“To work with our minds, we must work with our bodies. To work with our spirit, we must work with our minds”
– As quoted by Ken Cohen
Basic Standing Posture Instructions
- Begin by placing your feet shoulder width apart. Slightly bend your knees, tuck your chin and rotate your pelvis under you to straighten your spine. Allow your arms to drop to your sides while imagining you are holding an egg under your armpits.
- Place your attention on the soles of your feet and feel your connection with the earth. Move your attention through your body and notice where you are holding tension. Gently release tension and allow it to flow out your feet and into the earth. Stand in your posture using the minimum amount of force necessary. If someone were to place a feather on your shoulders, your knees should bend slightly.
- Place your attention on your lower abdomen and begin to tune into your breathing without changing it. When you become lost in thought, just notice this and bring it back to your lower belly (your dan tian, which is considered to be the centre of your power in Chinese medicine).
Belly (Diaphragmatic) Breathing
This technique is useful to reduce anxiety and stress, and helps us develop stamina and energy. The goal is to gently train ourselves to breathe this way all the time.
- Choose a posture of your preference and convenience. This can be practiced in the lying down, sitting or standing postures.
- Spend a few minutes systematically relaxing and releasing tension into the earth, as described above.
- Gently place one or both hands on your belly below your navel.
- Inhale through your nose and feel your breath push your hands out.
- Exhale through your nose and feel your belly move back towards your spine.
- Continue for as long as you like.
- When you notice that you are holding tension, release it. When you find your mind engaged in thinking, notice this, drop the thought and return to your breathing.
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