According to an article in Wikipedia, referencing positive psychology, a flow state, also known colloquially as being in the zone, is the mental state in which a person performing some activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity. In essence, flow is characterized by the complete absorption in what one does, and a resulting transformation in one’s sense of time.
One way I describe it is being lost in time and space. It is literally a state of mind and body because both are in a quiet, tuned-in space. Have you ever sat down to do an activity and the next thing you knew; it was 3 hours later? That is what being lost in time is. It is the perfect place to exist when you are looking to calm your mind and body. When I used to get stressed, I would sign up for a watercolor class and the day would fly by and it would be time to go home. I felt so calm and relaxed. It was the perfect way to reboot and calm my system. It is a place that both artists and athletes become so hyper-focused that they feel anything feels possible. It is a place where I feel most productive and creative.
I call it The BEING Zone®, where I am so present in the moment, it is easy to tune out background noises and interruptions. It’s that place you get to that someone may say something to you and you don’t even hear them because you are so focused on what you are doing or existing in this BEING Zone state. It is a place where the busyness and craziness of the world around you is quieted. It is a place where you calm your mind, body, and soul and feel connected to yourself and something more significant. It is a place where you can experience self-love and a deep joy inside yourself. The more you exist in this state, the calmer you are, the lower your blood pressure and the happier and less stressed you will be.
All my clients ask me how they can get into this state. Have you ever gone for a massage, and it was so comforting and relaxing that you melted into a place where you were only conscious of the rhythmic movement of the therapists’ hands putting you into a deeper state? Or have you ever sat next to a calm body of water watching the sunset and became mesmerized by the seabirds quietly moving across the water or by the sun setting into the horizon that you didn’t even notice people or activity around you and before you know it an hour has flown by? Those are great examples of how you may have experienced existing in The BEING Zone state before.
You can get into The BEING Zone by practicing different techniques such as restorative or yin yoga, tai chi, qigong, or meditation. I teach my clients a daily practice that helps put them into a calm, restorative flow state. It follows the acronym B.E.I.N.G.
The B Step: Breathe. You want to take very deep breaths in through your nose visualizing completely filling your body with calm, and release through your mouth, releasing all the stress and overwhelm of your day. Do this three times and you will start to feel calmer and more centered.
The E Step: Energy. Remove the heaviness in your body by visualizing a bubble floating above your head (the type a child would blow). In that bubble, visualize a magnet, the most powerful magnet in the world. Allow that magnet to pull up and out of you, all the stress, tension, heaviness, or pain you feel in your body. Keep visualizing pulling it out and pulling it out and pulling it out. The bubble will get bigger and bigger and darker and darker but keep floating above your head. When you feel lighter, visualize reaching up and touching that bubble and watching it float up into the atmosphere and dissipate. The next step is to bring good energy into your body to get a flow going. Visualize yourself as a tree standing tall and proud out in your field. Feel the sun’s rays coming down and warming your branches and leaves (which is your head, neck, shoulders, arms, and hands). Feel the sun warm them up and feel that warmth begin to flow down through your core (your trunk) and all the way through your legs to your feet where the roots of your tree flow into the soils of the earth and you begin to feel the power of the earth’s energy begin to flow back up those roots into feet and they begin to tingle and warm. Feel that tingly warm feeling flow up into your calves, your thighs, up into your hips, to your core, all the way up to your neck and head, down your arms to your fingertips. Then turn up the volume of that warm tingly feeling. You are now in more of a flow state.
The I Step: Intentions. This is where you say how you intend for your day to go. Say, “I intend for this day to go with ease and grace.”
The N Step: Your True North. Or your purpose. Saye, I am on earth to make a difference in this world.” Or whatever feels authentic to you.
The G Step: Guidance. This is where you take that next step into the flow. You sit quietly and ask for guidance. What am I meant to say? What am I meant to do or be? How can I make a difference in this world? And just be present and allow the answers to flow in. I feel like I am in this slow-motion, almost altered state. I can end up in this state for hours and literally lose track of time. I feel so connected to all that is. I get answers to my questions and ah-ha’s.
Many world-class athletes know exactly what I am talking about as they breathe and ground themselves and put themselves into a flow state or otherwise called a high-performance state. Bill Russel, of the Boston Celtics, said it best in his autobiography, Second Wind. “It was almost as if we were playing in slow motion. During those spells, I could almost sense how the next play would develop and where the next shot would be taken.”
Give the B.E.I.N.G. Steps a shot and see what happens for you.
