Dear Patient,
When acupuncturists talk about flow, we usually mean the flow of qi through the body’s meridians. But there’s a different kind of flow that’s important to our physical and mental health.
It’s the kind of flow that happens where you’re so engrossed in something that you lose all track of time.
It’s called a “flow state,” a phrase first coined by psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. He was curious about why people dedicated hours of time and effort to activities for pure enjoyment, rather than a specific outcome. He studied painters, rock climbers, chess players, long distance swimmers, and others who became so absorbed in their activities that they lost all sense of self, and simply surrendered to the experience.
Have you felt it?
Flow state doesn’t only happen for athletes and artists. You can experience a flow state when you’re doing something as simple as reading a book, or working a jigsaw puzzle, or cooking dinner.
Getting into a flow state generally involves three components:
Choose a clearly defined goal. Climb this mountain, complete that 1,000-piece puzzle, knit a sweater for your dog
Do something that’s meaningful to you. Knit a sweater for your dog only if you really want to. You can’t force flow.
Do something that’s at the edge of your abilities. If you’ve already knit five sweaters for your dog, maybe try a slightly more complicated human sweater instead. It helps to push yourself a little.
Once you create the conditions and hit your flow state, you feel purely present in the moment. The world falls away; you forget about life’s problems; you lose your ego. It’s just you and your activity, merged as one. It feels marvelous.
Flow states have been studied extensively in the decades since Csikszentmihalyi first observed his painters and rock climbers. Research shows that the more flow you experience, the better you feel. But flow states are easily disrupted and difficult to re-enter. One interruption, one ping from your phone, and your flow state dissolves.
People tend to lose all track of time when engaged in a flow state. You look up and realize you’ve been painting for three hours. Or you stay up well past your bed time, engrossed in a book. But it’s important to remember that time spent does not equal flow state. Doomscrolling is not a flow state. Internet rabbit holes, television binge-watching, staring at screens…these are not flow states. These are time-sucking diversions. How can you tell the difference? It’s pretty simple. A flow state feels good.
When I was a first-year acupuncture student, I took a course called Fundamentals of Taoism, and one of our assignments was to write an essay about our favorite form of qigong. Our teacher, Dr. Dao, encouraged us to be creative about how we defined qigong. He said it could be anything that gets our energy moving. So I wrote about surfing. I wasn’t a great surfer or even a very good one; I wiped out a lot, and usually just pointed my board to shore and rode it all the way in, rather than gliding along parallel to the shore in the curl of a wave. But I loved the experience of it—heading to the beach in the morning hours, suiting up and paddling out, the thrill of timing a wave just right, the sensation of walking on water, the intimidation and awe of the ocean.
I think this is what Dr. Dao was getting at when he asked us to write about our favorite form of qigong. What’s our flow state? How do we lose ourselves and surrender to the present? It’s the ultimate form of energy work.
Flow doesn’t just happen as qi courses through our meridians. Flow is something we make. It excites and calms at the same time. It captivates the attention while expanding the mind. It isolates us from distraction, while connecting us to something greater.
And flow is out there waiting for you.
What’s your flow state?
Love and gratitude,
Your Acupuncturist
P.S. This Note was inspired by the excellent book Stolen Focus by Johann Hari. I highly recommend it for anyone who feels their attention being hijacked in our digital age.
When I was 11 or 12 thereabouts I played drums professionally with adults in a small little band, at the time called a "jazz dance combo" -- playing for weekend school dances, church socials -- and several times during a period of five or six months (living in Las Vegas) I remember having short, brief, concise experiences that I could never describe.....not until I read your post!