The Calming Power of Archery
Over the holidays I carved out some time for archery. It’s something I was just starting to get into before the pandemic started and I didn’t realize how much I missed it. The indoor archery range can be a busy place on Saturdays and I just hadn’t gotten out there for quite some time, due to social distancing and the fact that I was finishing up a degree program along with working long hours. With school behind me and a couple of weeks off from work, it was a great time to get to the range on the slower weekdays. I was sure glad I did.
As someone who struggles with anxiety and depression, I’m always looking for ways to calm the internal storm. I’d forgotten what a calming activity that archery can be. After about 20 minutes on the range, my mental state was more calm than it had been in a long time.
I shoot a simple recurve bow. I don’t have any sighting devices attached and I aim kind of instinctively. My focus is on my target. Before taking my shot, I stare at the target until nothing is in my thoughts other than a precise point of focus. Then I bring up the bow, smoothly drawing the string back as the arrow shaft enters my peripheral vision in line with the target. My sharp visual focus remains on the target until the arrow releases without effort, if I managed to keep myself out of the way of the process.
The activity of archery incorporates techniques not unlike those I use in meditation.
Breath — I breathe calmly and deliberately. The pace is slowed and the duration of inhale and exhale is lengthened. I’m aware of my body’s movement as I breathe from the expansion and contraction of my chest to the air moving through my nostrils.
Awareness — I am aware of my surroundings and my actions. While being aware of sounds, I am not distracted. I am continuously observing each motion I take, attempting to create a consistently smooth series of actions that results in the arrow hitting its mark.
Focus — My focus is on the target. While I am engaged mentally and physically with bringing up the bow and drawing the string, my primary focus remains on the target until the arrow is sent. When meditating, I always focus on something. Usually it is my breathing, but it can be other sensations in my body or perhaps sounds.
Letting Go — For everything to work, I need to let go of everything else. All other thoughts other than the target and the actions leading to release of the arrow need to drift away.
After getting several days of archery in and reflecting on the positive impact on my mental state, I ended up reading Zen in the Art of Archery by Eugen Herrigel. It’s interesting that archery is used in Zen circles and I was curious about what it is about this activity that makes it such a useful exercise. The book referred to archery as a contest of the archer with himself. This makes perfect sense. The more I struggle with trying to direct the arrow by, for example, focusing more on my fingers doing the releasing of the string rather than focusing on the target, the less I hit the target.
Herrigel’s book mentions a great analogy by a Zen archery master. The tension that builds up as the arrow is drawn needs to be released like snow falling from a bamboo leaf after building up over time until the weight is great enough that the leaf simply releases the snow. That’s an excellent way to describe the release of an arrow in a way that doesn’t disturb its travel to the target. It’s also a neat way to thinking of letting go of anxiety that weighs heavily on my mind. What if I can simply allow it fall away instead of trying to fight it?