(c) Paramount Pictures.(Today’s article is by guest writer Rick Heller. For a brief bio, see below.)
Even though I enjoyed playing soccer as a kid, like many Americans, I have found watching soccer on TV to be boring because there isn’t enough scoring. Then one day, while scanning channels and coming across a game of the English Premier League, I wondered what would happen if I watched the game mindfully.
I started paying close attention to the players, and not just the one with the ball. I started paying attention to their individual steps, their slightest movements along with the passing of the ball from player to player. It produced a sense of engagement that made it, well, kind of interesting. Instead of thinking, “Wake me when they score a goal,” I was actually paying attention to the game. Later, some Europeans I knew told me that for them, much of the enjoyment in “football” is in observing good play, even if it does not lead to a goal.
Some time ago, I had some members of my meditation group over to watch the Super Bowl. We watched part of the game with the sound turned off, allowing us to focus on the game in the present moment without the chatter of the announcers to distract us. The effect was pretty cool.
Mindful Couch Potato
You can do this exercise while watching a performance on TV or live. The activity can be a team sport like football, an individual sport like figure skating, or a dance program like Riverdance. You don’t need to watch a whole performance this way, but just try doing it from time to time.
For instance, if you’re watching American football, for each play, pick one player to focus on, whether or not that player has the ball. As you would pay attention to every one of your own steps in a walking meditation, watch that player’s every step. Watch the player’s motion in detail: his stride, his hand movements, and the twist of his torso.
Notice whether your own body starts to mirror the player’s motion by tensing muscles similar to those the player is using on the field. Note how your emotions shift during a play.
Keep watching even after the play is over. Avoid the quick-edit style of modern TV and hold the “shot” for longer. Watch the player’s reactions after the play has concluded and he has walked back to the huddle.
Try doing this exercise with the sound on mute. The chatter of TV announcers can take you out of the present moment and prevent you from focusing only on what you see.
In a dance performance, try paying close attention to a member of the corps or chorus line rather than a solo performer.
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Bio:
Rick Heller is the author of the book Secular Meditation (New World Library, 2015) and leads meditations for the Spiritual Naturalist Society. He writes a newsletter on Substack covering mindfulness and wellness.
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