What is Praxis?

This post is dedicated to Alli Tanner, Praxis CEO, my dear friend, and soon to be Mrs. Van Shaack. Thanks for always dreaming, exploring, and charging ahead, heart first. This is only the beginning.  

“That’s Alli’s way, she is courageous. She loves adventure, she loves charging forward and having fun. She’s willing to chase a ball down that seems unreachable to everyone else. Without Alli’s commitment and courage to charge ahead, Praxis wouldn’t exist. ”

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Before we dig into the next blog series on Personal Action Styles, and Leadership Languages, I wanted to take a second to rewind and refresh.

Let's go back to the summer of 2004 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. It was hot outside. The sticky, muggy, can't escape the sun, end of summer, smells like dogwood trees, North Carolina hot. Alli Tanner was a freshman at UNC. I was a sophomore. It was the first day of preseason. Since school wasn't in session, and the dorms weren't open, Alli was crashing at my off-campus apartment. 

The day started with the gauntlet. Alli came out guns blazing and ran a ridiculously fast gauntlet. Evening dawns, and we take the field for the annual opening day, intra-squad scrimmage.  Alli, a forward, comes out again, guns blazing. She charges forward, heart first, head up, ready to pounce, chasing down a pass that seems unreachable. She closes in on the circle - she has a chance - the goal keeper rushes toward the ball, Alli doesn't stop, she keeps going, determined to win the contest. The goal keeper gets to the ball first, swings her leg back to clear it, makes contact, and bam, Alli takes the ball straight into the forehead from point blank distance. She goes down. Blood seeps from a massive gash that spans from her hairline to the tip of her nose. I swore it was so deep you could see her skull. 

I don't remember what happened next. I imagine Alli got up, got stitched up, and asked Coach if she could go back in. That's Alli's way, she is courageous. She loves adventure, she loves charging forward and having fun. She's willing to chase a ball down that seems unreachable to everyone else. Without Alli's commitment and courage to charge ahead, Praxis wouldn't exist. 

So, what is Praxis? 

Praxis is a personal discovery and actualization process built by Alli and myself to translate dreams and ideas into actionable realities. 

 

iNTEGRATED DEVELOPMENT MODEL

The Know You Cube

A comprehensive self-assessment tool that athletes use during the Beta-lete Program to develop a better understanding of individual behavioral attributes as they relate to the whole picture. It provides valuable, specific information on how the athlete perceives their current reality. It provides a platform to engage in purposeful personal development. 

6 Elements of Praxis Wellness

Physical, Mental, Emotional, Social, Developmenal, and Habitual

36 Praxis Attributes 

Each element consists of 6 Core Attributes. An attribute is a specific characteristic, quality, or skill. Attributes, as measured through action, are developable. 

6 Praxis Action Styles

An action style is specific way of doing, how an individual engages in action. Each action style consists of 6 Core Attributes. The 6 Action Styles are Disciplined Practice, Trust, Power, Steadiness, Malleability, and Determination

6 Leadership Languages

Each Action Style translates to a specific Leadership Language. A Language of Leadership is a method of delivering messages to mobilize action in a group of people.  The 6 Languages are: By Example, Shepard, Charismatic, Steadfast, Versatile, and Visionary.

Discover Within, Expand Beyond,

Happy Wedding Weekend Alli & Spence,

Rachel

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The Developmental Element

This post is dedicated to the coaches, leaders, and creators who are courageous enough to share their unique models of understanding with the world. I admire, celebrate, and thank you.

“Growth is natural and enduring. It is not a goal to be reached or a game to be won. It is not achievable. It is process to be honored and respected. It is timeless, perfect, absolute and complete. You can’t force it. It happens when you are ready, when you’ve prepared the soil, and open yourself to it. 
”

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The Developmental Element

Grow & create purposefully, expand naturally

The 6 Developmental Attributes

Goal setting 

Growth Mindset (Curiosity)

Inspiration

Values 

Role and Task engagement 

Purpose

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“I plagued myself with the fever of more and better, always trying to get somewhere, and prove something.  I searched outside myself desperate to understand and connect with something that could only be found within me. ”

Be clear and simple about who you are and what you want to create. Get to what is essential. Essence is the key to development. It is the source of power, transformation and understanding. From essence, you can grow, create, and expand naturally into your potential. 

As long as I can remember, I fought the wisdom of 'less is more.' I believed that developing myself meant adding on, building, improving, bettering, perfecting, going as far as possible as quickly as possible. I lived in the weeds. Growth had a desperate, complicated, comparative, achievement-oriented quality. I plagued myself with the fever of more and better, always trying to get somewhere, and prove something.  I searched outside myself desperate to understand and connect with something that could only be found within me. 

“Developing isn’t about adding on, or improving, it is  about stripping down, getting to the source of you, and letting magic emerge.”

There were rare moments of connection, though, when I got so physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted and let go of striving, and just let myself be vulnerable and in the process that I experienced magic. In those moments, space emerged. I could see myself and life clearly. Those fleeting, spacious moments of wonder kept me curious, and infused me with enough courage to stay upon the path of self-discovery.  That path has not always been an easy one. It has been an essential one. 

Developing isn’t about adding on, or improving, it is  about stripping down, getting to the source of you, and letting magic emerge. The word develop means to un - envelop, to unfold or unfurl, like a Koru, the Maori word for a new silver fern frond that expands from a single point of origin in what seems like perpetual motion. Growth is like that, it is natural and enduring. It is not a goal to be reached or a game to be won. It is not achievable. It is process to be honored and respected. It is timeless, perfect, absolute and complete. You can't force it. It happens when you are ready, when you've prepared the soil, and open yourself to it.

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The 6 Developmental Attributes

Goal Setting - ability to set and pursue clear markers of progress  

Growth Mindset - a sense of wonder and curiosity to explore and grow

Inspiration - To be stirred and enlivened by genius, brilliance, and beauty

Values - a set of core principles that guide behavior and decision-making 

Role and Task Engagement - specific function and contribution, willingness to play part in something bigger

 Purpose - mission, calling, intention

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What is Praxis?

A container or model for personal understanding, discovery, expression and expansion

• How I understand life, sport, growth and the world around me
• A model to express, share and engage in conversation about how I  understand life, sport, and the world around me
• A space, and process, for others to explore, discover, develop and express their own models of understanding

Magic comes unnoticed. Space appears, and you simply emerge into your potential.   

Thats how Praxis happened. It emerged from something within when I stopped striving to understand it. I began to see space between the parts of my experience, and space led to connection - an understanding of how the parts fit together. That fit developed into a model that helped me communicate how I understood myself, life, growth and the world around me. Praxis became a container  for personal exploration, discovery, expression and expansion. Praxis is a process.With every experience, it evolves. It is molded and shaped by every conversation, interaction, and experience. 

I encourage you to explore your own model of understanding. I encourage you to connect to what is essential to you - who you are and what you want to create. Get rid of the layers and fluff of sport, and hone in on the essence of the experience. I encourage you to explore, discover, develop and express your unique and personal model of understanding.

I encourage you to let go,unfurl, and follow the path. Create space for magic.  

Discover Within, Expand Beyond,

Rachel

The Emotional Element

This post is dedicated to the courageous ones - the ones who let themselves feel, live and experience it all. The ones who don't run away. This post is dedicated to you.

“We wear emotion on our face, in our body, in our thoughts, actions, and words. Harnessing emotional power requires taking responsibility for the energy we wear, we give, we create, and we destroy. Responsibility means listening, and responding. ”

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The Emotional Element

energize action & stabilize response

The 6 Emotional Attributes

Self Assessment / Regulation

Optimism / Grit

Confidant Expression

Stress Response

Initiative / Competitiveness

Resilience / Commitment

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“We want to be happy, but we are sad, angry, scared, overwhelmed. We fear the contradiction, and because we fear it we refuse to accept it, appreciate it, or take responsibility for its profound impact on us.”

Emotion has a bad rap. Its the dirtiest word in sport. The word we don’t speak of or name outright. It’s the thing we pretend doesn’t exist because if we accepted its existence we’d destroy our mask of control. If we cared, or cried, or felt sad, or had anger, or felt joy or inspiration, if were honest about what really motivates us and overwhelms us, we’d consider ourselves weak, irrational, out of control.

Worst of all, emotional.

We run from emotion because we don't totally understand it, and we don't want to take responsibility for it. We dismiss it as an unstable, unpredictable, and supremely volatile. We disregard it, bury it, demonize it, get caught up in it and don’t healthily express it or let ourselves feel it because emotion - the unpredictable, three-eyed, morphing monster of creation and destruction that lives inside of us - has a bad rap.  We want to be happy, but we feel sadness, anger, fear, overwhelm. We don't understand the contradiction, and because we don't understand emotion we refuse to accept it, appreciate it, or take responsibility for its profound impact on us.

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The 6 Emotional Attributes

Self Assessment / Regulation - ability to identify, evaluate, and direct energy

Optimism / Grit - ability to see energetic possibility and direct it with humility 

Confidant Expression - ability to express and communicate energy in healthy and positive ways 

Stress Response - ability to choose a healthy response to emotional pressure, strain, and tension

Initiative / Competitiveness - ability to motivate, self-start, and take part in a contest

Resilience / Commitment - ability to bounce back, regain energy and maintain resolve

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So let's clear the air.

Emotion is not a monster. Emotion is an energy system, a very sophisticated internal energy system like the weather, that - at it best - moves in, does its thing, and then moves out.  The very nature of emotion is that it is in motion -  stirred energy. Emotion plays an important role in our bodies ability to maintain ideal performance conditions. It is a conduit - a messenger - between the mind, body (our internal environment) and environment. Emotion provides us with valuable information about our level of arousal. It tells us if we are overexposed, underexposed, overwhelmed or in equilibrium. It helps us identify the need, and way, in which to rebalance the interaction between internal and external environments. 

“Emotion provides us with valuable information about our level of arousal. It tells us if we are overexposed, underexposed, overwhelmed or in equilibrium. It helps us identify the need, and way, in which to rebalance the interaction between internal and external environments. ”

Emotion creeps up when we are tired, stressed, over or under stimulated, dehydrated, over-thinking, around certain people, trying too hard, unsure, wanting something, ignoring something, resisting, not listening. Millions of factors trigger the onslaught of a myriad of complex emotions, some positive, some negative. Some of those factors come from within us and others from beyond our control. Thoughts trigger emotion, as do conversations, stories, and physical experiences. Emotion is not something to fear or shy away from, nor is it something to get too caught up in. Denial deepens our attachment, and over-identification creates emotional layers.

So what do we do with emotion?

We let it move through us. We accept its presence, listen for its message, and then choose how to respond to it. Emotion is stubborn. It won't go away until it does it job, until we let it deliver its message.  We must listen to it, because it influences how we interact with the world, and ourselves. It motivates our decisions.  It gives color and texture to the context of our lives. It is part of what makes us human. Emotion is a power to be embraced, harnessed and respected.

So do things that stir emotion. Play sports. Compete. Perform. Care about something. Open your heart, and put it on the line. Go into the uncomfortable zone of feeling. Lean in to the emotions that come up. Get curious about your default reaction to each specific emotion. When you feel anger, do you fight? Run? Try harder? Pretend? Blame? Learn to listen to and respond to whatever emotion the experience brings up. Let your response create new adaptations and opportunities for expansion. Let emotion energize action and when necessary, stabilize response.

Emotion exists. Stop pretending it doesn't. It's not dirty. It's powerful. Stop avoiding responsibility. We wear emotion on our face, in our body, and in our thoughts. Harnessing our emotional power requires taking responsibility for the energy we wear, we give, we create, and we destroy. Responsibility means listening, and responding. Being able to feel the message without getting caught in the messengers delivery.

So here is my challenge to you - are you willing to put your heart on the line. Are you willing to feel it all, live it all, and let it all move through you. Are you courageous enough to be vulnerable to it all, and to trust yourself to be responsible for it all.  

Whatever comes up. Listen to it, and let it go on its way. Emotion is energy. That's all.

Discover Within, Expand Beyond,

Rachel

The Physical Element

This post is dedicated to the practice of yoga, and all those who share in body physical experiences whether on the mat, in competition, or in life. 

“Know your body and you’ll know yourself. It is your anchor to reality and the access point to your potential.”

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the Physical Element

OPTIMIZE PERFORMANCE

The 6 Physical Attributes

Technical Skill

Mobility / Flexibility

Speed / Power

Strength / Stability

Agility

Endurance

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Look no further than your body. It holds all the wisdom you’ll ever need. It is your anchor to reality and the access point to your potential. It already knows every metric that your little device is telling you. Stop fighting it, judging it, analyzing it, and ignoring it. By all means challenge it, then get out of its way, and see what it can do.

I’ve spent most of my life training my body- pushing it, listening to it, acknowledging its thresholds, developing its skills, and teaching it to push beyond limits. My body, and life, always had a clear sense of purpose - discover what was possible in the sport of field hockey, and that meant becoming very aware of my in body experience. It meant being fully alive, as messy and uncomfortable as that aliveness became.

Then, last October, I retired from the USA National Team and over the next 6 months, I slowly lost connection with myself. The disconnect began in my body. I stopped moving purposefully. I stumbled around without conviction, curiosity or appreciation for the incredible mechanism of movement happening everyday. 

“All experience and learning happens in the body. It is the physical reality of you. If you want to change something in your life, and I mean anything, start with your body.”

Call it a fog. I was going through the motions of poses, conversations and daily activities. Smells were dull. Tastes were bland. Pain was nothing but a chronic ache. Sound was annoying. Touch had no sensation. Breathing was superficial. I was here, but not really. Sure, I did yoga. I ran. I hiked. I did tons of things. Yes had become my default response to every question. I spent so much time in my car commuting - going here, there, and everywhere which in the end left me nowhere at all except really far away from myself. I was separate from everything and everyone, especially my own physical body.

All experience and learning happens in the body. That is where learning begins, and where it ends. It is the physical reality of you. If you want to change something in your life, and I mean anything - a relationship, career, thought pattern, lifestyle - start with your body. Start by getting still and listening to it. Let yourself feel physical sensation. Feel your heart beating - in your chest, your palms, your belly, your ears.  Feel the temperature of your skin. Tense every muscle in your body, feel the tension. Stop squeezing your muscles and feel the difference.

Get out of the idea of your body, and actually into your body. Challenge it, and I mean really challenge it, and see how it responds. Feel whatever you feel, and just as much, feel whatever you don't feel - feel the numbness. Listen for openings, and listen for limits, than move beyond them both. Don't think about the challenge, just do it, explore what is real and possible in your body. 

Once you complete the challenge, get curious about your physical experience. Reflect on it. When working with my own body, and exploring its physical movement patterns, I identified 6 critical  attributes to help my personal understanding. Those attributes became the basis of the Physical Element of the Praxis Paradigm - skill, mobility, power, strength, agility, and endurance.  

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6 physical attributes

TECHNICAL SKILL a particular set of skills relating to the efficient execution or  performance of a task or craft

MOBILITY / FLEXIBILITY ability to move freely and easily, especially through the joints

STRENGTH / STABILITY - ability to hold weight, relates to the stacking of your bones

POWER / SPEED - ability to exert force and accelerate an object through space, relates to muscle action

AGILITY -  ability to change direction, relates to the balance of opposing forces

ENDURANCE -  ability to endure arduous tasks for a long period of time, relates to physical stamina and steadiness of breath (aerobic capacity)

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Get in your body

1. Sit or Stand Still
2. Feel What You Feel and What You Don't
3. Set a Physical Challenge 
4. Perform the Challenge
5. Feel What You Feel and What You Don't
6. Complete the Challenge
7. Get Still - feel what you feel
8. Assess your experience of the 6 Physical Attributes
9. Begin again

As you reflect, ask yourself these questions. How does your body move? What patterns has it developed? How do those patterns impact performance?  What do they make possible, and what possibility do they prevent? Why were they necessary to develop? Are they still necessary? 

Can you develop new movement patterns?

Yes, you can. If you are willing to. It takes work, deliberate action, and ruthless self-awareness. So get clear on what patterns exist, and what physical attributes you want to develop, and in every moment, no matter how uncomfortable, choose what you want to develop.

Your body is the gateway to life. Get to know it. Because if you want to connect with other people or with some higher power and purpose, you must first and foremost connect with your own natural body.  

It is the door. Open it.

Discover Within, Expand Beyond,

Rachel

Results that Matter

This post is dedicated to Kylie, 13 years old from New Jersey, and all the athletes competing this weekend.

Photo by Planet Hockey, Ned Dawson

“What matters is the person you become through the toils and spoils of sport, and what becomes possible for you, and the world around you, by virtue of your daily choices.””

At some point, the game will end. The whistle will blow and your work on the field will be done. Maybe you won, maybe you didn’t. I don’t care about that. I don’t care if you saw playing time, or how much. I don’t care if you were the superstar, watergirl, coach, parent, or referee.

I do care about the result, though. The result that shows up in everything you do - how you compete, how you smile, how you cry, how you treat people, how you work, how you engage in the tough conversations, how you handle adversity, how you experience and contribute to the world around you.

The result that matters is the person you become through the toils and spoils of sport, and what becomes possible for you, and the world around you, by virtue of your daily choices.

Sport is a vehicle like a car or a train. It moves you from one place to the next. It’s a tool like a shovel or a chisel to shape yourself.  Every experience you have, on and off the field - every interaction, decision, game, drill, and word will take you someplace new. Every moment will shape you.

“Decide what success means to you””

How it shapes you and where it takes you happens by chance or by choice. I beg you please don’t wish and hope your way through your life. If you want something, work for it. Take whatever box life offers you, make a sturdy ship, set your sails, trust the winds, and trust yourself. Everything you need you already have, you just have to be willing to discover it within you.

Start now, and start small. Make your bed, brush your teeth, hug your mom, say thank you to the janitor at school, ask your dad how his day was. Make someone smile, even if that someone is you.

Decide what success means to you. What does it look like? Feel like? Sound like?

Choose a desired outcome for your sport experience. What do you want from it? What brings you the most joy? Pick a measurable result, like a certain milestone or progress marker, and choose a feeling-based result. Ask yourself this question, when the game is over, how do I want to feel?

I don’t care what outcomes you choose. Everyone's intended outcomes will look very different.

The important thing is that you choose outcomes for yourself from where you are right now. Choose something that lives a little beyond your grasp - something that lights you up and scares you at the same time. Something that seems a little impossible, but you know with work will become entirely probable.

“So from time to time, get quiet, and listen to the beating of your own heart. Look in the mirror, deep in your own eyes, and choose the path that awakens your soul. Your gut will rumble with nerves. Trust that feeling.””

And when that desired outcome becomes reality, when you've gone beyond yourself, start again. Set a new intention, and work into it.

Along the way, listen for the input of others - me, your parents, coaches, teammates. There's value in listening. Do it with an open mind. Remember that ultimately the choice is yours, and yours alone. So from time to time, get quiet, and listen to the beating of your own heart. Look in the mirror, deep in your own eyes, and choose the path that awakens your soul. Your gut will rumble with nerves. Trust that feeling. That's when you know.

Not everyone will understand your choice. That doesn't mean it is wrong. It just means that there is an opportunity to share your perspective and have a conversation. That conversation may be difficult. But it will be worthwhile. Don’t avoid the tough conversations.  They will open your eyes, or someone else's to a new perspective. Be honest and respectful, and remember that what matters most is how you have the conversation.

Just like I care about how you have the conversation, I care about how you compete, and how you pursue your desired outcomes. I care that you compete in a way that nurtures the best in you. You will stumble a million times. You’ll stand up, and then stumble again. That’s how babies learn to walk. I care how you respond to the stumbles. That you choose to keep learning. You’ll meet bullies along the way. They will try to push you down, and sometimes you'll push yourself down. I challenge you - don't be a bully, and don't accept bullying from anyone, including yourself.

Prepare yourself in a way that makes winning possible. Do whatever it takes to make that happen, and when it is time to take the field, let go of all expectations and fears. Trust your preparation, play free, show yourself exactly as you are, and trust what comes of that. You won’t always win. Your heart will get broken, and that will hurt. Its okay to hurt, and feel pain. Let the pain break you wide open to new adventures.

I care that you use the work of sport to shape the person you are and continue to become. I care that you trust yourself. I care that you build sustaining habits and undo the destructive ones. I care that you chose to play in a way that lets you give to and serve those around you.

A million people will to support you in all you want to become, but remember they can only support you if you support yourself. Start supporting yourself. Look in the mirror, and choose to support yourself in all you are, and all you want to become.

Discover Within, Expand Beyond,

Rachel