Bop until you drop
Bop until you drop
When I became involved in the theory of BOP, it reminded me of my youth in the late fifties. Those were the days! There was this dance craze going on at the time called “The Be-Bop” or as my mother used to call it, “The Dirty Boogie.” My grandmother was worse; to her it was the devil’s music!…
I used to sneak out every chance I could to go to my friend’s house. We’d listen to records like Elvis, Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Bill Haley and the Comets and we’d rock around the clock! So when I came up with the term BOP, it brought me back to when I was a teenager and all the fun I had just listening and dancing the night away.
When you are in BOP you are in a state of greatness where the universe is working with you. Everything is in harmony with each other and you feel that you can achieve anything! So, how would you like to get into this state of order? Let’s examine what BOP means. BOP is an anagram for Balance, Observant and Present and if you desire to boogie, then you need to know how to apply these three things in your life! First Let’s talk about balance.
There are many ways to define balance. It could be a trapeze artist holding their balance on a tightrope, or something simple like balancing your checkbook. If you’re like me balancing the checkbook is not so easy, my wife Nancy does that. But what I’m talking about is being in Balance. The essence of balance is when there is order. You’re standing up in a boat but not rocking it. You’re driving a sports car and you’ve shifted the gears into neutral. You have the choice of shifting it to a lower or higher gear. You are in control. Being in balance is a state the runner is in before the gun goes off. The key to being in balance is by being aware of all of your five senses. Once you do that, you will be in tune with yourself and everything around you.
Now, how many times have you heard someone say, "Watch out!" "Don’t be caught off balance!" "Stay on your toes!" "Stop slouching!" "Stand up straight!" and “Don’t be caught flat-footed!” Sound familiar?
Take a moment to check out the bottom of your shoes. You can pause the CD if you like. Is the heel worn out more than the soles? Now, walk across the room. How do you feel? Do you feel like you’re leaning more on your heels or on the soles of you shoes?
If you are on your heels, you need to be on the balls of your feet. Listen, I’m going to tell you how: Start by placing your feet shoulder width apart. Then, place your weight on the balls of your feet, and lean forward slightly. Start walking, one foot after the other. How do you feel? Are you aware of your feet hitting the ground? Are you on the balls of your feet? If you are, congratulations! That’s the first step to being balanced!
Now I’m going to tell you a story about this actor I coach. He had lost a bunch of weight but still walked like he was overweight. He was on the back of his heels and he wasn’t standing up straight. So the first thing we worked on was how to be balanced. I corrected his stance by making him stand up straighter and showed him how to be on the balls of his feet. One of his favorite exercises was for him to walk a straight line. He called it his John Wayne walk. So after a few sessions with me, he’s walking tall with such confidence, that there’s a spring in his step.
A few months go by and I get a call from him.
“Hey Coach, I’m so glad you taught me how to walk a straight line cause last night, I got pulled over by the cops! I wasn’t drinking, I was just so tired from shooting all day and I was driving too slow. The cop asked me to walk a straight line and even though I was exhausted, I still was able to walk on the balls of my feet! The cop knew that I was an actor and as he let me go he said, “drive safely and good luck, you know you kind of walk like John Wayne.” So thanks Pilgrim!”
Be Bop!
