at night, very long, solitary walks. When I lived in Europe, whenever I couldn't sleep I would often just hit the streets and walk and walk to wherever the road took me, and then I walked all the way back home, usually arriving at my apartment at six or seven, sometimes even eight in the morning and skipping school for the day.

I also started wall climbing recently; you pretty much forget about anything that's bugging you and concentrate in getting things done.

I used to not believe in all these things, but I am finding out there is some degree of truth. But I suppose it depends on the individual's psychological profile. I have gained a lot of self esteem thanks to my Krav Maga training, and I mean a lot. And I have also discovered thins about myself that I didn't know.

You can't say the same about some cocky jock asshole who just wants to bed some airhead bimbo.

 

[Toad]

Krav Maga sounds interesting. I always wanted to take up some form of self-defense. Just never had the guts to do it.

 

[Citizen X]

Krav Maga sounds interesting. I always wanted to take up some form of self-defense. Just never had the guts to do it.

You should try it. The hard part is the workout, just to get you pumped for the actual training.

When I started training, I twisted my ankle five minutes into the first class and still had to do all the drills. When I was on the floor, sweating like a pig trying to get some energy to finish the inhuman crunches, I thought to myself "Where the hell I got myself into? I'm not coming back to this shit!"

But then I started thinking how pissed off I was of always starting things and never finish them, so I continued training. Now I really like going there, have earned self esteem, got myself fit and got some muscle I didn't have, learned some very useful knowledge that could save my ass tomorrow and a little bit more of aggression to stand my ground.

You should try it, don't be afraid of hurting yourself a little, think of it as a rite of passage and the payoff is worth it.

 

[dwags222]

even though i completely understand the feeling you are talking about, the feeling you get from sports is the same as you get from meditation, but i think sports doe not equal meditation. In sports you are focusing your consiousness completely on the real physical world, pulling you away from your normal focus point and so when you return to that focus point things just make more sense and you feel relaxed. But in meditation you are trying to focus your consciousness away both from your normal mental world and the physical real world. depending on how deep you want to meditate, you would be most completely in a meditative state if you are focused on absolutely nothing. or on god, i guess, depending on the goal of your meditative state.

 

[Artifice Orisit]

I meditate by designing clockwork devices in my head, with each new cog a new rhythmic sound is introduced, eventually the various sounds become a song of sorts; this keeps my mind busy so that I can think on a deeper level.

FPS computer games serve the same purpose when I'm angry and wanting to let off some steam, especially games where I get to wait peacefully for my target in a state of calm readiness, sniping in Far Cry for example.