| Most athletes are born competitors. Since our early | | | | best sport for me. As I analyzed my love of running, |
| years, we have been conditioned to think in terms of | | | | I found that I enjoyed working out with my |
| "how many," "how much" and "how fast." The cruel | | | | teammates as well as their companionship on the |
| twist of fate parallels the wisdom of age with the | | | | subway ride to the park in the Bronx, more than an |
| slowing of the fast-twitch muscles. The athlete who | | | | hour from our school in Brooklyn. I enjoyed the |
| wishes to retain enjoyment in his older years needs | | | | planning for the race almost as much as the race! |
| cunning as well as brawn to do well, feel well, and be | | | | I began to see that I enjoyed sports where a |
| well! | | | | theoretical understanding was as important as the |
| Our primal instincts regarding the ever-upward ascent | | | | actual performance. Gradually, after trying various |
| of our achievements have to withstand the changes | | | | classes at my gym, I found that yoga gave me |
| in absolute measure (hardly any of us will be faster | | | | many of the same values I associated with running. I |
| at sixty than we were at twenty, or even forty). | | | | read about the mind set which made holding postures |
| We have to learn to take pride in finesse, in working | | | | possible and it was remarkably similar to the |
| with our changing bodies in a cooperative dance | | | | strategies for long distance running! The only |
| rather than a wrestling match, and to do so with the | | | | difference was that my body thrived in this new |
| fond eye of a lover rather than the stopwatch of | | | | regime. There were no more swollen knees, no |
| our high school coach. | | | | Ibuprophen or ice packs. I just showed up, took |
| How can we find the psychological energy to alter | | | | classes with my fellow students, many in their |
| the deep-seated paradigm of measurement by | | | | twenties, and felt terrific afterward. |
| numbers to a more profound acceptance and | | | | Like others who have found joy in adapting their |
| support for our now-aging bodies? How can we | | | | sports to their bodies, I had come to a new sport |
| convert trial by numbers into admiration for | | | | partly by serendipity (I had a tried a few other |
| coordination, reverence for grace and respect for | | | | classes) and partly by having a prepared mind. I |
| complexity? Not an easy task, to be sure. | | | | knew the feelings I wanted, I just didn't know which |
| As in so many areas of life, a good starting point is | | | | sports would create those feelings. |
| self analysis. What brings me joy in my physical life? | | | | Similarly, a friend of mine was a B level squash player |
| When do I thrive and which conditions make it | | | | ("A" level is professional). She couldn't move as |
| possible? | | | | quickly as she used to, nor as dexterously, having |
| A historical analysis can be useful. Write a series of | | | | injured her shoulder cartilage. She analyzed other |
| memories, no more than 250 words, and let yourself | | | | sports with a range of motion similar to her squash |
| recall when in your life you have felt best about your | | | | stroke, but with more limited shoulder movement, |
| athletic achievements. Were you alone, as in weight | | | | and decided to try archery. Six years later she |
| lifting for example, where the solitary meditation | | | | competes at national level tournaments. She found |
| brought you into competition with yourself? Or do | | | | that she loves the discipline of archery and the range |
| you fondly remember team sports where the | | | | of motion was perfectly suited to her current |
| pleasure of a shared win was greater than anyone's | | | | shoulder conditioning. In addition, having watched |
| individual achievement? Did you enjoy pageantry, | | | | herself through tournaments over many years, she |
| such as the baseball stadium, with uniforms and | | | | wasn't prepared to give up the rankings and |
| marked-out running lanes, or did you prefer the | | | | associated measures of success which give her a |
| isolation and simplicity of cross-country running? Your | | | | sense of accomplishment. |
| goal is to understand the preconditions that set you | | | | By analyzing the parts of experience which defined |
| up for success so that these can be redeveloped in | | | | our pleasure, we were both able to find sports which |
| other venues. | | | | defined areas of strength and competence in our |
| For example, I loved long distance running. In high | | | | current bodies. We each still feel like athletes, but in a |
| school I ran cross-country. Even in track, I preferred | | | | style which responds to our current capacities. The |
| the longest distances. As an adult I gradually morphed | | | | advantage we gained from the mental analysis was a |
| into a marathon runner until knee surgeries and lower | | | | resource in finding a physical form. As in so many |
| back pains suggested that this was no longer the | | | | areas of life, luck favors the prepared mind. |