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From the Mixbarre column

Introduction to this article-

What is the essence of fitness? What are the similarities and differences between training the body and debugging the machine? How to unify thoughts in training?

In this article, I share my understanding of fitness and body and mind in a rambling way.

One day when I was painting Zhihu, I saw a question, "What is the meta-problem in your field?" Feeling a little interesting, I wrote the following answer with my mobile phone.

Field: fitness

Meta-question: What is the essence of the body?

For many practitioners or enthusiasts in the fitness industry, the first concern is not this problem, but about beauty, health and sports performance, or about taste and style. In fact, our bodies are inextricably linked with other fields such as emotion and cognition. For example, yoga is a religion, a philosophy and a physical training technique, but at a deeper level, yoga pursues the transcendental realm of the unity of Brahma and Me; Another example is somatology, which studies the relationship between body and mind, including both liberating the mind through physical training and relaxing the body through psychological intervention.

If the body and mind are separated, will we feel vaguely debugging a machine when we hit our limits in countless physical training? If the body and mind are integrated into one, what is the body and where is the boundary between body and mind?

Thomas Hanna, an American physiologist, defines the body as "a living body that exists in the present moment and has the ability of self-perception, perception, adjustment and change."

This sentence is too profound for me to fully understand. Just like watching a modern dance, the connection between movements has no clear meaning, and the essence of the body may be such a flowing process.

For me who likes to ask the ultimate meaning since I was a child, I have thought about this question countless times. A student once asked me, "I have to train every day. When is the end?" For me, this is as profound as "Why do people live".

Why we exercise, even why we exercise, is really a question worth thinking about.

In the long evolutionary history, human beings are in the state that life is movement and movement is life most of the time. The development of human body follows the laws of nature, and the decisive factors include not only the actual needs of outdoor life, but also the important needs of avoiding threats and seizing survival opportunities. A person's sports needs include moving the body, manipulating tools and natural objects (stones, branches, etc.). ) and defense.

The harsh living environment requires early humans not only to run, but also to learn to walk, balance, jump, climb, climb, lift, carry, throw, catch and hit. When you have a full stomach and are safe, interesting or creative actions like morning dancing will appear.

The strength and flexibility of early human beings were not developed through structured training programs and special fitness programs, but were shaped through daily, instinctive, necessary, practical and adaptable sports skills.

However, since mankind entered the farming civilization, everything began to change. Until today, we are surrounded by intelligent devices, which can produce great productivity almost without exercise. Our living environment no longer requires us to exercise, but creates better and better conditions for us to stop.

Fitness has become a special task independent of other parts of life, in order to ensure that our bodies evolved over millions of years will not be abandoned. This seems to confirm Descartes' dualism of body and mind to some extent.

Descartes put forward in his book Meditation on the First Philosophy that consciousness and body are completely different things. All physical movements can be explained by the laws of mechanical mechanics, but people's thinking activities cannot be explained by the laws of mechanical mechanics. People's activities are both physical and spiritual, so people are at least composed of two different kinds of existence (basic reality). Descartes called these two basic beings consciousness and body.

In philosophy, the dualism of body and mind has no further significance. The development of cognitive science, neuroscience and psychosomatic science shows a deeper connection between body and mind.

However, this does not prevent us from gradually splitting it up in our daily life. Many people's first impression of fitness is the big equipment in the gym. This scene often reminds me that the workers in the factory are overhauling the machines after work. Fixed movement track, rigid posture, scarce proprioception and intermittent breathing constitute typical fitness.

Mr fedenquist once said: mistakes are inevitable, there is no right way, only a better way. In this kind of fitness, there is no wrong method, no right method, no better method, only one method, machine set.

"Sports consciousness is the key to improving sports ability" is another famous saying of Mr. Fedenkuis. If we want to improve our fitness, then we must integrate into the "heart" and perceive the process of action.

Bonnie bainbridge Bridge Cohen, the founder of the Mind-Body Center, has a wonderful exposition on this topic.

"I see the body like sand. It is difficult to study the wind, but if you observe the way sand patterns form, disappear and reappear, then you can find the pattern of the wind, or in this case, your thoughts ... I mainly observe the process of the mind. " Bonnie bainbridge Cohen

The movement of the body is a process of thought, just as the pattern of sand is a process of wind. Isn't it wonderful?

Although Bonnie is a westerner, this way of thinking is quite oriental. The learning style of oriental culture emphasizes observation, perception, integration and wholeness. Even the smallest movement in one part of the body will affect the whole body.

In the process of fitness, devote yourself wholeheartedly to the present and experience the mode, rhythm and state of movement, so as to understand the physical and psychological state more clearly.

In order to avoid mechanical fitness training, we must put ourselves in a more free environment. Let your body be responsible for stability and balance, positioning and orientation in space, and coordinating breathing, core and movement.

Then, we should wait patiently for the change to happen.