Skiing as Moving Meditation

Ever since I was a little kid, I’ve found freedom and flow through skiing. It’s an outlet that has given me, and a whole lot of people I know, a bit of serenity. I’m no scientist, and I’m not here to provide a methodological explanation as to why skiing is an effective form of moving meditation. But, I am here to relay my personal relationship with skiing, and how it’s been a transformative- dare I say spiritual- force in my life. To me, skiing is meditation, and for you, it can be as well.

I believe our ability to exist in a momentary single-pointed focus is one of the most valuable skills a human can have. When you’re skiing down a mountain at high speed, you have no choice but to focus on what’s in front of you. There’s no room to dwell on the current stressors in your life, for the physical environment is forcing you to hone in on the present moment. It's just you and the mountain, and for that specific moment in time, that’s the only thing that stands true. 

Movement is all around, but my mind stays completely still. When I’m moving in the mountains, my mind can be still. It seems counterintuitive, movement bringing stillness, but that’s essentially what “moving meditation” is. I also think physical environment plays a huge role. I’ve always felt a deep connection to the mountains. They’ve raised me and molded me into who I am today. The crisp air, the chilled snow and the towering peaks are a venue for healing. So, being able to move in the mountains is my ultimate path to peace. When I’m skiing, I’m able to become one with the mountain, a phenomenon that has changed skiing entirely for me.

I came to fully understand some of these concepts around interconnectivity and meditation with nature, when I lived in Australia. In Aboriginal ways of knowing, there is always an association between the people and the land. There is a practice called Dadirri. It means “inner deep listening and quiet still awareness.” To practice Dadirri is to sit with the earth, listen to the earth, and become the earth. Personally, I’ve always had a hard time sitting still, so instead of sitting with the earth, I move with it. I ski with it. 

Oftentimes, there’s this notion that mediation means sitting with yourself in silence and blocking away any sort of  thought (a practice that takes a whole lot of time to master). I’m here to say, that’s not true. Meditation is finding a place where your mind can exist in a single moment. For me, I’m able to find that place when I’m skiing. The same may not reign true for you, but I hope that in reading this, you can find some inspiration to meditate in the mountains this winter.