Like the Yin-Yang, Eastern Martial Arts and Western medicine are two halves of a whole. My mission is to preserve the ancient mind-body tools and pass them on to you.
Welcome back, students!
I am excited to present the last installment in my Dana-Farber lecture series this week, where I talk about a few different topics including the brain waves that we call "meditation," and some ideas for finding a good mind-body teacher, which I wrote about in this blog series.
Enjoy!
And as always: happy stretching, deep breathing, empty your mind, strengthen your energetic system, and evoke your spirit!
Hello mind-body students! I hope you enjoyed last week's lecture clip, because this week's clip also has two exercises that you get to follow along with.
In this video, I describe the Body Scan meditation, and how to use it in conjunction with a dissolving visualization to fight off the impurities in your body using the power of the mind!
Enjoy!
Happy stretching, deep breathing, empty your mind, strengthen your energetic system, and evoke your spirit!
Brace yourselves, mind-body students! This clip of the lecture series from Dana-Farber is longer than the other ones. (Not too much longer, just under 9 minutes.)
But! If you are patient and watch the whole thing, you'll be rewarded. There are a couple of meditative exercises to follow along with in this video in real time. You should be able to do them simply sitting on your couch or in your chair. It is also packed with good information about the energetic system and the different techniques that people use to help guide them to a better connection with their energy and spirit.
Enjoy!
Happy stretching, deep breathing, empty your mind, strengthen your energetic system, and evoke your spirit!
Hello again Mind-Body students! It's time for the next section of my Dana-Farber lecture. In this section, I discuss the goals of the Mind-Body approach to holistic health. I focus a lot on the goal of balance, in particular between the "horse" mind and the "monkey" mind.
I hope you enjoy!
Happy stretching, deep breathing, empty your mind, strengthen your energetic system, and evoke your spirit!
There are many external and internal skills that can be practiced through meditation which I have shared in the past and I will share even more in the future. Next week, we will begin discussing how to find a mind-body teacher who can provide you with the knowledge of all the skills that together create a complete mind-body practice. Today, let’s focus on one of these skills with a mixed standing/sitting meditation: embrace the tree.
Just like a couple weeks ago, this week's blog features some of the amazing arboretum photography shot by Axie Breen! Please visit Axie's website and support her if you can!
The Physical Side of Embrace the Tree
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, and slightly bend the knees. Tuck the tailbone in and keep the head suspended. Relax your shoulders and, of course, your face. Hold the arms out like you are hugging a thick tree, fingers pointing toward each other and about 5 inches apart. Hold your arms so your thumbs line up with your shoulders.
Remember: if you cannot stand, you can practice Embrace then Tree while sitting.
Sit on the ground with your legs crossed, or normally on the edge of a chair. Hold the arms as you would while standing. Relax your shoulders and face, lengthen up through the spine, close your eyes and focus on the up and down forces. Down through the buttocks, legs, shoulders, and face, and up through the spine and the top of the head.
The Mental Side of Embrace the Tree
Send your mind down through the legs, about 5 to 8 inches into the earth. Create a heavy, downward sensation through the legs and a light, upward sensation through the spine and the top of the head.
Close your eyes and stand for 3 minutes (for beginners) to 45 minutes (for advanced practitioners). I recommend practicing both sitting and standing, if you are able, until you can reach 45 minutes of each.
Other meditation options when standing in embrace the tree are:
Focus on the lower energy center
Focus on your roots
Focus on the energetic baton
Focus on 4 gates breathing
Focus on the bubble meditation
Use the sunrise to lead the energy through the third eye and into the lower energy center
Use the sunset to allow your impurities to leave the body
That's it! Happy stretching, deep breathing, and empty your mind!
Hello again Mind-Body students! This week we finish up the total body scan series with the total body dissolving relaxation (on two blocks in this video, but you can do it sitting, standing, lying down, and more!).
If you haven't checked out the previous training techniques you should use to prepare for this practice, check them out below:
Face dissolving relaxation
Light and heavy forces technique
Grounding and Rooting
And here is the how-to for the total body scan relaxation!
See you next week! Happy stretching, deep breathing, and empty your mind!