If you’ve trained in the Committed Impulse approach you’re oh so familiar with the 25 minute warm up called The Series.
The Series is physically rigorous – but it is not exercise in the traditional sense.
The Series is designed to redesign how you create.
Specifically, these 25 minutes will pull your attention from your thoughts to your immediate environment and the pure information in your body. The result – the creative channel is open. You are ready to do your best work.
Towards the end of The Series we stand in tree pose and position our upper body to challenge our connection to the ground. After all, a tree needs a solid root system to keep from falling over when the strong winds come.
Often people lose their balance at this point.
It is precisely at this point that you have the most to gain.
There are two options when you lose your balance (or screw up!).
1.) Go into your head and start beating yourself up for not being better. This can include comparison, and imagining what people are thinking about you.
2.) Simply falling out of tree pose and then giving it another shot. This includes staying in the experience of losing your balance, not dramatizing it, and having fun with the whole darn thing.
If you choose option 2 then you are truly training.
-You are training for that audition when you make a mistake.
-You are training for messing up when the director calls action.
-You are training for that meeting with someone who is considering adding you to the team.
Look, we’re all going to screw up, and lose our balance from time to time. The game is to stay out of drama-ville, and include it as part of the ride.
The result: there’s a good chance no one will even notice you flubbed up. But if they do notice and see how fast you recover from a slip – well, then you become irresistible.
Might as well play with the notion that you can’t do it wrong.
Might as well have fun.
Might as well have an awesome week.
x Josh Pais.
PS. If you want to train with The Series at home check out The Committed Impulse Online Program
Aw, I love that you wrote about this!! Totally reframes the falling-out-of-tree-pose experience!
And reminds me of what Balachine used to say about loving it his dancers fell.
Can’t wait to see you on Thursday!!!