Today I'd like to share an exercise I use in my martial arts training (
YiLiQuan Kung-Fu). It is used to center yourself and to calm breathing, emotions, and runaway thoughts to what we call "Move from One-Point". When you first start to practice this you will want to be somewhere quiet so you can focus. In time you will be able to do this on the fly!
To begin we are going to find our physical center. The Chinese refer to this as a dantien, while in YiLi we call it One-Point (same thing, different name!). Find the place that is three finger widths below and two finger widths behind the navel. This is the physical center of the body, and where we direct a portion of awareness when breathing.
- Go ahead and sit someplace comfortably. Keep the back straight but not stiff.
- With your finger poking into dantien comfortably just breathe in & out in a relaxed way. Don't hold the breath but slow it down into a nice, even in/out rhythm.
Just keep poking into dantien enough to keep your mind focused down there and keep breathing steadily, easily until you feel a sense of calm overtake you. If it helps to close your eyes go ahead and do so. I will sometimes play relaxing music to block out unwanted noise, and some incense is nice but not necessary. This first stage is to just get you used to breathing steadily and focusing your mind on a certain point. We will use this as part of our arsenal to overcome our over-emotional selves!
Practice this some everyday and I'll be sharing more of this technique. We'll blend this with our thought training and in time become very strong, calm people. More next time!
Mind Your Way,
love - wayfarer
