The Future is Here

I think a lot about how our bodies hold our histories, both our personal past, and the beliefs we absorbed from family, culture, and society that are now imprinted in our nervous systems and influencing our behavior. 

Training can act as an amplifier of old feelings, thoughts, and fears that you have stored in your body. Training in martial arts can bring up a lot of our “stuff.” For example, how you physically respond to a punch coming towards your face, your feelings about getting hit, and then the thoughts that follow – can be like little windows into your past. 

But training can also be a container for practicing a new narrative. When we train, we’re actually practicing how to respond in potentially dangerous future situations. For example, if we have a tendency to freeze when we get hit, we now practice moving and hitting back. We're also training our nervous systems to know that we’re not going to die if we get punched in the face. We're learning how to discern when to fight, or flee, or verbally negotiate depending on the scenario. We're also learning how to coach ourselves when we're exhausted but still have to summon up the energy to survive whatever situation we're in.

We’re essentially rehearsing for the future. And this is where imagination and intention can be paired with physical practice. We can find ways to honor what’s already in our bodies — those past stories don’t disappear but we can integrate and transcend them. We can honor how old knee-jerk reactions and beliefs kept us safe, and we can also repattern our bodies with chosen beliefs for another future. Instead of rehearsing for disaster, I’m rehearsing resilience. Instead of rehearsing fear, I’m rehearsing bravery. 

Our ability to worry about an infinite number of scary future scenarios is how our brains have kept us alive for thousands of years. But our imagination can also conjure an infinite number of safe future scenarios. As many terrible, horrible things you can imagine happening, there can also be a billion fold more beautiful, safe, and extraordinary events. Perhaps ways of being in relationship with others and ourselves in ways that enrich us beyond what we thought could be possible. 

We start living into our new narrative by pairing our training with our daily lives. What you do in the gym can blend, weave, seep into every part of your life. Your physical practice can be a spiritual practice. Practice collaboration even if parts of yourself still feel distrustful. Practice saying no even if you’re afraid of disappointing others. Practice courage at the same time you’re feeling fear. In every moment, practice the future now.