Zen Body Being by Peter Ralston, (05) The Principles of an Effective Body, Notes

Post date: Jun 3, 2016 3:47:24 PM

Zen Body Being by Peter Ralston

Chapter 5. The Principles of an Effective Body.

• • 1. A more conscious experience. Strive to experience the body in a more direct and authentic way. Technique and rituals, at times useful, are details in a larger picture. People who practice mindful and conscious work become more skillful at relating more effectively to what is occurring. In turn, they learn faster. Consciousness is awareness leading to more effective physical and mental skills. Consciousness is the source. The depth of our experience is directly related to our degree of consciousness. We need to discern the difference between truly experiencing and just sometimes thinking about something. One of the best ways is to involve ourselves with hands on experimentation and investigation.

    2. “Someone showed it to me and I found it by myself.” -- Lew Welch.

    3. Personal investigation leads us towards a more direct and clear experience of being a body. Investigate the obvious. “Do simple better.” -- Chicago Cubs

    4. Discovery needs to be grounded in experience.

       1. “In dwelling, live close to the ground. In thinking, keep to the simple. In conflict, be fair and generous. In governing, don’t try to control. In work, do what you enjoy. In family life, be completely present.” -- Lao Tzu

       2. What is a principle? The primary element. The basis on which something arises or is derived.

          1. As we try to grasp how things work at a more fundamental level, it is always beneficial to start with a consideration of the overlooked obvious.

          2. To best use the body it is necessary to understand the principles that design the body.

             1. The forces and dynamics of nature design the body’s aspects to serve a particular function.

             2. Take an honest and open look at the overlooked: How the environment has shaped our movement habits.

                1. Example: Gravity has designed that the foot must support the body’s weight. The principle of movement has designed that it be built for standing and walking.

          3. There are many ways to accomplish a desired task so long as we stick to the relevant principles. Principles don’t dictate design. They only dictate that the design follow the laws involved.

          4. It is necessary then, to take principles into action and training the feeling- states that align to the principle.

• • • • • 1. “It is not the same to talk of bulls as it is to be in the bullring.”

• • 4. 3. Insight -

• • • • 1. Sudden awakening in our consciousness when we realize that something is true.

        2. The realization of some truth that is grasped at once and with certainty.

        3. A sudden clarification of something previously unseen or unclear.

        4. A deeper understanding.

        5. The grasping of or ‘experience’ of a principle. An insight turns what might have only been a good idea into a living experience.

        6. Insight arrives as present and complete.

        7. Insight shortens the learning time significantly because you know what to do and you only have to spend a little time training the body to do it.

        8. “It is said the way of the warrior is two fold, ‘pen’ and ‘sword.’ He should have a taste for both.”--Miyamoto Musashi

• 1. An object in space.

     1. To improve the body’s performance, we are obliged to understand and experience the principles of an effective and powerful body structure from the simplest, most fundamental grain of truth and work from there.

     2. The body is an object in space resting on the ground forms the basis of our existence and performance. Both the object that we are and the ground which we rest upon are constant aspects of body performance. Space is three dimensional (cubic) and exists in every direction equally. So too must our awareness reflect this fullness.

     3. Space creates the possibility of movement. Our relationship to space makes an enormous difference in our effectiveness. The most effective way to relate is from a body state that is relaxed and a mind that is calm. A free, open and neutral state allows for the most clarity and potential in any situation.

  2. Five Principles for and effortless body (condition and function). Body-Being States:

• • 1. Relaxation

       1. We need for the body to be free to move, open to change, quick in reflex and effortless in action. This is accomplished by keeping the muscles and nerves relaxed. Relaxation is letting go. To the body, a feeling is a feeling, be it emotional or physical. Left alone, the tendency is to tense up. In order to relax we must remember to send counter signals: ‘Let go.’

       2. Muscle tension is an activity. It is something we are ‘actively doing.’ Whether we are over tensing our muscles to do a job or just hanging on to tension that is not needed, we hinder our mobility, restrict our actions, limit our ability to change and threaten our balance. Free and fluid movement is only possible when constant relaxation accompanies the movement process. No muscles interfere with smooth flowing motion and the muscles relax as soon as they are no longer in use. Tension comes unbidden, relaxation must be invited.

       3. Three Basic Stages of Relaxation:

          1. Immediate - Send signal from brain to tissues to relax. A feeling impulse or command to relax is sent. Any tension you are aware of let's go.

          2. The longer the ‘letting go’ feeling is sent, the more the tissues relax. Eventually, this relaxed state becomes the body’s new condition. From this state the body and mind calm. The body is free to react more effectively. Balance is empowered, speed enhanced, range of motion increases and grace becomes possible.

          3. After a long steady exposure to a deep ‘letting go,’ the body attains a suppleness. Muscles will be less prone to unconscious tension. The nervous system will smooth out and quicken. The mind will ease and relax as well. Relaxing the body is done by relaxing the mind. The two are one. They cannot be separated. Attitudes, moods and emotions affect and are affected by this move to relax. The mind is where tension originates. Relaxation cannot be accomplished without letting go in the mind.

       4. Relaxation and fear do not coincide. Tension is not a way to contain but an expression of it.

       5. We need to start by feeling the body and feeling the whole body so we become aware of unconscious tension. After that, it is simply a matter of letting go.

    2. Feeling the Whole Body

• • • 1. To relate to being a body we must feel the whole thing. Begin a lifetime practice feeling every nook and cranny within the body fully and profoundly. This task usually takes deliberate training. Begin by simply attempting to feel the body. Try to notice areas that we do not feel or do not feel clearly. Repeated concentration should begin to yield deeper sensation. Practice feeling an area, each detail or a group of parts. Set out to feel the whole body at once as we progress, not just the sum of its parts.

      2. Feel the whole body when we stand, walk, sit or lie down. Feel how every body part is involved, or not, with each action we take. This can take the most mundane event, taking out the trash or sharpening a pencil and turn it into a mind meditation, and often times, an exhilarating experience.

      3. Object in space. As awareness improves we should take that practice outward and seek to become aware of our relationship to the surrounding space. Strive to be equally aware of both space in front, back and side to side. 360 degree awareness. Accept everything. Grasp nothing. Remembering to relax, feel the whole body and sense awareness. Invent exercises in awareness as often as possible throughout the day. Discovery comes through experience. We must all be on the journey of this experience. Drills are simply opportunities for discovery. It’s not the drill but how we perform it.

      4. Exercise: Spatial Awareness in the shower. When eyes are closed to shampoo, see if you are able to locate all items: water handle, soap dish, etc. every feature 360 degrees. With practice spatial sense improves as we pay more attention to detail.

• • 3. Being Grounded. Always relate to the ground (standing sitting, jumping up and down.) Become aware of gravity. Stack the body from the ground up

• • • 1. Proper alignment minimizes stress on the parts, spreading it across the whole, improves balance and movement efficiency.

      2. Exercise: Aligning with Gravity. Stand still and relax. Bring awareness to the body, relaxing every muscle as we do. Feel the pull of gravity and the need for balance. Stay relaxing. Allow the body to adjust itself. Feel the the feet feeling the ground, falling right into the floor. Now work our way up letting each body part rest on top of the one below it. Allow the body to shift into a more natural posture. Always arrange the body so we are dropping into the feet. Find the most effortless way to do this. Frequency maximizes progress. Anytime is a good time to practice being grounded. The ground is always waiting.

      3. Exercise: Force of Gravity.

         1. Lying on the ground, face up, relax every muscle as much as possible. Lift each body part just a fraction off the ground, using minimal strength: head, arms, legs, fingers.

         2. Let go. Feel gravity pull them back down. By feeling the force of gravity and using very little strength you should be able to gauge the amount of effort needed to lift and force pull you back down. Slowly proceed to standing, gauging the pull of gravity every step fo the way. Once standing, continue to feel the pull of gravity. Feel each part aligning on top of each other on top of the feet. Practice until your can feel this alignment at will. Let the body fall into the feet. Generate a liquid sinking sensation. By making a connection with the ground, the power and mass of the ground contributes to the effectiveness of your actions.

• • 4. Move from the Center

• • • 1. Centering. The center is a great source of power. Hara (japanese), “ch’i” energy -- a point in the lower abdomen (below the navel). Focus on the center allows for greater balance and power development.

      2. “Power and stability is created proximally to distally.” -- Stu McGill.

      3. Train the body to move from the center.

         1. Student on a Stick Exercise (Below the navel)

      4. Exercise: Moving from the center. By finding the center you increase the effectiveness of whole body movement. Centering unifies. Centering grounds the mind in a centrally located sensation. To find the center, start by feeling the whole. Generally located in lower abdomen just below navel. By being centered, all parts relate to the whole and any movement in a part is felt in relation to every other part. Body awareness has a central location, like the hub on a wheel. Directing one’s actions from the center is powerful. One point, no confusion.

• • 5. Being Calm. When all around is in uproar, find the stillness that is always there.

• • • 1. What you think and how you think will dominate and direct whatever occurs in the body. Disposition will be the main factor deciding whether or not we are successful in accomplishing what we want.

      2. A calm mind gives clarity to make sound decisions from which appropriate action can take place.

      3. Being calm is not a state where we willfully ignore disturbing circumstances, but a state where we simply let situations ‘be’ without judgement, reaction or resistance (neither good nor bad.) Control the controllables and let everything else ‘be.’

      4. Calm is being motionless in motion. Clarity and freedom arise from being calm, not from being reactive. Learn to sail the seas in strong weather. Embrace what's there but let it be. Don’t react to it emotionally. In this way awareness engulfs the disturbance but doesn’t become trapped by it. From here we have the presence of mind to make right decisions and use the body well. A calm lake reflects the moon well.

• 3. Body Basics. Don’t just engage in the exercises, engage in the spirit of the exercises.

• • 1. Creating and training specific feeling-image exercises is essential to making real shifts in body-mind to align with the principles. Aligning oneself to the principles takes training and practice

    2. Training is practical and effective rather than based on a written doctrine, a product of careful observation of the physics and dynamics to which the human body must adhere, the feelings and states that make us effortlessly effective. Do not attempt to force the principle into your beliefs. Simply discover them.

    3. Together, the five principles create an amazingly effective whole: relax, feel the whole body, move from the center, become grounded, be calm.

    4. “Act without doing. Work without effort.”--Lao Tzu

• 4. Reviewing and practicing the principles often will lead to a deeper understanding and effortless, effective performance, regardless of the task.