Battling Fear

FACING DOWN OUR FEARS

Fear is a very powerful emotion. When fear rises up in us it can take over all other thoughts and render us helpless. Overcoming these fears can be very tough to face up to, but simply 'removing ourselves' from the thoughts, by using a breathing meditation technique, where we can observe the thoughts as they happen, we can then see them for what they are - just thoughts.

While driving down to the South of France this weekend, I became very fearful. I was about to compete in the Megavalanche race which is a crazy downhill mountain bike event full of multiple hazards and potential for injury or death. I have been in many situations before on mountains where there is potential for such injury - but I've been younger, fitter, stronger physically and more experienced. Mountain biking is something I understand the physics of, know what the equipment is capable of but something I have only a small experience of doing and certainly not in a competitive arena before. I was beating myself up. Why am I doing this at 43, what am I trying to prove, do I want to risk being out of work or paralysed, will my girlfriend leave me, where will I get the money to pay the bills, how will I look to my friends when I can't do the race or if I'm airlifted off the mountain?

Nobody knew I was having these thoughts. I was entertaining them coming and going as I engaged in other conversations with my friends. And when I got a quiet moment, I switched over to being the observer in my head and just witnessed all the fear, paranoia and misery fight for attention. I actually found it quite amusing seeing these multiple facets of my mind being so blindly assured of their states of being, yet here I was, completely calm hearing them out until they exhausted themselves and went quiet. How refreshing to see these thoughts for what they are. They aren't who I truly am and by rising above them, they don't define me but merely fire off for a bit and then disappear.

When it came to the day to qualify and race - I was completely calm and ready. My self confidence and trust in my abilities were restored to the point where I managed to gain a lot of ground on the others in my race. And had I not gotten a puncture, would have put in a really good time, I'm sure. It's likely I'll compete again in the future but even if I don't, I know I have what it takes and this mindset and the technique for tackling fear can be applied to anything we do in life.

Observation
There are many techniques for facing up to our fears. Understanding where they come from through getting to know ourselves better will really help. To really fight them takes a lot of courage. Practicing the technique of removing oneself from fearful thoughts by observing as a third person as Geoff explains in this video, was something I'd heard spoken to me before, but suddenly appeared as a revelation this time I heard it. Once again I'm amazed at the timing that Geoff's wisdom comes through to me.

This video arrived in my inbox the day after my races and confirmed what I already learned to be true. Hearing these wise words from Geoff, who has been spending many years training and learning these observation plus other self mastery techniques, made me feel really pleased at my progress over the last 6-7 months. I've grown as a person in such a short period of time. And this is something we are all capable of achieving if we desire and allow it to happen.

Fear should not be given the power to take a hold of us. But by being courageous and harnessing this powerful emotion correctly, we can use this force to make us stronger and elevate us towards further greatness.

Imbalance

BECOMING WELL BALANCED

A strange thing occurred to me the other day. I have been dealing with a set of injuries that stubbornly refuse to go away. Yoga, regular stretching, a long break from being sat in front of a computer all day long and general lifestyle improvements have all helped to significantly reduce the symptoms...but they are still there. 

While laying on my back after a particularly tough (yes guys it can be very physically challenging) yoga session, I quietly focussed on my body and the benefits of my practice. What I noticed, was a tendency for my right foot to roll out to the right. I traced the muscles up my right leg and realised my hip was touching the mat. Over to the left foot and up the leg, I discovered my left buttock was engaged - hence the tilt in my hip and splayed right foot. I was twisted! Suddenly it dawned on me...the tightness in my left hip-flexor & glutes was causing an imbalance in my movements (increased flexibility on one side more than on the other) - why was this?

Little things have big consequences

I'd heard about the knock-on effects of having injuries on one side of the body consequently affecting the other. A good friend of mine had recently confirmed this fact when he went to a physio with a chronic back issue that he'd been informed required surgery by his doctor. 

Desperate to avoid the knife, he went back to someone he'd seen two years prior. He'd disregarded her advice back then. The physio had taken one look as he entered the room and before he'd properly explained his symptoms, she'd already identified the root of his problems - a limp caused by a badly healed broken leg from 10 years before!

This friend, finally accepting something in the area of his left ankle was the cause of a prolapsed disk, then chose to alleviate the symptoms by following a course of physiotherapy to first fix the limp. 

The Impact of time

Injuries can cause imbalances. But also, repeating the same action over and over, sitting in the same position, doing the same movements - these will all cause slight changes in our body that become more major over time. Muscles on one side become stronger or lengthen on the other and the body holds it's imbalanced position, causing tension and problems down the line. 

So what had dawned on me the other day was simple - and it was such a simple thing to fix that I was dumbstruck how I'd allowed this to happen in the first place. 

I'd had a wallet in my back right pocket for the whole of my adult life. This is why my right buttock muscle is relaxed - it's because when I'm sitting down on the wallet, only the left side needs to switch on the muscles to stay straight. 

Since I removed the wallet and now have another possible solution for where to keep my valuables, I've noticed a massive change in lower back tightness over night. Yet again I'm astounded in discovering something that's been so glaringly obvious - yet taken me so long to discover in myself or so long to acknowledge and do something about. It's also confirmed to me that the small things really can make a difference in making a change for the better and for keeping a balance.