Page 139 - The Art of Learning by Josh Waitzkin_Neat plip book

of creating tiny havens for renewal, even wher e obs ervers coul d no t conc eive of
such a break.

*

In your performance training, the fi st step to mastering the zone is to pr actice

the ebb and flow of stress and recovery. Thi s sho ul d involve int erval traini ng as
I have described above, at whatever level of di ffi lty is appr opr iate for the age
and physical conditioning of the indi vidual . Thi s training coul d, of cour se, take
many forms: I have already mentioned biki ng and resistance work, but let’s say

you enjoy swimming laps in a pool. Ins tead of jus t swimming unt il you are
exhausted and then quitting, push your self to your healthy limit, the n recover
for a minute or two, and then push your self agai n. Create a rhy thm of int ervals
like the one I described with my biki ng. With practice, increase the int ens ity

and duration of your sprint time, and gradual ly conden se rest periods —y ou are
on your way! This same pattern can be us ed with joggi ng, weight lifting,
martial arts training, o r playing any spo rt that inv olves cardi ovascular work.
If you are interested in really impr oving as a performer, I woul d sugge st

incorporating the rhythm of stress and recovery int o all aspect s of your life.
Truth be told, this is what my entire appr oach to learni ng is ba sed on—
breaking down the artificial barriers bet ween our di verse life exper ienc es so all
moments become enriched by a sense of interconnect ednes s. So, if you are

reading a book and lose focus, put the bo ok down, take some deep br eaths , and
pick it up again with a fresh eye. If you are at work and fi your self runni ng
out of mental stamina, take a break, wash your face, and come back rene wed. It
would be an excellent idea to spend a few minut es a day doing some simpl e

meditation practice in which your mind gather s and releases with the ebb and
flow of your breath. This will help connect your phy sical interval training to
the mental arenas. If you enjoy the exper ience, gradual ly bui ld up your ment al
stamina and spend more time at it. When practiced proper ly, Tai Chi Chua n,

Yoga, or many forms of sitting meditation can be excellent vehicles for thi s
work.
As we get better and better at releasing tension and coming back with a ful l
tank of gas in our everyday activities, both phy sical and mental, we will ga in

confidence in our abilities to move back and forth between conc ent ration,
adrenaline flow, physical exertion (any kind of stress), and relaxation. I can’t tell