Gather the Shen
When we finish a form in classical martial arts like Tai Chi, Northern Shaolin, Xing Yi Quan, Lan Shou Quan or Ba Gua Zhang there is a special moment. This moment is easy to overlook and it often is. It is the moment when you gather your Shen or Spirit.
Finishing a Form, especially a long and challenging one, requires a substantial physical effort and is a miniature ordeal. At the completion of the form you should feel like something happened. You should feel like you did something that will have an affect on you. That is point of the practice. That by practicing you will get exercise, build yourself, practice useful skills, and have a beneficial effect on your mind and emotions. Many times, after an intense form you might find yourself huffing and puffing looking for breath, heart beat racing, and mentally or physically tired. You might also find yourself feeling like your energy is zinging around, and your blood is surging in your veins, and your muscles are pumped, sore, or strained. It is the easiest thing at that moment to just say “Whew!” or “Wow!” and just walk away.
This is the moment you want to be still. Avoid the impulse to bounce out and walk away. Avoid the impulse to dissipate and dispel the energy of the moment.
Instead use that moment to gather the Qi and Shen you just created with your Jing. Your body is your Jing, your essence, and when you perform your form and focus your mind, body, breath, and intention together something magical happens. As you move your body your energy and emotions also move. We release energy trapped in our bodies by tension and stress. We also generate energy physiologically during the process of systematically and deeply moving the body. When you intentionally move and breathe your breathing infuses your body and mind with energy. As you become more energized your concentration becomes stronger, and your mind and intention become even more focused. These elements combine synergistically to enhance your performance on many levels.
When you finish your form seize the moment to gather this energy.
Calming and Centering
Calm yourself, focus on the center of your body. Slow your breath, slow your mind, calm your racing blood, relax your muscles, soothe your tendons, and let everything adjust. At this moment your body is absorbing the beneficial effects of your practice. As you breath deep feel your body, feel your Qi, feel your blood, recenter your awareness while observing your minds content, calm and release your emotions, let everything in your body circulate, cool, condense, and rebalance.
Wait until your breathing has calmed, your body has calmed, and your mind has calmed. Center yourself to the best of your ability. Focus your mind on the structure and posture of your body, and the relationship of your body to the ground below you and space around you in the present moment. Then begin your next form and repeat the process of absorbing the transformational benefits at the end of your next form.
Practicing this way your forms become factories of energy, health, and calmness. When your body is healthy and pleasant, and you feel calm, and your mind is focused, you are ready to have a great day advancing your dreams and mission, helping others pursue theirs, and positively impacting the world.
What would happen to your life if you began everyday by supercharging yourself with classical Forms training?
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