Last weekend I took part in Movement Tallinn training camp and managed to experience something life-changing. First time in my life happened a moment where a coach didn’t tell me what to do in a training session but asked me to move my body just the way I feel like.
What?
I can’t.
What if I do something stupid? What if don’t move good enough? What if…?
I understood that my imagination is so small that I have no idea how to improvise my moves. I have never trained that, no one has never asked me to do this. Maybe I can do something with a football, but to just move without any equipment!? Never, ever.
The reason why we had to improvise our moves, was to activate the connection between (creative) mind and body. Surely, my connection wasn’t there.
This insight was just one of many realizations and inspirations that I received from Movement Tallinn training camp.
A philosophy that supports my beliefs
Whichever sport I have tried, usually coaches have taught how to get better in that one specific thing. They have very rarely talked about general strength, coordination or basic physical abilities. And when they have sometimes done it, then only in the context of improving results in this particular type of sport.
The Movement Tallinn coach Asko, on the other hand, had an opposite view in the camp. His vision was that healthy human being should be good in very many things, but not great in anything. First, it helps to avoid sport-specific injuries. And more importantly, as mind and body are fully connected, it’s critical to use our body every different way possible, otherwise we won’t use our mind’s full potential.
His philosophy resonates me deeply, as it has pretty much been the way I have lived my life – being just an average guy or multipotentialite.
The coach told us that each time something starts to feel comfortable, we should seek some other activity where we can be beginners again. This way we can try out so many things, learn how to use our bodies in a million different ways, and live more fulfilled and interesting lives.
On the other hand, it’s quite scary to be a beginner, to look stupid like I did when I had to improvise my moves. Still, I feel now more confident than I was before the training camp. Yes, it was awkward at that moment, but after doing it for a while I saw progress. And it raised belief in myself. Oh wow, I am capable of learning new things if I just practise enough!
Now, my to-do list has a long list of skills I want to study, like juggling 3 balls, 1-min handstand, and another kind of weird moves. Alright alright, I don’t have time to practice them all, and will just continue visiting Movement Tallinn sessions. But kids in my SPIN-programme sessions will definitely try out new exercises in the coming weeks.
