MOUNTAIN LIFE - Coast Mountains | Fall Winter 2019

126 Further reading divined that on top of ski-touring, movement classes, hitting the sauna, cold-water plunging, forest bathing, meditating and varied interpersonal exchanging, a range of professionals would train an assortment of brain and body tech on participants and each other, delivering experiential learning to be converted to knowledge and action. Unstated, but of primary interest, was to learn more about flow, an emerging field centered on human endeavour and potential (its first lesson: be patient, we’ll get to it). The inaugural event of Martin’s Vancouver-based outfit, Backcountry Enlightenment, sounded intriguing enough for a dozen to sign on. We arrived by snowcat, snowmobile and cross-country ski to the exquisite backcountry digs of Journeyman Lodge in Whistler’s Callaghan Valley, where the pros plugged in their theta-wave scanners, light/sound relaxation apparatuses, action-potential stress evaluators, various brain stimulators; and, of course, the Muse 2. More important than the array of “digiceuticals” (flow is chock- a-bloc with buzzwords), however, were the humans who could turn their powers into something useful. In addition to organizers Martin—self-proclaimed Director of Mischief— and Greig Gjerdalen, a deep-nature explorer and instructor in Capilano University’s outdoor program, X Camp featured maverick neuroscientist Dr. Ryan D’Arcy, body-movement expert Dr. Carla Cupido, somatic wizard Ian Watson, life and business architect Nick Banks, and functional medicine neuro-ninja Dr. Jan Venter. In the lodge, we circled up for introductions and to speak to why we were there. The reasons were diverse: some felt happy in life and wanted to share, others sought personal growth, were battling health issues, had a bad year, or needed to let go of some toxic emotional narrative; a few were merely curious or there for the science. If you’re wondering what any of this has to do with flow, I was, too. The question, however, was quickly answered: everything. That first afternoon, with brilliant spring sun but a forecasted return to winter, Gjerdalen led a walk in the forest, challenging us to bring awareness to our surroundings through silence. It’s amazing what you can see and hear and feel when you allow yourself to—and this then changes how you both perceive and proceed. The physics of your stride might not change, yet somehow your walking improves. Then you notice more around you. And then you feel even better physically. Positive feedback is a powerful thing, unleashing the intrinsic motivation at the heart of flow. And now, yes, we better find out what that is. By its nature and the things its applied to by people, the word “flow” often comes across as casual stoner talk. In fact, it boasts a solid academic pedigree. Hungarian-American psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi was first to recognize, study and name the concept with his seminal 1990 work, A balance must be struck between the challenge of the task and the skill of the performer. When both are low and matched, flow can’t happen and apathy results; when both are high and matched, however, flow occurs. Into the wild. Repetitive movements (like touring), fresh air and natural elements can all help induce a flow state. ERIC BERGER