get stuck in DeDao, a set of poi is pretty cheap and its surprisingly easy to learn, I just ordered a new set so I can get my flow on

Cycling?

I know that on quiet country roads following fields far from the fray, legs pistoning and heart boosting to rhythmic heights and eyes fixed on the horizon chased, I melt into a zone of of pure metronome, of the tick tock of mindless cadence where no thought intervenes and all pulsates in quietude and flow.

I always referred to this mindset as a sort of zen state, but "flow" suits it better.

Can a bicycle be a "poi" toy?

JBArk

it certainly can, but you would need some pretty strong string and it might hurt a bit when the spinning goes wrong and you crack yourself in the nuts with the back wheel

I'll get some string. And carbon fiber might not hurt so much.

jBark, I've often found that an hour or so of steady hard cycling can bring on a state of mind that is clear, calm and sometimes profoundly expansive. The physical flow may very well be a component in this, but I was always under the impression that there was something biochemical going on, like that "runner's high" that you hear about.

Speaking of flow, I've been monitoring the tdcs - transcranial direct current stimulation developments and plan to get one of these Foc.us to be able to induce flow in my head at will ...while looking really silly

I'm waiting for the reviews before I spend the money though. There are some other more flexible devices on the market but the price tag is not as nice.

Flow is the essence of skiing.

On a good ski run my psychological frame of reference is about a quarter second long, only what is under my feet and immediately in front of me is really there, the rest of the world is pretty much gone. It's a beautiful thing, fully alert and involved yet very relaxed.

I can get into it bicycling (especially when long distance riding) and hiking too, as well as when making art but there is something about just letting go and throwing yourself full on down the fall line and into the pull of gravity, the way each turn is a reflection of the previous and yet leads into and is part of the next turn, the way your body must quickly react to the constantly changing terrain under foot that is really special. Plus it's just plain fun to go fast.

It's July 4th and I want to go skiing.

Flow happens when you let go and just become the process.

Ok, so I got the socks, loaded some tennis balls with pennies, etc., ready to go. Then I went to playpoi.com, and the first video I watched in the Beginners area says to take your poi and hit yourself for like 5 minutes; if it's too hard and hurts, get a new poi. Doh! Should have watched this before I put in so many pennies! Like 3rdi, I've got some ordered instead.

Even below this level, going steady and long gets me into an unusual state, without that "runner's high" (why do runner's get all the credit for this? is it because without it, the question arises - why on the earth would anyone want to run? )

JBArk

In bicycling, when I get my Second Wind is where the good stuff kicks in. You know the feeling. You ride till you're tired, even sort of want to stop but keep pushing but then something else kicks in, a chemical soup of endorphins and other goodies and suddenly your HIGH. Really high. Like some sort of a psychedelic opiate. Everything goes sort of crystalline and crisp looking and you don't really feel pain in your muscles the same way. They still hurt a bit but it's sort of detached. Then it's so easy to just fall into the rhythm and crank away the miles.

Of course, eventually you Bonk but that's just how it goes.

Distance road riding will do it, as well as long climbs on a mountain bike trail. Downhill single track is different I think, not so much about flow as about confronting terror.

What I really enjoy is playing didgeridoo. I love the sound it makes and the fact that I can focus on my breathing pretty much the whole time while playing. It relaxes me and I noticed it even gets me uplifted and energetic when feeling tired.

Spincycle's explanation of the 2nd wind couldn't have been written better!

I've experienced the state of flow with:

- Snowboarding
- Teaching myself violin (slowly but surely becoming fun rather than a chore!)
- Lifting weights

Lately, I've fallen back in love with disc golf. It's a real joy when all your internal thoughts stop, and the fairways and chains look HUGE! It's a crazy feeling when I can line up for a 50 foot put, take three deep breaths, and just know it's going to go in.

Transferring this sensation to everyday life, as Tatt explained, is what I've been working on from minute to minute.

Wait until you hit 3rd and 4th wind! Then yes, bonk... I have a stage race this weekend (first in 18 yrs), so I am hoping to take the winds high high high!


And, yeah, skiing - i could see that being very "flow", as I understand the term - at least in long deep powder runs. Less so in the mogul blanketed bumps we call hills around my parts. Though I do love mogul skiing...

Cheers,
JBArk

I love trail running, something about being on the trail gives me energy I don't get on a track. Sometimes I do 13 mile runs on this good trail by my house, maybe once a month, I feel high for a solid 3 days afterwards.

Anyways check out this guy one of the best ultramarathon (100 miles) runners in the world if not the best. I saw him on top of mt. Elbert in colorado (tallest mountain in colorado) I could barely walk up the trail and he came literally hoping up the side like a mountain goat. He kinda looks like Jesus and I was delirious so for a minute I thought I was looking at Jesus, considering what I was seeing was a superhuman feat.





Anyways this guy knows about flow, he runs 100 miles through mountains in approx 16 hours.

When I used to live in an Urban Environment I only found one way to relate to many different people. Being of the more intellectual type, for others to hear me speak often could not mix well with other's energy. But over the years I learned and enjoyed to beatbox.


It got to the point where I could make some very unexpected friends with which I would do nothing but beatbox and occasionally have marijuana for hours on end, wherein we would find a very collaborative but steady flow to fall into. It gets to the point where technique is locked and creativity is pure

I've been spinning poi for about a year, maybe a year and a half. I'm not great at it but I do find it very meditative. It also helped me quit smoking cigarettes as it was something that would occupy both my mind and my hands.

The reason I quoted the OP is because that video specifically has been a huge inspiration for me and was a large reason I stuck with it. I love watching Marvin flow

I still spin today, I don't take it super seriously and I don't have intentions to be the greatest poi spinner that ever lived or anything. But it has helped me a lot to get into shape and I use it as a means of exercise and staying grounded and in that respect it is something I practice nearly everyday.

I don't spin fire though. Maybe someday I'll buy or make some fire poi. But for now I'm happy with my Pod Poi (basically LED Poi encased in silicone). Much safer to spin in the house and less chance of catching my kids on fire.

Marvin's a great guy. One of the awesome things about the flow community is that it' small enough that you can still mingle with people of all different skill levels, including some of the greats.

If you ever find yourself at one of the flow/juggling conventions, I'm sure you'll meet a lot of great people. We might even run into each other, although we'd probably never know it.

A lot of colleges in New England have annual flow festivals, complete with workshops you can go to.

Blessings
~ND

Throat singing/beatboxing, guitar, poetry, glossallalia plus a little bit of dance. Some of my favorite moments in my life involved spontaineously combining all these in ways which surprise me and whoever is around. Inspired flow. I can do it just about whenever I want...but every once in awhile it just emerges through me, like a total surprise, like a gift. Transcendental flow--when it's like a breakthrough.

And I'm a terrible dancer too! Still, when it's inspired, it's good. Like qi-gong plus break dancing--and really, never learnt how to properly do either, and have little desire to do so.

Your description of "Flow" seems to explain why drumming/percussion puts me in such a peacefull, deep trance so fast.
Same goes for playing guitar or piano.

You can always take the tennis balls out and replace them with some rice, beans or similar stuff. Something in the range of 50g - 150g. And you should really listen to the advice, wou will hit yourself a lot in the begining and getting a hard and heave poi full speed against the nose can even be discouraging with pretty soft poi.

I train poi for nearly one year now and got pretty decent skills, thanks to the playpoi videos. I also train with staff and double staff. Most of the techniques require very precise movements and it is a really rewarding process to learn them. I have gained a much better control of my body and more left-right indipendence.
Spinning fire, especially by night, can be deep meditation for me. There is no time, no outside world, no thoughts, mostly not even conscious movement. Just the heat and the sound (those things are loud) of the orbiting fire and the awareness of the own body and the Poi like an extension of the it.

Oh, and I once spinned on 2g mushrooms. Gave me really great focus and control and made me much more inventive than usuall, since it was much easier to understand the patterns and the connection to the body movements. Something I can really recommend (with training poi, not with fire )

Next thing on the shoping list are fire staff.


"Poi" have also been used as weapons in many cultures, including the Maori, where the name comes from. It is still used in some forms of martial arts: