Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Body Based Practices
I have been reflecting recently on the benefits of having a spiritual practice that is body based in nature. The practices of Aikido are designed to bring the body, mind and spirit into unity. Who are we when this is achieved? What does it take to reach such a state? Is it sustainable? In my opinion, there is something to be said for engaging in practices that put your body on the line. That is, putting yourself regularly in a situation in which you have to encounter your own fear and discomfort and receive immediate feedback regarding your ability to be with such circumstances. To choose to walk towards your discomfort on a regular basis has a beautiful effect of reducing your fear and raising your feelings of personal strength and empowerment. It takes so much energy to avoid ourselves and ultimately it is a futile and exhausting endeavor. The act of choosing to meet yourself through your body opens up pathways to yourself, to your connectedness to all things, to your health/wellness and to your wholeness. Committing to showing up day after day and willingly receive the reflections that the mirror of the practice so generously provides is ultimately the path to freedom. To experience those exquisite moments when body, mind and spirit are fully integrated while under some kind of duress is to know an inner peace that most people long for and few people know how to attain. We begin to know ourselves as people who can stay calm and present under life's pressures. As someone who can show up fully for the hard things in life and not only be grounded and present but open hearted and compassionate as well. Such a state of presence and equilibrium is not achieved by an idea or a thought but by engaging in a regular practice preferably in the presence of others. Training in an Aikido dojo can provide such an opportunity. Staying with something over time, that is many years, and despite being challenged and tested in ways we can never imagine, we develop a depth of being that can only serve to benefit the world.
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Dear Sensei,
ReplyDeleteI was having a conversation with some folks recently about how we deal with interpersonal conflict. We also talked about financial insecurity, social change and other such pressing issues. At some point in our conversation, I remembered some of your teachings when you had described how one connects with their partner in Aikido practice. What I understood is that a truly good throw feels pleasant to the one thrown, that if you connect to that person's spirit, through their body, transcending the idea that their is any self and other, you give that person the gift of letting go of all resistance, which is an experience of peace, or unity, or mystery.
I don't know if my understanding is correct, nor can I validate it from my own experience, but reading your article has deepened this question for me. It seems that in a world which by many perspectives is filled with resistance, what could be more essential than my ability to face and respond and commit energy to this resistance? Perhaps this is what is meant by "look at yourself first"?