Today we worked a lot on state management. This is a key part of training. Some of my friends say that state may be one of the most important aspects of training.
What does state mean? You can think of it as your overall mood, your emotional state, and some other things as well.
During the class I was used as a model for the rest of the class to calibrate. I assumed a state of anger. Literally getting into as angry as possible. My fists clenched, breathing constricted, eyes narrowed and I tensed and got red.
After this we broke state then I went into a different state of relaxation. This was noted by a lack of tension and a peaceful look across my face and body.
Then we did something interested. I was asked what would be one thing that I could change in the anger state that may change it? My guess was my neck position. I got back into that state of rage but then I tilted my head far back. I literally broke out into laughter because I could no longer hold onto the anger in this position.
Shift your physiology and you can shift your state. It really can be as easy as that. And when you have great state management skills everything in life is easier. Plus you can easily get into that “workout” state however you need it with ease. (There’s much more then just a workout state but that’s a whole other subject…)