Aren't brains brilliant!

Last night was somewhat unusual for me!  I think its worth writing about even though the subject matter is a little... well, yukky!

I hadnt been feeling too well all day, headache and a bit queasy but figured that it would pass so went climbing anyway.  Whilst belaying I felt decidedly dodgy but, knew I would have to second the route so tried to focus on something else; the colours of the lichen on the rock, the sound of the water nearby, and controlled my breathing.  When I seconded the route I actually found I climbed pretty well, concentration was good and physically didn't feel too bad.  

As I was waiting to ab off, I began to feel worse and worse and eventually threw up.  Not my most glamourous of moments!! I then wondered how on earth I had managed to have those 20 minutes or so climbing without feeling awful. 

I think the interesting thing for me here is just how powerful the mind is in controlling our body.  Because I had to second the route, and because I needed to focus on the moves, I found I was able to block out thoughts of being ill; indeed I didnt even feel that ill whilst climbing! Only on reaching the top and relaxing did the waves of nausea return.  Fascinating to me that when your concentration is absolutely in the physical here and now, there really isnt room or time to think about anything else - fears, worries, doubts, illness even!

We know that things like stress and worry have a huge impact on our immune system and body organs.  The exciting thing for me is learning how to manage our body through our minds, ie if its possible for psychological processes to negatively influence the body, then it follows that psychological processes can influence the body positively if we learn how.  A good example of this is in terms of managing our physical state to prevent escalation of anxiety when climbing (eg diaphragmatic breathing and relaxing muscle groups can "trick" the mind and body into thinking we are relaxed and slow down the adrenalin response).   There are also studies that suggest that just thinking about exercise can be pretty effective, and being even more mindful of what the body does when we train it can enhance the training effects.  Aren't brains brilliant!!