To drop the weight, or Vary Your Carry…
On a two day through-hike in the Catskills of New York, I had overpacked (because I love to eat) and my pack was heavy. Unfortunately, after about 10 miles, this made my knee and feet really hurt. I was still healing from a knee injury and I hadn’t anticipated how the weight of the pack would put extra pressure on my knees and my bare feet.
(I’m almost always barefoot - didn’t you know?)
At the end of the first day, I hobbled down the hill anticipating pain with every step.
I had another 12 miles to go the next day, and I truly didn’t know how I would make it.
Finally at the campsite, as I rested in my hammock, an idea dropped in: The campsite was the one place on the trail that intersected with a road. What if I left all the unnecessary contents of my pack at the campsite? That included all the camping equipment, clothes, and any cooking gear… what if I only took the food and water I absolutely needed??
It worked. The next day, after a night’s rest and with a much lighter load, I finished the trail I had been so intent on conquering.
Feeling successful and accomplished, I drove my car back to the campsite and picked up the gear I had left behind a tree.
One thing I love about excursions in nature - is how they can always provide life lessons… IF you can translate the experience into metaphor.
In this case, I might ask myself:
What other destinations in my life am I trying to reach — but causing extra suffering and slowing my progress — because I’m carrying extra weight?
How is this hiking experience like other life situations?
Maybe I’m carrying the past into a present relationship
Maybe I’m making a work project too burdensome because I’m carrying into this one task all the imagined implications for the future.
Maybe I’m using too much energy trying to avoid certain emotions or to control my thinking.
All these create a weight like carrying a backpack filled with unnecessary, extra burdens.
Next, I can ask: How can I deal with this extra weight just like on the hike?
If I’m burdened by carrying too much of the past or future into a situation, I can work on flexible perspective taking skills to help me focus on the present moment.
If I’m making a task too complicated, I can work on committing to the the smallest next action I need to take, and leave the rest to another time.
Staying present and taking the next step are like unloading the backpack from past, future, and unnecessary complications… I’m not abandoning them entirely, just coming back to pick them up later when I need them.
However, there are some things — like our emotions, thoughts, and memories — that you can’t actually put down. They will always be in the backpack of your life.
In that case, I refer to a common hiking technique called — “Vary Your Carry.” Just as the name implies, it’s the notion that by simply changing the position of your backpack, it will feel like you’ve lightened the load.
Quick Aside for a movement principle:
Like carrying a backpack, if we do it the same way over a long period of time, the muscles of the body react to the load over and over in the same way and eventually fatigue making the load feel heavier…
However, if you change the position of the weight, then the load works on your muscles differently. Certain muscles can take over the work while others get to relax. The result is the load feels easier to carry…
So try putting your backpack:
on your front
Under one arm
Held over your head
Variation is key to whole body health!
Back to the metaphor:
For emotions, thoughts, and memories — Varry Your Carry — represents the skills of cognitive flexibility and emotional acceptance. These are the skills that help us relate to our minds and emotions as an observational witness so that we can make experiments to shift our relationship to those things:
Try this simple visualization exercise:
If a thought or emotion is front and center in your experience and it’s keeping you from moving forward, imagine it is actually something you can hold in your hands. Let it have a shape and imagine looking at it.
Imagine yourself holding it in your hands right up to your face. Blocking your view from the world.
Then experiment with bringing your hands arms length away from your body - how did the view change?
Hold it up over head
Put it in your lap
Instead of gripping tightly, try holding it more gently like you would a flower…
Put it back in the backpack.
How does your relationship to this thing change depending on how you’re carrying it?
Finally, ask - would you be willing to carry this thought/emotion/memory - if you knew you had the capability of varying your relationship with it?
Chances are, the load will feel lighter…
In which areas of life are you carrying extra weight?
Can you find ways to lighten the load or vary your carry?
Nature Immersion, exploring physical principles to move and feel better, and using these inputs to open up to better ways of navigating issues in our lives — are all part of one of my offerings:
This is perfect if you need a one day mini retreat to let nature restore your spirit while you engage in deep and playful work to transform physical or life issues.