Did any of you watch Wimbledon? I don’t follow it completely, but I do watch and follow when we have a Brit playing, or if there are players involved who I like. I was disappointed that Andy Murray had to pull out, but also that Nadal wasn’t playing this year as I do love to see him play.
One of the fascinating things about these elite performers is
the ritual/routine they go through during the match. It’s particularly noticeable on serves. When Novak Djokovic serves, his ritual involves an adjustment of his clothes, wiping his brow, and a certain number of bounces of the ball… I think I counted 14 bounces! And this was the same every time he was setting up to serve.
It’s not just Djokovic either — Nadal has small rituals that he does that spread beyond the serve, positioning his drinks bottles on the side of the
court… things which could be considered superstitious, but for Nadal they are part of his ritual before a big match.
I think we all have our own little rituals, certain actions that we routinely repeat that we feel put is in the best possible place.
I mentioned getting back into a routine post-holiday at the start of this newsletter and part of that are the daily rituals that I do in order to put me in the best possible place to do what I
do.
It's about repetition, for example we have a little ritual before we get into the movement in our classes, we take a moment to breathe, let go of tension, connect our mind and body, set up our posture and our centre… then we are ready to move in the best possible way. Rituals are about getting us closer to being in the moment right now, being present with what we are about to do.
The thing about our brain is that it is always taking us elsewhere,
thinking about things we have to do, or what someone said to you, or what you are having for dinner, so it is the ritual that will bring you back to the here and now and what is happening now.
Having a ritual is a mindful, repeated action to make us more intentional with what we are about to do.
Part of my ritual to end my working day is to put my laptop, and my notebook in a certain place in the house, and I get changed out of my work day
clothes. Until I have done this I continue to think about work, and what I need to do. Basically I don’t switch off until I have put them in the ‘right’ place, and until I have changed my clothes. This ritual is a powerful prompt to my brain to switch from work to relax or whatever I want to do.
I just think rituals can be powerful, they can help us to operate at our best, they can help us get through our day, they are important to being in the here and now and being
present.
Have a great week folks — I’ll see you in class, and let’s keep moving together.
With love
Jane xx
