SMA bloggers

Later today I’m heading over to the Zajia Lab at the rear of Beijing’s landmark Bell Tower for a breathing workshop. Yes, indeed a breathing workshop and, in Beijing of all places! I am going there to learn how to breath.

Breathing as know is essential for human life, without oxygen we die, therefore it stands to reason that if we can do this better our body functions and internal workings will be better and therefore our health will be better. Breathing habits and posture are considered to be essential components of health. The breath alone is one of the most important tools at an athlete’s disposal. How an athlete breaths is directly associated with performance. It seems obvious but it is often overlooked.

For the martial artists the breath is also important. It is used to focus and deliver power or alternatively protect the body, while for others it has become a spiritual practice and one that is practiced by Buddhist monks, Taoist monks and holy men the world over, allowing the creation of space, mental peace and balance. The cultivation of spirit.

The fact is that the conscious practice of breathing is capable of producing dramatic and life changing results, its free, limitless and can be practiced anywhere and at any time. My personal experience of the power of breathing has been through my own practice of standing and moving neigong’s and meditations. Since arriving in China to study traditional combat Martial Arts this aspect of breathing and meditation training continues to grow in importance for me personally. This is due more to the amazing all-round benefits I receive from this practice in terms of health, stress management, balance, building qi even to the ability of visualizing and manifesting the results I desire than changing importance’s as I get older. But more on that later.

So today I’m heading off to a breathing workshop with an open mind and a desire to take whatever techniques I learn at this workshop and add it to my already growing knowledge of neigong.

So if you read this I hope it inspires you to take a little time out of your day to simply take a few long slow deep conscious breaths. When doing this keep an up right relaxed posture and focus on your internal universe. Listen to the breath moving while you practicing an inner smile.

If you would like to learn more about the power of breathing or future breathing workshops or practices feel free to post below or PM me directly at StudyMartialArts@gmail.com or visit www.StudyMartialArts.Org

I’ve been studying and working now in China for a few years. Since 2008 in fact. Now into my fifth year I’ve been working on ways to allow students the opportunity to combine studying martial arts and teaching. So these up coming entries will focus on my experiences and I hope it can help serve as a means of reference and support to others out there who are currently on or are planning a similar path.

The trick is of course in the perfection of yin and yang. A balancing act of work and study. Something I certainly have not mastered but something I know more than most about here in China. Through these entries the sharing of others experiences my hope is that readers can get closer to that middle path.

As I continue to take on extra demands and responsibilities as I develop www.StudyMartialArts.Org This balancing act between life, teaching, studying and building a sustainable martial arts business becomes ever more important. So my fellow bloggers and readers your input and advice will be invaluable as we chew the fat of this topic. Communication and teaching is about a two way process and so should these blog enters.

So as you sit scratching your head on how you can extend your travel and training experience into a work and study experience, financial necessities and the lurking shadow of securing your Chinese visa will be your primary concerns. Therefore from time to time I will post on these very topics and group together some of the best options I have come across. I’ll use my connections and experience to provide followers of these blog entry’s with the right information and support. If on the other had you are lucky enough to have some cash squirreled away then I’ll have plenty of recommendations for you in terms of studying and getting the most out of that cash.