After week 5th session. Photo by Christina Shewry.

The 6-week MBX-12 Workshop in Foxboro was a great success. Over 110 residents participated with keen enthusiasm. Special thanks go to Elaine Repoff, Christina Shewry, and Vicki Lowe, the director of the Council on Aging and Human Services. The next session is planned for the Spring 2016 in which Dr. Kim will present the Science behind Mindful Movement and Hands-on Practice.

Spark of Mindset

We become what we think of and about. Reality most of time is not so favorable to all of us but to some. Although the green in the neighbors may look greener, yours are as green as any body’s and perhaps even much greener if you search hard in yourself. It’s up to you what you make out of it because how you think of yourself is ultimately what you see and do and experience.

How to do it?

Here are ways to see inside deeply and make real changes in you so that you see the green signs everywhere, even in a desolate situation.

Cyclic Happiness

Happiness is a two way system. Nothing comes out of nothing. To make something happen you need something. And that starts from your awareness. It’s like imagination but with more conscious efforts. Focus absolutely helps.

The first awareness is about what bothers you the most. You can’t sit on a thorny cushion and meditate in peace. No matter how tough or determined you are, the thorn, if not removed, eventually hurts your meditating joy. Once you identify the presence of the thorn, gently move yourself from it, or locate it and see what kind of thorn it is and remove it. If you need tools, such as a metaphorical tweezers or gloves, you should use them.

The second awareness is about the return of joy by the absence of the thorn. Recognizing and sustaining the joy may not be an easy task due to its abstract and passive nature. We can’t actively grab it but must wait until it happens. When it happens we should be aware of its return and celebrate because that’s what we wanted to begin with.

The third awareness is about the transformation and appreciation of what bothers you. It’s raw material that has potential to be your asset. When we are bothered it says something about how we are doing and signals a need for change. It’s an indicator of where we stand and a ticket to the exit from the old road and entrance to a new path. The take home message is that problems are inspiration for solutions. Be aware of the cyclic relationships. Without yin, no yang has a place to be. They compose mutually holistic circumstances and function as reciprocal allies.

Now are you ready to take an emotional journey through MBX12 and turn raw materials into assets for your health and happiness?

MBX-1: Awakening Posture for Emotional Courage

MBX-1 is the first movement of MBX-12 that turns the cold dry air outside into warm moisture- and oxygen-abundant nutrients and bring them to the body. It activates the lung meridian that runs from the lungs through the upper inner arm to the inside of the thumb. It wakes the senses in the arms that link to the lungs.

The lungs are the organ related to sadness. When we are sad or depressed or helpless, we sigh. The body needs to let out old air. Sighing is a deep exhalation which follows with a deep inhalation.

When you breathe evenly, sighing disappears. Self-initiated effort is the key to turn the sad feeling to an asset of courage to take an action. Here is process that shows how to turn sad emotion to a sprout of courage. 

As you raise your arms gently and slowly above your head and inhale deeply, to the bottom of the lower abdomen, your deep inside is connected with the giant energy source outside. The key is that you are going to be an important part of this cold frightening wilderness and become friendly. More importantly you are realizing that the raw environment is not hostile obstacle to your happiness; on the contrary, resources are waiting for your connection. So here you are, taking your first step of deep linking between this infinite space where no visible objects are and your concrete center of your body that is full of emptiness. What I mean by this is that you are creating a loop of energy transfusion from the huge outside world to the small internal place of your body. The connector is your nose, which is the center of the loop.

As you lower your arms, exhale gently and slowly through your mouth, and fill your thoughts with words of courage. My favorites thoughts are: “Up and down and double ups!” “I m who I am,” “Be true to the truth,” “Nothing to fear.” We all go down occasionally, and that’s the best exercise for stronger leaps.

Combined, the loop of inhalation through the nose and exhalation through the mouth makes an infinite cycle of replacing sadness with courage. In this, you stay in the middle of the two, siding with neither the feeling of sadness nor courage. Having all in your mind but neither interferes. They are. And you are. Coexisting. Mutually energizing. No difference. And that realization makes the difference of night and day, burden and light, and misery and joy.

To be continued…