The 90 / 10 Rule: Embracing Body Awareness
Strength training is not always a fun activity for many of us, but we do it anyway because we understand how if positively impacts our lives.
One of the less understood concepts, is the 90 / 10 Rule. I learned this from Eckhart Tolle many years ago and it essentially states this:
No matter what you are doing, give only 90% of your attention to that activity.
Always save the last 10% of your attention for yourself.
So what does that actually mean? It means we allow ourselves to pay attention to what is happening in our bodies at all times regardless of what else is happening in our lives.
I would go so far as to argue that there is nothing in your life that is so important that you have to give 100% of your attention to it, and in fact you will give better attention to most situations when you are saving 10% of your attention to knowing what you are doing with your body!
The picture above exemplified some of the ways we contort our bodies into all kinds of awkward positions and often have no idea that we’re even doing it.
Some of the ways we do this include:
Lifting our shoulders up towards our ears when we’re stressed
Slouching and leaning forward when we’re tired
Having no idea what our abs are doing (until the trainer asks!)
All of these unconscious movements put stress on our bodies and wear them down, thereby taking energy away from whatever else you are doing.
The more you can practice paying attention (only 10%!) to what’s happening in your body and remind yourself to relax your shoulders, look up, engage your abs, or whatever else you might need to practice, the better your body will feel and the more energized you will be overall.
It’s weirdly true. Give it a try for yourself and find out!
Action Step:
Practice the 90 / 10 rule at a time when you’re not at work or engaged in something you feel needs your full attention.
Notice how you’re able to give what feels like your full attention to anyone or anything, even though you’re paying attention to what’s happening with your body.
Enjoy the practice and expand it as you feel able.
