Sometimes skiing consciousness is referred to as a state (a state of consciousness) when it is more of a functioning capacity which is composed of two mechanisms: the first one is to pay attention and the second is to become aware.
While paying attention, we process sensorial information that we capture from the environment where we are moving and also what is internally occurring. As we have an attention limit, we cannot process all the information we receive, then we pay attention to what we believe most appropriate for the situation we are experiencing at that moment or, in other words, we focus on certain stimuli and inhibits others.
This selective skiing attention causes that certain events have priority, as for example those about self-preservation. If we feel discomfort or pain our attention is away from skiing, focusing on that aspect and how to deal with it.
The more we pay attention to something, the more conscious we are to that thing or situation and if we always pay attention to just one aspect of our skiing, we will, therefore, have a limited skiing consciousness.
Skiing attention levels can be excessive attention, which is a state of hyper-attention; selective attention is attentive consciousness and floating attention is when our attention is neutral or suspended.
The mechanism of becoming aware is the stage that follows paying attention, which is noticing, checking or discovering what is happening on our inside as well as the outside skiing world. If we do not entirely know what is happening, we lack the capacity to assess the situation and cannot act properly, since becoming aware is a prior requirement to perform conscious actions.
Stevens (1976) proposes three types of being aware: being aware of the outside world refers to the current sensorial contact with objects and events of the present, what we see, touch or listen in the here-and-now moment or, in other words, detecting the external world. Being aware of the inside world is the current sensorial contact with internal events; what we sense under the skin like muscle tensions, physical manifestations of feelings and emotions, sensations of discomfort or pleasure. These two types, according to this author, include all that we can know about our current skiing reality and our own involvement, being the basis of our skiing experience. In the third type of being aware, the reference is made to being aware of fantasy including the mental activity that spans beyond what is happening in the present.
The functions of skiing consciousness, among others, are helping us to get better performances, regulate movements and actions performance, or allow our recognition and interpretation of skiing sensations.
It is also involved in the ability to be aware of the characteristics of the environment to assess action possibilities (affordances) as well as potential dangers.
Other functions are: our alert attitude; discernment of reality; introspection; spatiotemporal location; experience discrimination; evaluation of risk-taking advantages and disadvantages, and the comprehension of our relationship with the environment.
According to these considerations, you can apply the following recommendations in your own skiing:
- Pay attention first and then become aware of the context.
- Avoid over attention.
- Apply selective attention just to important features.
- Be aware of the outside world (actions possibilities) as well as your inside world (thoughts, feelings, sensations).
