Moderate Pace
The moderate pace is a walking rhythm without the push or pull of a strong emotion. In this pace, you are in a rhythm that facilitates integration of your internal world with the external world. With a moderate pace your thoughts and feelings and the environment can work together to create plans, develop tools, and think through actions. This is a bipolar practice pace. Thinking through potential actions is different than going for the high feeling of the potential results only! Even with imagined success there is a process to use and evaluation tools available.
Rapid Pace
Moving rapidly through the world can be due to choice, pressure or fright. Some people walk rapidly with the belief that they are avoiding the deeper feeling state that is present in a slower pace, or that they will be rewarded when they reach their goal. The problem with the fast pace occurs when it is idea-driven and not part of a process. Important cues and opportunities to encounter problems will be passed by.
PROCESS
Daily life can be fulfilling when you have planned your moves in middle ground and have used an inner focus to orient your feelings and know the big picture environment. With these paces and focus areas, you can see the landscape both inside and outside of yourself. The ability to get things done and gain momentum evolves from feelings of confidence. When you feel safe in the environment and have a plan based on knowledge and feelings then you can move joyfully and satisfied.
With this three-pace structure, you can experienced the range of your emotional world. With practice of self-observation you will be able to experience more integration of thoughts and feelings at all three levels. The three paces work with the three focus areas as a pattern for rhythm and reflection. Being aware of the pace you move in is a way to monitor your internal rhythms.
WHY IT WORKS
When you are the observer and the actor, you can change your behavior. When you practice techniques for control you can use them in daily situations. Talking about your behavior in a therapist's office isn't enough. You are the one who walks out the door into a world full of emotional cues. You are the one who can benefit from finding middle ground and working with your own pace and focus.
Sara Denning Abbott is a behavioral psychotherapist in private practice in New York City. Her specialties are Bipolar Disorder and Attention Deficit Disorder. She is currently involved in research on pacing and focusing as therapeutic tools.
She is an Associate Member of the American Psychological Assoc., a member of The American College of Sports Medicine, a personal trainer and member of AFAA, The American Fitness Association. See also Exercise: The Great Variable, a fine discussion of the benefits of exercise and tips for healthy walking.
