Rock Solid Tranquility:

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "Rock Solid Tranquility:"

Egbert Hood
5 years ago
Views:

1 Rock Solid Tranquility: Using the Ancient Practice of HARA to Create Unshakable Inner Peace, Abundant Energy, Personal Success, and a Stress-Free Life Part by Dr. Symeon Rodger All rights reserved No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without prior permission. Published by Core Systems Press, Ottawa, Canada Special market editions of this workbook, with or without modification to cover, layout and content, are available for corporate or institutional purchasers at volume pricing. Please address all inquiries to: Phone: Website: Write: Rock Solid Life 2251 Courtice Ave. Ottawa, Ontario K1H-7G5 CANADA

2 Disclaimer: This publication contains the opinions and ideas of the author. It is intended to provide helpful and informative material on the subject matters covered. The content of this workbook is not meant to replace the advice of mental or medical healthcare professionals or qualified counselors. The author and publisher specifically disclaim any responsibility for any liability, loss, or risk, personal or otherwise, which is incurred as a consequence, directly or indirectly, of the use and / or application of any of the contents of this workbook. Please note that if you have any pre-existing medical or psychological condition for which you are receiving or have received treatment, you should not embark upon this or any other system involving physical exercise or mental work without the approval of a qualified medical professional. Please note that the title is not to be interpreted as a guarantee that you will achieve deep calm, tremendous energy or a stress-free life in 30 days. Achievement depends on correct practice and dedication, as well as on the starting point of the individual. Important Notice for Women! If you are pregnant or think you might be, you should not attempt to use the system contained in this workbook without the express approval of a qualified practitioner of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

3 Moving from the Spine We re aiming for perfect and harmonious movement that increases noetic concentration rather than dispersing it. It may seem to you by now that cultivating this harmonious movement involves so many postural details that there is no way you could possibly keep them all in mind. In away this is true, and that's why we train one aspect at a time, so that eventually the body will learn to assimilate them all together and turn it all into an automatic process. But the important thing is to enjoy the process, because it s all about the journey, not the end point. Unless you relax and enjoy each moment, there won t be an end point at all. Our Western goal-oriented obsessive behavior doesn t work in this realm! Your spinal column is of central neurological importance. Nerve tissue connects it to all of your vital organs directly. It is also central to your mental functioning; your concentration, your memory, your healthy brain chemistry and your emotional responses, as well as to energy circulation. The so-called Governing Vessel, perhaps the most important of the "eight extraordinary vessels" that Chinese medicine talks about, runs up the spine. The eight vessels function as reservoirs of energy (qi) within the body and are fundamental to your health. My moving from the spine, you gently cultivate spinal health and therefore the health of the whole body. This can relieve a great deal of psychosomatic stress on your system. As you know, your spine is not like a piece of wood; it moves. It s like a marvelous poll with dozens of universal joints. Not only that, but movement is vital for the circulation of spinal fluid and for the circulation of energy up and down the spine. Moving from the spine gently expands and contracts the soft tissue between each vertebra, causing more efficient fluid and energy circulation and relieving many minor back problems. Exercise 6: Moving from the Spine WARNING: Take this very slowly at first, to avoid back injury. If you have a preexisting back problem, consult a qualified medical professional before you begin. Repeat Exercises 4 and 5, but rather than moving from the dantien, imagine that all of your physical movement originates from the spinal column itself.

Figure 27 Rooting: Cultivating Physical and Emotional Stability Experience is quick to demonstrate that people who are stressed out have a higher "center of gravity".

4 Figure 27 Rooting: Cultivating Physical and Emotional Stability Experience is quick to demonstrate that people who are stressed out have a higher "center of gravity". Now obviously, if we had two people who were physically identical, say identical twins, but where one was a stressed-out nervous wreck and the other cool as a cucumber, they would have the same physical center of gravity because their bodies weight distributions would be the same. So when we say "center of gravity", what we mean here refers more to the body s energy distribution than to its weight distribution. The more you fall under the influence of psychological stress, the more the body's energy distribution rises up into the chest, shoulders, neck, and head. This is a common phenomenon associated with all negative emotional states. You've already heard that negative emotions change your breathing patterns. And changing breathing patterns is associated with and contributes to this change in energy distribution. So, all in all, we can say that the change in our consciousness associated with falling under the influence of psychological stress causes perceptible physical changes within the body. That may sound obvious, but the significance of it is that you can train yourself to perceive this upward movement of energy and neutralize it, whether it s caused by stress, by any negative emotion or simply by your thought processes running at full tilt.

5 The practice called "rooting" in Chinese martial arts and medicine trains the body and mind in order to keep energy down in the dantien. By specific mental focus you cultivate the feeling that the lower half of your body - from the waist down to the feet - is very heavy and solid, while the upper half - the rest of the torso and head - begins to feel light and almost "empty". This is a reversal of the way most people go through their lives in our culture. Because we re so busy treating the body as if it were nothing more than a private chauffeur for the brain, we unconsciously cultivate a dynamic of psychological stress. By learning to root and making it habitual, you eventually reinforce the basic SSDN principle of keeping attention in the area of the dantien. This will anchor you into a pattern of emotional equilibrium where outside influences cannot easily change your emotional state. You become internally solid; you begin to recover your psychological and emotional integrity. Exercise 7: Strengthening the Foundation Assume the standard horse stance. Concentrate your feeling on your feet and legs. Imagine that your weight is sinking into the ground. Imagine that your body's energy is forming a root that moves down into the ground to a distance of about 30 cm (1 ft.). Once you can maintain this perception, allow the root to sink down further, so that it's approximately equal in depth to the height of your body above the ground. Next, move your feet farther apart by an extra 15 to 30 cm (6 to 12 in.). Again, imagine your weight sinking into the ground and then imagine your body forming a root into the ground.

Figure 28 Exercise 8: Rooting on the Move Walk slowly around the room you re in. If you happen to be outside, that's fine too. But walk in such a way that you have to change direction frequently.

6 Figure 28 Exercise 8: Rooting on the Move Walk slowly around the room you re in. If you happen to be outside, that's fine too. But walk in such a way that you have to change direction frequently. Walk slowly for a period of two minutes, concentrating on feeling the lower body as very heavy and the upper body is very light. When you put a foot down imagine it is so heavy that it will leave a visible indentation in the ground. The practice of rooting is extremely beneficial for draining stored up physical tension from the muscles and internal organs of the upper torso down into the dantien and legs. Over time, this practice will develop very strong legs, will build bone density, and therefore bone health in the legs and pelvis.

7 A Master Speaks People did not know before that there was a method of developing intelligence, physical health, and morality all at the same time. Therefore they laughed at my teaching. Some say it is a kind of health-breathing, others that it is a new religion. And there are many other views. But none is correct, and all that merely makes me laugh. But one day it will probably become a great question for learned circles and then my aim will become clear. Until then, I ll leave it at that. i Master Okada Torajiro Teacher of Haragei (Circa 1910) Proceed to Part 10 i Quoted from Dürckheim, Hara: The Vital Center of Man, pp

relaxation and nervous system regulation exercises

relaxation and nervous system regulation exercises Objectives to provide a range of simple exercises that encourage the regular practice of relaxation and to help build resilience with increased awareness