As we sat at opposite ends of the bench last weekend Matt and I pondered how we cope with stress and anxiety.
We talked about meditation, yoga, mindfulness, and cycling.
I have attended mindfulness classes, they advocate a kind of meditation. Yoga isn't something I've given much thought to. Which leaves cycling.
Supporters and teachers of meditation, yoga and mindfulness say riding would just be a distraction, not a solution. I'm not saying they are wrong, just that I know what works for us.
On rides we stop thinking about problems and worries, and just focus on our immediate sorroundings. Things like what's happening the the fields, the changing seasons. The sights and sounds of our environment. Even day dream about adventures we could have.
We are not so absorbed to be unsafe; it's as if there is only room in our heads for being in the moment and the practicalities of traveling by bike.
It's too easy to stress about what the future might hold, or problems in the past. You can then miss what's accually happening now.
I try to continue the appreciation of the here and now between rides.
