A Warrior's Guide to Battling Illness

LESSON THREE

In training for advancement in the martial arts you are taught kata or forms. These forms are a set of moves in a dance like fashion that help the student learn how to move from one technique to another. The definition of kata is: a prearranged combative dance. In GoJu Ryu each kata or form begins with a formal opening much like what you learned in exercise one. To begin each kata the instructor calls out the command to meditate and the student closes their eyes and clears their mind. Meditation is as important in the martial arts as being able to through a punch or execute a kick. When someone is placed in a situation that they must fight, the biggest challenge often is not from their opponent but from the distractions that surrounds them. These distractions may be something as obvious as a crowd of people shouting to encourage a fight, or to one’s own doubts about his abilities to defeat the opponent. When you must do battle, all distractions that haunt your day should be pushed away. There will be a time and place to focus on these diversions but this is a time for peace and clarity.

In this world we are expected to multi-task. We are supposed to be able to do our jobs, deal with our disease, and if you’re a parent, you have the kids to take care of. All this puts enormous stress in our lives. Stress in turn only aggravates our health problems so we must learn how to tune out those disturbances. We must learn to relax the mind and train it to focus on one problem, one enemy at a time.

This lesson is designed to help you begin meditation. It should be practiced everyday and used anytime you need to clear your thoughts. The best place to meditate is where there will be no outside distractions. A room that is quite and void of any bright light is probably best. Pick out a comfortable chair that does not restrict you in any way. Chairs with arms should be avoided. Lying in bed would be even better.

Many people like to set on a cushion on the floor. This is a perfect way to do meditation but if you are unable to easily get up and down from the floor than you have created a distraction not removed one.

Remember the mind and the body are always tied together so before we can relax the mind we must first relax the body. The first step is to become aware of our body. See if you can feel the tension that permeates each muscle. Tension is a normal part of the muscular system. One muscle must contract while another relaxes; this is how the body moves. Try to find a way to set or lie that will relieve as much of this natural tension as possible. Once you have found a comfortable position you can start.

Close your eyes and begin the exercise. Curl your toes to tighten the muscles in your feet, hold that tension for a slow count of five then relax the tension. Now repeat this process on the next set of muscles. Tighten your calf muscles, hold for a slow count of five then release. Next, the thigh muscles, using the same process, tighten then relax. Move up to your gluts, tighten and relax. Now do the same for the stomach and chest muscles working each separately. It is now time to work the hands. Close your hands by rolling your fingers up into the palm of your hand and make a fist. Remember, you did this in lesson one. Now relax the fist. Work your way up the arm trying to isolate each muscle group as you go. Now concentrate on the shoulders, tighten then relax. Move up to the muscles in the neck then to your facial muscles.

When you do this exercise try to isolate as many muscle groups as you can. It will take some practice to be able to isolate individual muscle groups but in time you will. If you have had a very stressful day, try doing this exercise while lying in bed before your go to sleep. It should help you relax and fall asleep easier.

Now take the time to become aware of your body once again and try to isolated any muscle groups that you feel may still be tight. You must repeat the exercise on that muscle group and those that surround it. Because muscles work together you may feel tension in one group of muscles when it is it's counter muscle that is causing the problem. One example of this is the triceps and the biceps as these two muscle groups work together to raise and lower the arm. If you feel tension in the triceps it may be because the opposing muscle group, the biceps, have not fully relaxed. Repeat this part of the exercise until you feel totally relaxed.

Now we can move on to the next part of the exercise. Close your eyes. We are going to try to relax the mind. Like the body it is always at work so we must also get it to relax. Begin first by focusing on something that is pleasing to you, a cool mountain stream, a favorite place in the garden, any place that you fill at peace. Imagine a place where the problems of this world can not intrude. If you do not have a place like this, create one. My place is really a combination of many places that I have encountered in my life. Try and visualize this place in your mind. Search for every detail that you can remember. Try and see every blade of grass, every cloud in the sky. Push everything else out of your mind. Remember we are here to gain control of our thoughts, to be able to focus only on one task. With enough practice you can do this with very little effort. Good Luck.