Form vs. Flow
Forming something requires time, energy and focused effort. It is an action with a specific intention to create a particular outcome. Often when I coach my clients in a specific exercise, I am working to form a change in their movement. Flow is nearly the opposite. It is being caught up in a moment that no longer requires thought, action just occurs. The environment and the individual synchronize in a way that motion become effortless. The latter is the aspect of movement we all perform most, until something aches.
There is an all-too-common belief that gritting your way through exercise or movement is the way to achieve what you want. Just work harder. The reality is that pushing harder or grinding through it is one way to form the situation to your specifications. It is like molding a lump of clay into a shape you desire. Certainly, a means of getting where you want to go, but it may not be the most effective way to do so.
Flow has been characterized by a number of individuals throughout time, as some high-level performers seem to be able to create outcomes effortlessly. This flies in the face of the previously described mantra. How do some make such heroic efforts appear to be such an easy task? This is the creative act of letting go, allowing the situation to unfold and simply reacting to it. When I coach my clients through very particular movements, I make an effort to limit the cues to the most useful words possible, then let them create the motion. Grinding their way through it or applying too much effort tends to counteract the effect we are working toward. The ability to flow through movement, versus creating it by sheer will, seems to be more advantageous.
Concentrated effort and the application of high levels of energy are needed sometimes. Everything comes at a cost, and it might be your own energy you pay with. Acknowledging that intensity may not always be the solution, that giving yourself up to the situation may be just as effective in certain situations. Allowing movement to occur and minimizing effort could be a more efficient way to accomplish a given objective.
Austin Ulrich, Physical Therapist
