Taking aim for good physical and mental health with archery

Until recently, my only experience of archery was on school tours and corporate team-building days.

For me, this involved standing in a field trying and failing to hit large, multi-coloured targets, while everyone watched. Unsurprisingly, I didn’t keep it up.

Over the summer, it captured my attention during the Olympics, when one of the competitors was a heavily pregnant woman who said she felt the baby kick while she released the arrow.

When I recently got the opportunity to try an Archery for Inner Balance session with Toufik Messabih, I was curious to understand how someone could be so in tune with their body while firing an arrow.

“The image of archery is often associated with the quiet, calm, peaceful warrior,” explains Toufik.

He tells me that archery dates back to ancient Mongolian tribes, when men on horseback would fire according to their heartbeat, which was in tune with the rhythm of their horses’ hooves.

Toufik has a background in sports science and education, is a registered psychotherapist, and has a Masters in Psychology from UCC. He began his training in France, and moved to Ireland 22 years ago where he completed his studies.

He has been doing archery for over 30 years, and always saw its potential as a reflective practice.

“I always had it in my mind that there was something about archery as a different way of doing meditation,” he says. “That’s when I got the idea of doing something short, four sessions over four hours, where people can get a sense of groundedness without having to do psychotherapy.”

Archery for Inner Balance is an experience-oriented approach to archery in a safe indoor setting. For from the seemingly unreachable targets we see in competitive archery, here the board is about four metres away. The archery space is a warm, welcoming studio and therapy room in the Carrigaline home that Toufik shares with his wife Fiona, who is a reflexologist.

One of the first things I notice when I arrive for the session is that there is no visual target on the board.

“Archery for inner balance is non-competitive, so it’s not focused on achieving high scores, results, competing against others,” says Toufik. “I think we do a lot of that enough when we compete with ourselves. So archery for inner balance is a way of aiming without aiming.”

I soon learn that the process and technique is more important than the result.

“It’s about bringing attention back to the body, bringing attention back to the process,” says Toufik. “It doesn’t matter what happens on the target. What matters is how it is when I’m doing it.”

As a naturally competitive person, I have to admit that part of me wants to know if I’m getting it ‘right’. Toufik says this is a common experience.

“We have a strong inner critic, and it’s not to deny that the inner critic is still there, but it’s not to fuel it,” he says. “Scoring is fuelling it, the target is fuelling it.”

Some of the benefits Toufik outlines include emotional balance and regulation, improved attention and concentration, empowerment, resilience, relaxation, and stress relief. During the session, he suggests pausing for a few seconds after firing each arrow.

“In that moment when you’re shooting and I ask you at the end to just hold your position for two or three seconds, that’s actually staying in touch with the relaxation phase,” he explains. “It’s the time when you ground yourself, and it’s a time of introspection.”

Archery for Inner Balance is open to everybody, and is particularly beneficial for “people who struggle with anxiety, stress, anyone who might struggle with their self-esteem, confidence, anyone who struggles with their attention span, concentration, and focus,” Toufik says.

He works with wheelchair users, and the studio space is wheelchair accessible. The sessions are also suitable for people who are visually impaired.

“There’s a great sense of satisfaction for visually impaired people, the knowing that you can aim at something without seeing it,” he says.

Clients are asked to commit to a minimum of four sessions, with the first being mainly focused on technique before delving into some of the more introspective elements.

People can expect to gain a “great sense of achievement, great sense of slowing down, relaxation and fun,” says Toufik.

“Because it is well-documented that actually fun is a big part of positive mental health.”

After our session, I definitely noticed the effect of spending a whole hour focused on learning something new without looking at my phone.

The quiet and non-judgemental surroundings are ideal for anyone who shies away from competitive sports or tends to be overly self-critical when trying new things.

If you are looking for something to help you get out of your mind and in touch with your body, give it a shot. You can’t miss.

More details can be found on www.backintobalancebodyandmind.com.