Movement Practice to Strengthen Your Mind-Body Connection | Ido Portal

Discipline is a necessary scaffolding to initiate action, but true 'will' is not developed; it's exposed. Over-reliance on discipline can lead to dependence and prevent deeper self-discovery. The correct use of discipline involves 'pulling off' it, integrating playfulness, relaxation, and deep choice into the process, rather than rigidly pushing through.

Ido uses the analogy of learning a handstand against a wall: pushing off the wall creates reliance, but pulling off it (from internal connection to the ground) builds true capability. He states, 'Discipline is very important, but it's similar to the wall in learning to do a handstand... You should use it as a scaffolding... But inside the process, you must make sure you don't lean hard into it... you bring some playfulness, some relaxation, some deep choice. I want to do this.' He later adds, 'One does not develop the will. The will never gets developed. It's only get exposed. Discipline gets developed. That's what we mistaken will for.'

There is significant benefit in exploring and stabilizing 'liminal states'—the fragile transitions between different states of being, such as sleep and wakefulness. Most people have a simplified, binary perception of these states, making them difficult to stabilize. Deliberately pausing or 'hovering' in these transitions, or even waking up in the middle of the night, can reset rigid schemas and allow for recalibration of one's internal models.

Ido discusses experiencing sleep paralysis and various 'inetweens,' noting that 'when you sit a lot... you get to know the territory and you can stabilize fragile states more easily. So crossing into that boundary of the sleep it becomes a slow-mo journey that you can pause.' He adds, 'There is a lot of benefit in heading to sleep and taking a sharp left just before.' Huberman shares an anecdote about setting an alarm to grieve in the middle of the night, which Ido affirms helps 'recalculating of allowing the model to recalibrate.'

Instead of relying on intense, large-scale events for transformation, consistent 'micro-dosages' and 'gentle events' are highly effective. This involves applying short periods of focused practice and playfulness to daily activities, aiming for a continuous state of awareness throughout the day. This approach helps integrate deeper states into everyday life and avoids dependence on extreme practices.

Ido states, 'I didn't start to meditate because I wanted to sit. I wanted to take the state and to apply it into my life. So that is a moment where you can integrate. You can take the depth and you can take also very short periods of practice and apply this micro dosages and try to get a change in the defaults of this your state and your way of being.' He also mentions 'a repeating mellow event, gentle event' as powerful for transformation.

The common advice to 'listen to your body' is often problematic because individuals are 'too corrupted' by simplified perceptions and rigid internal models to accurately interpret internal signals. Instead, there's a need for a 'rudimentary map' or 'internal definition' to differentiate and stabilize internal states, moving beyond vague sensations to a more refined 'bodily resolution.'

Ido explicitly states, 'I don't believe in that [listen to your body]. What are you listening? Your heartbeat, your what does that mean? It's corrupted. You're too corrupted to listen to your body.' He emphasizes, 'You can't refine what you can't define but not in the sense of this verbal definition but some kind of an internal definition some kind of a boundary drawn some kind of a selection.'

Playfulness is not merely a recreational activity but a potent tool for rewiring default operating systems. It conserves and even builds energy, unlike pure discipline which can be energetically costly. Playfulness opens the door to 'aesthetic intensities' like awe and curiosity, which are crucial for transforming rigid emotional schemas and fostering neuroplasticity.

Ido explains, 'Playfulness it brings a direction and a flavor of something else a different way to interact with something.' He notes its benefits: 'The aesthetic intensities that are missing from our lives, awe, curiosity, this deep sense of curiosity, these things can allow us to totally transform the emotional schema which is stuck rigid.' Huberman adds, 'Play is a different cocktail. It includes some of those, but it includes some other stuff, too. We know this neurochemically. So, I'm not just speaking in metaphors. And it does seem to open something up.'

Cultivating genuine remorse and allowing oneself to grieve are crucial, often overlooked, practices for personal transformation. This involves confronting past failures or losses without self-flagellation or seeking immediate relief, but rather sitting in the discomfort with acceptance. This process, though difficult, can unmask deeper capacities and lead to greater bravery and authenticity.

Ido discusses the importance of 'true remorse' and 'practice of remorse,' stating, 'That was bad... That's not who I want to be and and from that place hitting this rock bottom and immediately climbing up from that.' Huberman shares his experience of intentionally grieving the passage of time and acknowledging past cowardice, which 'actually allowed me to be much braver in leaning into the stuff that sucks.'

Profound transformation doesn't always require high volume or intensity; a single 'moment of freshness' can be irrevocably transformative. This involves experiencing something differently, even briefly, and consciously noting that experience. By paying attention to these fresh moments, individuals can empower them to solve problems and overcome challenges, rather than dismissing them as fleeting or insufficient.

Ido states, 'I don't need high volume, high intensity only to transform. There is another important more important maybe freshness. A moment of freshness can transform you irrevocably.' He gives an example of a momentary relief from shoulder pain, which his 'past self' would dismiss, but now he knows 'this can really solve my problem.' He attributes this to 'what we pay attention to grows.'