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The mind and bodyFeatured in I Love Creston Magazine - Apr, 2012 Neil Ripski
Control of our bodies is a much-discussed subject in my tai chi and kung fu classes: place your hand right there, your foot over a few inches, etc, etc.
However, one of the things people don’t usually put together is the amount of mental clarity that is needed in order to be so exact in our movements and what great things that does for our health.
You see, the Chinese do not have an understanding of the mind and body that involves any dualism. It is understood that the mind and body are integrated as one unit. This is why the Chinese doctor may ask you about your dreams or emotions when you come to him/her with an ailment such as a cold or achy joint.
Indeed, that idea is all-pervasive in Chinese culture, including very much the martial arts. The approach is simple: we train the mind to train the body and we train the body to train the mind.
A person who can control their body exactly begins to understand more and more about themselves, not only physically but mentally
and emotionally. If we hope to control our bodies in this way we must also be able to handle the inevitable frustration included in doing it incorrectly time and time again.
This asks us to become more calm and collected – people with a high tolerance for frustration – and learn to persevere. These are the qualities I work very hard to instil in the youth who come to train with me at Red Jade.
Time and time again I see young, unco-ordinated people with an interest in martial arts slowly begin to confront their bodies and emotions in a way they did not expect. I see them grow and change into more calm, articulate people able to express themselves freely through their movements and speech.
The idea of removing the dualism of our approach to the mind and body changes many things for us as we understand that our minds and bodies are really one. Fine motor control comes from a clear mind and, indeed, a clear mind creates many possibilities in movement and in life.
Where our health is concerned, the number 1 cause of disease (dis-ease) is the mind. How frustrated and stressed do we live our lives? How often do we comfort ourselves with sweet foods instead of working through our emotions logically and clearly? How often have we heard of a member of our society suffering a catastrophic heart attack and recall, “He had it coming. He was very stressed.”
We already intuitively understand the connection but we tend not to live our lives in a way that reflects this.
Arts like tai chi and kung fu allow us to see the integration at work and slowly, over time, not only change our bodies but our minds, emotions and how we interact with society. Martial arts are not about violence; they are about learning who we really are and becoming better human beings with strong character and morals.
Neil Ripski teaches kung fu and tai chi at Red Jade Martial Arts in Creston and also teaches tai chi at the Wynndel Community Hall.
He can be reached at 250-866-5263 or at www.redjademartialarts.com.
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