Some thoughts on directed mind/body connections

I was speaking with a student the other day and explaining one of the most helpful things that solo practice does for me nowadays.

Since much of my efforts these days are directed towards teaching, when I am reviewing forms and drills I am most often reviewing those that I am currently teaching or will soon teach.

When I am practicing these solo exercises, I often find that I am getting those type of deja-vu flashbacks. I will be practicing kai zhang for example, and then often these images or impressions of something that I learned years ago in class will come up for me in my mind. Much as in hypnosis where you have that watch that helps you get to the mind, kai zhang and all the other solo drills help to rekindle buried moments and memories for me.

I have found that buried thoughts, memories, and feelings will come up of their own accord during meditative type practices, whether sitting or standing. It is no longer hard to get to that mental state where these vestiges of thought buried on my mental hard drive can suddenly pop back up into my more immediate random access memory. One of the things I found interesting though is that these physical movements can help to influence what type of “memories” are recalled. When I am quiet and meditating I am not focusing on anything (other than say breathing or being aware at the start of the sessions, before my mind has calmed) and therefore it seems to me that what comes up is more random. But I don’t have the same experience when focusing on my own solo practice these days, it is not, seemingly, random.

I don’t think I quite thought of the link between how physical motions can also direct the mind in this way before. I wasn’t aware of this benefit while I was practicing in Taiwan. What I am not sure of is why. One possibility is that my mind/body connection has grown somewhat deeper and that this directed recall through physical motion is a consequence. The other possibility is that my “purpose” and mental energies are directed differently now than they were before.

Nonetheless, I found it an interesting benefit that in my case helps to preserve these physical and mental traditions.

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