“An Athlete is an Artist who wants to bring the JOY of their FEELINGS through the ACTIVITY of their BODY.”© Colli Christante

There is a wonderful paradox in Buddhism about losing yourself in order to find yourself. Enlightenment can only be reached when one surrenders the ego to a higher power, surrenders individual goals to the greater good. One can play on the word “goals” here, for the new trend in coaching is to encourage athletes to do exactly the same as a monk. Phil Jackson works from the premise that “When a player surrenders his self-interest for the greater good, his fullest gifts as an athlete are manifested...When players are totally focused on the team goal, their efforts can create chain reactions...Selflessness is the soul of teamwork.” It’s what makes the difference, Jackson argues, between an unsuccessful team with many talented players who cling to individual glory, and a successful team with average players who don’t.

This need to lose oneself in the game in order to win it also works in solo competitions. As Dr. Gio Valiante, a Rollins College psychology professor who works with pro golfers, states, “Someone who plays to impress others or prove something will have too many external thoughts to truly focus. The player who plays to learn, improve and excel is fully involved in the process and its details. That’s a player who can get into the zone and be more fulfilled.”

Today at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics we witnessed the display of  grace and graciousness of  Alexandre Bilodeau an athlete who truly Owns the Zone.

Congratulations to Alexandre Bilodeau for winning Canada's first Gold on home land! / Félicitations à Alexandre Bilodeau pour avoir gagné la première médaille d'or du Canada à la maison!

The Etheric Body

The etheric body is the term given to the layer of energy or chi surronuding the physical body. As Barbara Brennan notes in the "Hands of Light". The etheric body governs the health of the physical body. "When the etheric body's energies are balanced and vital the physical functions on a state of perfect health. When the etheric body contains energies that are sluggish, disease and ill health develop in the individual.


Health can then be viewed as the maintenance of the dynamic energy field which is flowing, and strong, giving it the capacity for regeneration. The physical body is the first line of defence and regeneration.A much-studied example of the etheric body is the concept of phantom limb pain, where someone who has lost a limb still experiences the pain or the sensation of the missing limb. This is because the etheric limb is actually still there. Another example of the etheric body is the phantom leaf effect, where a Kirlian photograph of a leaf is cut in half still displays the image of the energy field of the complete, uncut leaf. Kirlian in Krasnodar in Ukraine.

We are constantly dealing with stressors from a range of sources. Stressors create energetic blockages in our etheric bodies. When the energy of subtle fields is depleted by stressors a breakdown of the physical body occurs and disease results. When the subtle fields are energised, they strengthen the physical body.

Vibrational modalities like kinesiology, reiki, homeopathy and acupuncture all provide ways to redress and rebalance the body’s subtle energy system. They all incorporate techniques specifically aimed at restoring the energy in the etheric body. Kinesiology techniques for balancing the etheric body include: sound balances, colour balances, massaging neuro-emotional points, meridian tracing, flushing and walking, plus many more.