More support for slow practice

Greetings,

Below is a quote form a blog article by Todd Hargrove, a bodyworker living in Seattle , WA.

The full blog post can be read here.

Another reason to move slowly and gently is to allow yourself time to approach movement in an exploratory and curious manner, and to put a great deal of attention on the subtle details of the movement. Becoming more coordinated is essentially a matter of rewiring the neural circuits that control movement, which is an example of a very trendy process called “neuroplasticity.” According to Michael Merzenich and other prominent neuroscientists, attention and awareness are the major preconditions for neuroplasticity to occur. In other words, your brain is much more likely to get better at a certain activity if you are paying close attention while doing it. Slow movement can help your ability to pay attention to exactly what you are doing when you are doing it...

It is also worth noting that a great many elite athletes, musicians, and martial artists have used slow motion practice as a means to develop their skills. Ben Hogan, Monica Seles, and I’m sure many others who I don’t feel like looking up right now use slow motion movement as an important part of their practice routine. Probably Tiger Woods used slow motion practice too, and maybe even for his golf game. Even Olympic lifters, the most powerful athletes in the world, will spend substantial time improving their technique using only a broomstick.

Of course, at some point you will have to speed things up to use your skills in a more real world application, but it should be clear that slow movement presents some huge advantages that are not present in any other form of practice.

Best,
Catherine