Fartlek: variability training for calm of mind

In the 1930s, Swedish Olympian Gösta Holmér created a running technique known as fartlek, which means "speed play." This training style consists of varying between speeding up and slowing down throughout a session.

Think of jogging along, then running faster for a bit, then jogging again. Although a fartlek isn't just for running, as it can be done with any form of activity.

This blend of interval training incorporated into continuous training is designed to be spontaneous and less structured than other training methods. Fartlek training involves variability and unpredictability.

We speed up or slow down when we decide, choosing our time duration that works in the moment. It is a fun training with a fun name to boot!

We can incorporate some fartlek training into our lives too. There are times when we are consistently active and stable, and then there are times when we heighten our thoughts and actions.

By adopting a fartlek mindset in our daily lives, we understand that speeding up is only temporary, as our natural state is a consistently calm mind that we can always return to—our mental home base.

We can begin to monitor our speed sessions and learn when to cut them short or skip them altogether. Since the mind is also unpredictable and spontaneous, as the fartleks come and go, we learn to be in charge of our own training.

Throughout the day, we observe when our mind starts to accelerate, altering its rhythm and flow. This isn't negative; it's simply a reminder that our natural state is a steady, continuous jog rather than an all-out sprint.

By monitoring our fartleks, we can recognize when they become unmanageable, leading to a loss of calm and overall exhaustion. This indicates it's time to slow down, relax, and return to a steady, composed pace.

The external environment seems to be in a continual sprint most times; this is taxing and challenging for our mental and physical being. We were designed to live at a steady pace with occasional bursts of speed, not the reverse. A delightful combination of effort and ease for calm of mind.

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As the venerable Alan Watts reminds us:

"Paradoxical as it may seem, the purposeful life has no content, no point. It hurries on and on, and misses everything. Not hurrying, the purposeless life misses nothing, for it is only when there is no goal and no rush that the human senses are fully open to receive the world."

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With practice, one can achieve effortless effort, where even fartleks become steady, smooth, and relaxed. It's a beautiful blend of flowing; accelerating and decelerating with seamless transitions at a comfortable pace.

This isn't a race; we can maintain our constant chill as we effortlessly pick up the pace, then return to a gentle rhythm, allowing us to observe the trees, flowers, mountains, and sky along our life's path and journey.

This is a journey where we all benefit; there is no endpoint. It's simply a never-ending progression of ease and effortless effort, one step at a time.

Cheers!

Kether

"We have more possibilities available

in each moment than we realize."

Thich Nhat Hanh