The Inner Glide: The Tao of Skiing, Snowboarding, and Skwalling

SPORTS / SELF-HELPPatrick "Thias" Balmain, creator and promoter of the skwal--a type of snowboard that positions the feet and the body facing forward on the board-- discovered that by applying a concentrated awareness to movement activities such as skiing, a balance in motion can be achieved that is pure harmony and joy. When the mind is completely engaged, not with its thoughts but with the attention it commits to the movement of the body, it brings forth a balance between Earth's center of gravity and that of the individual that evokes lasting transformations in one's stance toward life, influencing one's attitudes, gestures, words, and actions. The Inner Glide presents a unique and original practice that will challenge ski enthusiasts, snowboarders, and skwallers, whether experts or beginners, to make the transition from the raw quest for sensation--itself a source of imbalance--to a more subtle and harmonious practice based on internal centering. Balmain offers a complete illustrated program that includes nine "katas of the glide"--conscious movement exercise sequences to help practitioners discover the "right gesture" and "the inner glide" for any terrain or situation--to bring body and mind into balance with joy. Patrick Thias Balmain is a professional skier and snowboarder. In 1992, he created the first skwal, introduced the first commercially manufactured model, and established skwal races on the circuit of international competition. A ski, snowboard, and skwal instructor in Courchevel, France, he has trained countless practitioners, instructors, and competitors in Europe, North America, and Japan.