Balancing Act

     I considered myself at least average in terms of muscular strength for a 63 year old male, having worked out fairly regularly on a variety of exercise machines for many years. I've never been flexible, and aging hasn't helped!
     It's been a real eye-opener (OK - shocking!) starting yoga classes for the first time. It turns out that I have minimal core strength - ALL the ladies in my class (in their 40's-60's), are stronger! Not surprisingly, they're also all more flexible than I am.
     As in everything else, balance is also key to physical fitness. Strong muscles need to be balanced by core strength, flexibility, and aerobic fitness. All my life I've unknowingly, automatically, overcompensated for my weak core strenth and poor flexibility, by distorting my body, instead of directly addressing my deficiencies.
     Isn't that a natural tendency? Aren't we attracted to activities in which we excel, and remain blind to or even actively avoid ones that we most need to balance our abilities and life? Living wisely is truly a balancing act - one which requires psychological flexibility.

  

     Psychological flexibility is defined as “contacting the present moment as a conscious human being, and, based on what that situation affords, acting in accordance with one’s chosen values. … (It) guides people in persisting with or changing their actions, in accordance with the values-based contingencies that they contact, when they are willing to experience the present moment.”

     Bond FW, Hayes SC, Barnes-Holmes D. Psychological Flexibility, ACT, and Organizational Behavior. Journal of Organizational Behavior Management 2006; 26(1-2): 25-54.

     “Psychological flexibility spans a wide range of human abilities to: recognize and adapt to various situational demands; shift mindsets or behavioral repertoires when these strategies compromise personal or social functioning; maintain balance among important life domains; and be aware, open, and committed to behaviors that are congruent with deeply held values.” 
     Kashdan TB, Rottenberg J. Psychological Flexibility as a Fundamental Aspect of Health. Clin Psychol Rev 2010; 30(7): 865-878.  
 

     

Fine Arts Students, Florence, Italy