Athletically Enhanced Intensives

One of the clearest lessons from contemporary neuroscience is that our sense of ourselves is anchored in a vital connection with our bodies. We do not truly know ourselves unless we can feel and interpret our physical sensations; we need to register and act on these sensations to navigate safely [and wholeheartedly] through life…most traditional therapies downplay or ignore the moment-to-moment shifts in our inner sensory world. 

- Bessel van der Kolk, M.D., The Body Keeps the Score

 

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Throughout history, from Ancient Greeks to the early Christians and practitioners of Eastern religions, there has been debate on whether a mind-body connection exists and how each can influence the other. In the mid-twentieth century most mainstream scientists and mental health practitioners denied a mind-body connection. "Experts" tended to study and treat the mind and the body as separate entities. 

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Today, in the twenty-first century, a paradigm shift has taken place. The science of psychotherapy is now pointing back to what some age-old practices have suggested all along – that mind and body are one. The psychopharmacological approach to mental health, a method that did not recognize a bidirectional relationship between mind and body, has failed. Traditional talk therapy approaches that ignore the body’s role in emotional healing are being discarded and replaced by neuroscientifically informed therapy modalities such as NARM.

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Breakthrough approaches in neuroscience involving proprioception are now being applied not only to mental health issues but also to the field of athletics. Proprioception is defined as a sense of self-movement, force, and body position that is mediated by mechano-sensory neurons located within muscles, tendons, and joints. The mind is quiet and present, the body is calm, emotions are regulated and everything seems to happen naturally. Top athletes have always sought that feeling - they call it "the sweet spot." As a former professional ski racer and national caliber mountain bike racer, Arch Wright knows well the feeling of being in the "sweet spot."

 

Downhill skiing and mountain biking are two sports that have inherent physical and mental risk and require the highest degree of moment-to-moment mind-body connection for fluidity, maximized proficiency, safety and success. In a One Elm Athletically Enhanced Intensive Arch utilizes both his skills as a highly trained trauma therapist and an elite athlete. In real time on the mountain Arch can witness what is happening for the skier or biker. He sees how a person deals with challenges in high-risk sport and assesses their level of resiliency and ability to maintain focus. 

 

The insights gained on the mountain apply to all of life, not just sport. In the Intensive it will emerge how well a person is able to adapt rather than just react. In life and in sport one can stay stuck in various forms of self-defeating defensive strategies to keep from getting hurt. Through the accessing of one’s emotions, and one’s body during sport, a re-wiring in the brain can occur that changes a person physiologically. Feelings can begin to be recognized in the body in addition to the mind. With the right guidance one can learn to become more organized, regulated and present. The nervous system can settle out of fight/flight, the mind quiets and one is able to see and feel things more clearly. Personal agency, an ability to choose one’s reactions no matter the external circumstances, can begin. 

 

As a NeuroAffective Relational Model (NARM) Master therapist, Arch knows how the ‘sweet spot’ feels when a person connects with his/her body and long-standing distorted thinking patterns begin to correct. Individuals may suddenly experience clarity about life-long relationship issues, mood disorders, addictions and other problems and then have the opportunity to live life in the "sweet spot."

 

Passionate skiers and cyclists, competitors and non-competitors alike, are ideal candidates for a Rocky Mountain One Elm Athletically Enhanced Intensive. By combining cutting edge neuroscience-informed psychotherapy and sport there can be a profound benefit in the life of the professional athlete as well as the dedicated amateur.

 

How you play the game, the sport, is really how you play your life.

 

 

Support personnel for Athletically Enhanced Intensives:

 

• Cary Adgate, Olympic Alpine Ski Racer ​

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• Trista Winder, professional mountain bike racer and NARM practitioner