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The Skiing Memory Bank

18 Nov 2013, Posted by Ski NASTC in Latest News

Even though I spend about 200 days per year on the snow, each time I get back on to the snow after having spent some time off, I go through the same process.  The first few turns are a little goofy as my body remembers what it’s like to play with gravity and how to fire certain muscle groups again.  By the third or fourth run, I do the same thing, I start to get impatient and freak out.  I want to ski and feel the same sensations as I did two months ago when I was on skis.  I have to remind myself to be patient and disciplined.  I go through basic exercises like making turns on just the outside leg, skiing slow basic parallel turns, rolling from edge to edge on flat terrain.  My skis soon begin to work on the snow as they should and I slowly stop freaking out.  The most important part of this process is having an accurate memory bank of ski related sensations.  I use this sensory cues to let me know that I have the correct position over my skis, that my body is moving as it should and the skis are doing what I expect out of them.  Without this “memory bank” I wouldn’t have any hope of knowing where I’m at or what I’m doing.  If you do not have a memory bank of ski related sensations (sensations of face planting , double ejecting or rolling downhill excluded), I suggest you ski with a coach who can help you develop sensory cues as to whether your movements are efficient or not.  It is important that when you get feedback from a coach, tune in to sensations in your body – areas of tension, relaxation, which muscles are contracting, but also to tune into sensations coming in from your feet and the snow surface, is there a feeling of slicing or sliding, is the pressure sudden or progressive, do you feel any pressure.  Once you become familiar with these cues and recognize what these sensory inputs are telling you about your skiing, you can start to coach yourself.