physiological and biochemical reasons for this approach with the actual practice of it.
As I went deeper into the meaning of effortless effort, I began to understand through self-sensing that my usual efforts—often driven by unseen attitudes and emotions—brought with them unnecessary muscular tension, which not only wasted my energy but also flooded my body with excessive adrenaline and metabolic wastes. Tension creates heat, and my efforts “heated me up,” increasing my heart and breath rates. What’s more, this unnecessary tension caused my sensory system to go on alert, sending distress signals to my brain. The more tension I had, the busier my brain become in trying to deal with it. The busier my brain became in dealing with it, the more trouble I had focusing on other matters of importance in my life.
As we begin to learn how to sense ourselves—especially in relation to our breathing—we will quickly see that the sensation of intense effort in the many areas of our lives often signals a “wrong” relationship not only to what we are doing, but, perhaps more importantly, to ourselves. It is not wrong in any moral or ethical way, but simply because it is counterproductive—it goes against the laws of harmonious functioning. Wrong effort constricts our breathing, cuts us off from our own energy, and produces actions that we did not intend. As Moshe Feldenkrais has pointed out, “the sensation of effort is the subjective feeling of wasted movement … of other actions being enacted besides the one intended.” 20 It is clear to me today that as we learn to sense ourselves more completely and impartially, we free up the inner intelligence of our minds and bodies to learn new, better ways to accomplish our aims and promote health in our lives.
“The Law of Least Effort”
To understand how this is possible, it is important to understand that the brain learns and performs best when we use the least possible effort to accomplish a given task. For thousands of years, Taoist masters have emphasized this principle through their advice to use no more than 60 or 70 percent of our capacity in carrying out physical or spiritual practices. The Weber-Fechner psychophysical law demonstrates one reason why this is so important, since it states that the “senses are organized to take notice of differences between two stimuli rather than the absolute intensity of a stimulus.” 21 When we try hard “to do” something, when we use unnecessary force to accomplish our goals, our whole body generally ends up becoming tense. This tension makes it more difficult for our brain and nervous systems to discern the subtle sensory impressions necessary to help carry out our intention in the most creative way possible.
The “law of least effort” is not, however, a license for laziness. Our health, well-being, and inner growth all require a dynamic balance of tension and relaxation, of yang and yin. They depend on the ability to know through our inner and outer senses what is necessary and what is not in our efforts and actions. To sense ourselves clearly, we need to be able to experience a part or dimension of ourselves that is quiet, comfortable, and free of unnecessary tension. It is the sensation of subtle impressions coming from this more relaxed place in ourselves that allows us to observe and release the unnecessary tension in other parts of ourselves. In short, effective action requires relaxation. But this relaxation should not be a “collapse” of either our body or our awareness. It is more like the “vigilant relaxation” of a cat. Vigilant relaxation makes it possible to manifest the appropriate degree of contraction—the life-giving tension called “tonus”—in any given situation.
THE POWER OF PERCEPTUAL FREEDOM
There are many obvious reasons for learning how to relax unnecessary tension, but one that is often overlooked is that such relaxation frees the brain to notice and respond to a broader,
As I went deeper into the meaning of effortless effort, I began to understand through self-sensing that my usual efforts—often driven by unseen attitudes and emotions—brought with them unnecessary muscular tension, which not only wasted my energy but also flooded my body with excessive adrenaline and metabolic wastes. Tension creates heat, and my efforts “heated me up,” increasing my heart and breath rates. What’s more, this unnecessary tension caused my sensory system to go on alert, sending distress signals to my brain. The more tension I had, the busier my brain become in trying to deal with it. The busier my brain became in dealing with it, the more trouble I had focusing on other matters of importance in my life.
As we begin to learn how to sense ourselves—especially in relation to our breathing—we will quickly see that the sensation of intense effort in the many areas of our lives often signals a “wrong” relationship not only to what we are doing, but, perhaps more importantly, to ourselves. It is not wrong in any moral or ethical way, but simply because it is counterproductive—it goes against the laws of harmonious functioning. Wrong effort constricts our breathing, cuts us off from our own energy, and produces actions that we did not intend. As Moshe Feldenkrais has pointed out, “the sensation of effort is the subjective feeling of wasted movement … of other actions being enacted besides the one intended.” 20 It is clear to me today that as we learn to sense ourselves more completely and impartially, we free up the inner intelligence of our minds and bodies to learn new, better ways to accomplish our aims and promote health in our lives.
“The Law of Least Effort”
To understand how this is possible, it is important to understand that the brain learns and performs best when we use the least possible effort to accomplish a given task. For thousands of years, Taoist masters have emphasized this principle through their advice to use no more than 60 or 70 percent of our capacity in carrying out physical or spiritual practices. The Weber-Fechner psychophysical law demonstrates one reason why this is so important, since it states that the “senses are organized to take notice of differences between two stimuli rather than the absolute intensity of a stimulus.” 21 When we try hard “to do” something, when we use unnecessary force to accomplish our goals, our whole body generally ends up becoming tense. This tension makes it more difficult for our brain and nervous systems to discern the subtle sensory impressions necessary to help carry out our intention in the most creative way possible.
The “law of least effort” is not, however, a license for laziness. Our health, well-being, and inner growth all require a dynamic balance of tension and relaxation, of yang and yin. They depend on the ability to know through our inner and outer senses what is necessary and what is not in our efforts and actions. To sense ourselves clearly, we need to be able to experience a part or dimension of ourselves that is quiet, comfortable, and free of unnecessary tension. It is the sensation of subtle impressions coming from this more relaxed place in ourselves that allows us to observe and release the unnecessary tension in other parts of ourselves. In short, effective action requires relaxation. But this relaxation should not be a “collapse” of either our body or our awareness. It is more like the “vigilant relaxation” of a cat. Vigilant relaxation makes it possible to manifest the appropriate degree of contraction—the life-giving tension called “tonus”—in any given situation.
THE POWER OF PERCEPTUAL FREEDOM
There are many obvious reasons for learning how to relax unnecessary tension, but one that is often overlooked is that such relaxation frees the brain to notice and respond to a broader,
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