Keeping Your Energy Balanced and Centered
Try this exercise with a friend. It can be a lot of fun and it really helps to illustrate the Mind/Body connection.
Have a friend or training partner stand still with their feet pointed straight ahead. Explain to them that they should imagine that they are standing on the edge of a cliff and that you are going to gently push them. They should resist in any way they want to, as long as they don't move their feet.
Gently push them until they lose their balance. Pay attention to how much force you had to use.
Now have them stand in exactly the same position, except this time they should place one thumb in their navel (as a point of reference, for those who don't know where the Dan Tien is) and let the palm of their hand rest on the Dan Tien. Ask them to inhale gently, all the way down into their Dan Tien, feeling the energy flow into it and filling it.
Now push them, gently, again. They should have MUCH better balance this time! Pay attention to how much more force is needed to push them off balance.
When you hold your energy in your center it helps keep you balanced. You've no doubt noticed by now that these exercises tend to work on all parts of your life, not just the physical. Look at how this improved balance can directly affect your martial arts practice also. Improving your physical balance consistently will help you to improve and balance the other areas of your life by extension.
Feel free to share this technique with as many people as possible. It's a fun demo that can be worked into many martial arts demonstrations and it's cool at parties.
Another reason why I like this technique is that it helps you draw hot energy down from your head. If you're doing it right then you shouldn't have that hot Yang energy flowing up to your head without being cooled first. The reality though, is that many of us tend to be very cerebral, and when we think a lot the energy flows up there, resulting in a hot forehead, heat gathering at the back of the soft palette and sometimes a headache and drowsiness. Drawing that hot energy back down to the 2nd chakra can help alleviate those symptoms.
© 2006 Robert Morgen. This article may be used by anyone, anywhere as long as the author's bio and links are included.
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Related Tags: martial arts, new age, metaphysical, meditation accessories, meditation cd, kundalini awakening
"The Human Energy System" is an excerpt from Robert Morgen's new book "Easy Meditation for Martial Artists" (ISBN: 978-0-9773801-3-8 )
Robert Morgen is a Reiki Master who holds a Black Belt in Hoshinjutsu and a Brown Belt in Combat Hapkido. He's founder of the Mystic Village Online Community at http://www.mysticvillage.org
He writes a regular column on subtle (or internal) energy for Fight Times Magazine and a column on Kundalini Awakening at Kundalini Awakening Magazine (http://kundalini.mysticwolfpress.com). He's the author of 3 books and 4 CDs on meditation and energy work.
He's a member of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids as well as the International Bujinkan Dojo Association, Canemasters International and the International Combat Hapkido Federation.
You can learn more about his books, Kundalini and Martial Arts Seminars and free events and newsletters at his website at http://www.mysticwolfpress.com
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