The Tao of Exercise & Self-Care

There was once an efficiency expert who visited a chocolate factory and watched the women hand dipping chocolates. Their gestures always included various spirals and twirls in order to prevent drips as they lifted the chocolate from the vat to the paper.

Considering this a loss of time and efficiency, these women were taught to make a more direct in, out, over, down pathway. Within a week they were complaining of wrist pain (carpal tunnel symptoms). Having fallen out of interplay with their core creativity, the small, ingenious variations within each repetitive task were eliminated, and the women became more prone to fatigue and damage.

In the accelerated pace of our nanosecond world, if our goal is truly to be one with the nature of the Tao, we must be mindful to never lose the fluid, water-like language of the body. For in Taoism, the closest thing in nature to pure effectiveness is water. Water is the communicator, the informer and the transporter all in one.

Taming the 'Monkey mind'

With more than 2,500 years Taoism and Buddhism has been teaching people about the human mind so that we might understand ourselves better and discover that there is a way out of suffering. These two philosophies are intelligent insights into human nature.

Both trains of thoughts describe the human mind as being filled with drunken monkeys 'The Monkey Mind', jumping around, screeching, chattering, carrying on endlessly. We all have monkey minds, with dozens of monkeys all clamouring for attention. Fear is an especially loud monkey, sounding the alarm incessantly, pointing out all the things we should be wary of and everything that could go wrong.

Meditation through sitting, Qigong and deep breathing tames the drunken monkeys in our minds. It's useless to fight with the monkeys or to try to banish them from your mind because, as we all know, that which you resist, persists. Instead, if you spend some time each day in quiet meditation -- simply calm your mind by focusing on your breathing and/or Qigong -- you can, over time, tame the monkeys. They will grow more peaceful if you lovingly bring them into submission with a consistent practise of meditation.

Meditation is a wonderful way to quiet the voices of fear, anxiety, worry and other negative emotions.

Learning to manage your monkey mind is one of the best things you can do to transform fear, anxiety, stress and tension. Take time to practise simple meditation on a regular basis. Learn how to change the conversations in your head.

Practise kind, loving, positive mindfulness and see how it can transform you.

The Lost Thing by Shaun Tan

I was introduced to this short movie by Mary a Norwich student and although not a Qigong subject it definitely can be classed as a Mindful one. Enjoy.

Fascia

Fascia or myofascia is the dense, tough tissue which surrounds and covers all of your muscles and bones. This outer fascial covering is very strong and very flexible. In fact, it has a tensile strength of over 2000 pounds (over 900 kg).

Under a microscope, myofascia resembles a spiders web or fish net. It is very organized and very flexible in a healthy state. Myofascia can best be described as a complete body suit which runs from the top of your head down to the bottom of your toes. It is continuous, has no beginning or end and can be found almost everywhere in your body. Like yarn in a sweater the entire body is connected to every other part of the body by the fascia. It is a continuous weave of material. And, like a pull in a sweater, damage to an area of fascia can affect other distant areas in your body even years later.

Where feeling becomes a language...

What you'll Gain from This

If you have an interest in how the mind works, or you are looking for tips on obtaining enlightenment, the technique below may be the most important tool you've ever been given.

Let me show you a new way to think.

The Language of Feeling

The Language of Feeling is a method of thinking that is feel-based so it's important to start by learning how things feel. With a small amount of practice you'll naturally identify things this way and your mind will seem much lighter and faster.

Everything that exists has a unique feeling or 'frequency', even if they seem identical. In the technique below you'll be starting out by identifying the feeling of things. This is the ABCs of the Language of Feeling.

"Soflty softly, catchee monkee"

The saying "Softly softly, catchee monkee," refers to situations where achieving success and results requires a patient, careful and a quiet approach. Always consider this fun proverb when doing your Qigong, it not only brings a smile to your face but more importantly gives you the correct frame of mind to approach your practise. Have fun!