For a few summers I used to watch a group of professional hockey players train in the ice rink attached to the facility I was in. They would come at the goal from different angles at full speed and practice tipping the puck into a specific corner of the net off a specific part of the stick. Toe of the blade into the upper right corner, then into the lower left corner. Heel of the bald into the lower right corner. Off the shaft of the stick into the lower left corner. Over and over they would practice turning their intention into specific movements that put the puck right where they wanted it. It became clear that goals I assumed were accidental deflections or lucky bounces were not that at all. They were intentional.
Those athletes were very clear about their intentions practicing over and over the things that would allow them to turn those intentions into the skilled movements that would give them the result they were after.
Movement is how we express ourselves in the world. Those athletes were perfecting their form of expression just like any performing artist. Perfecting it to the point where there was no separation between body and mind. We were seeing exactly what they intended.
That’s not just for elite athletes though. Getting clear about our intentions, what we’re wanting to create or accomplish or do helps us focus our movements and actions and experience the satisfaction, the sense of agency and the joy that comes from fully expressing ourselves in the world.
FLOW STRETCH AND MOVEMENT 