Meditation
Posted: April 10, 2019
Choi Kwang Do is a Holistic Martial Art. This means, it focuses on the development of the full individual: mentally, physically and spiritually. To reach the full potential of a CKD athlete, you must begin by training your mind. The most common way to do this is through meditation.
Meditation can bring key factors that are vital to successfully practicing CKD: awareness, calm and focus. Awareness is needed when in battle to avoid being hit. Without focus, you may not catch the right opportunity to strike. Finally, without calmness you will not be able to relax to have a clear mind to assess your situations.
Understanding meditation requires time, practice and patience. First, practice embryonic breathing to calm your emotions and mind. This can be done by focusing your breathing and relaxing your body. At first, you may be easily distracted. Refocus your energy back to your breathing if this occurs. Over time, it will become simpler to focus inward and push external thoughts out of mind.
Next, you will need to find the center of your body. To accomplish this, visualize the area you want to find. Lengthen your inhale and shorten the exhale. By doing this, your energy will condense into the centerline and make it easier to find your center. After awhile, finding your center will come naturally.
Through correct embryonic breathing, you can learn how to manipulate the energy within your body. As you exhale, the energy is manifested. As you inhale the energy is drawn inward to the center.
Practicing meditation will bring many positive effects to your health and well-being. It reduces stress, reduces high blood pressure, improves your mood and can better focus and memory. Meditation produces cognitive, psychological and physical benefits that can last for hours after your session. When practiced at the beginning of a CKD class, it prepares the students for learning mentally and physically. When used to close the class, it naturally relaxes, calms and offers an overall sense of holistic well-being to the students.
Meditation is vital to learning the practice of CKD. By taking small steps toward bettering and calming the mind on a daily basis, not only can your athletic ability improve, but your health, too.