Why movement is the art of failing
December 11, 2024
“I am not yet sure what this practice is,” mentioned one of the participants at the start of the second class of the Sensing Self. It is a very relevant remark and in the case of the movement practice, with all its flavours and methods, a recurring one.
I believe that any practice is first and foremost defined by the practitioner. But in this post I would like to share one of the biggest reasons why I practice and teach movement and hope to keep doing it for many more years to come. The goal is not to dictate what your experience of it should be, but to give you ideas on where to look for the lessons you could extract from it.
Why is movement practice the art of failing? And what is failing anyway?
I started practicing movement actively almost 3 years ago. My entry point to the practice was the philosophy behind it. Movement communities reward learning over results and performance. As a disillusioned overachiever, I was excited to be in an environment of growth, instead of competition.
“Nice!” is what we say when you fail to perform the task. It means you have found your learning sweetspot. All learning starts with failing. And I was really enjoying failing in all possible ways at the start of my practice.
By the way, giving your fellow-practitioners a challenging enough input so that they could fail is just as much of a skill as learning how to adapt to the new challenge.
While I have definitely gained a lot of skills over time, there is still an infinite number of movements and skills for me to keep failing at/learning. For your body and your brain, output matters way less than the process. Someone practicing kicking up into a handstand and someone doing one-arm balancing is getting the same physical and cognitive benefits, taken that they are both working at the edge of their abilities.
With time and the right learning environment, you will unlock any skill you want. And the longer it takes, the more proud you will be of the work you have put in. Actually, according to Dr. Andrew Huberman, research has shown that effort and confronting obstacles, fears and challenges is innately more rewarding for humans than pleasure. We are made to be courageous, curious and resilient. There is nothing you can’t do, you just can’t do it YET.
I think even among physical disciplines, this mindset is rather unique. In many fields aesthetics and results are the main driver. As much as it is great to get tangible skills to show for your practice, developing an organism(mindbody) which is adaptive and can thrive and learn in different conditions is more profound. And when that process is also fun, it peaks your curiosity and it looks cool, that’s just a recipe for some good time-spending!
I love movement practice because it is like life: it is not just mental or just physical, it can be anything but it isn’t everything, it helps you grow, inquire and explore instead of boxing you in. It is the art of failing and adapting, which is the most accurate reflection of our lives - a reflection of their changing nature.
I believe that any practice is first and foremost defined by the practitioner. But in this post I would like to share one of the biggest reasons why I practice and teach movement and hope to keep doing it for many more years to come. The goal is not to dictate what your experience of it should be, but to give you ideas on where to look for the lessons you could extract from it.
Why is movement practice the art of failing? And what is failing anyway?
I started practicing movement actively almost 3 years ago. My entry point to the practice was the philosophy behind it. Movement communities reward learning over results and performance. As a disillusioned overachiever, I was excited to be in an environment of growth, instead of competition.
“Nice!” is what we say when you fail to perform the task. It means you have found your learning sweetspot. All learning starts with failing. And I was really enjoying failing in all possible ways at the start of my practice.
By the way, giving your fellow-practitioners a challenging enough input so that they could fail is just as much of a skill as learning how to adapt to the new challenge.
While I have definitely gained a lot of skills over time, there is still an infinite number of movements and skills for me to keep failing at/learning. For your body and your brain, output matters way less than the process. Someone practicing kicking up into a handstand and someone doing one-arm balancing is getting the same physical and cognitive benefits, taken that they are both working at the edge of their abilities.
With time and the right learning environment, you will unlock any skill you want. And the longer it takes, the more proud you will be of the work you have put in. Actually, according to Dr. Andrew Huberman, research has shown that effort and confronting obstacles, fears and challenges is innately more rewarding for humans than pleasure. We are made to be courageous, curious and resilient. There is nothing you can’t do, you just can’t do it YET.
I think even among physical disciplines, this mindset is rather unique. In many fields aesthetics and results are the main driver. As much as it is great to get tangible skills to show for your practice, developing an organism(mindbody) which is adaptive and can thrive and learn in different conditions is more profound. And when that process is also fun, it peaks your curiosity and it looks cool, that’s just a recipe for some good time-spending!
I love movement practice because it is like life: it is not just mental or just physical, it can be anything but it isn’t everything, it helps you grow, inquire and explore instead of boxing you in. It is the art of failing and adapting, which is the most accurate reflection of our lives - a reflection of their changing nature.