Awareness

           Thursday’s class was a great exercise, and one that should not be forgotten.  How often do we take stock of what’s going on with our bodies?  How many of us are taking measures to make corrections or live longer, healthier lives?  How many of us make these check-ins regularly?  The truth is most of us live in ignorant bliss.  We float though our lives and tend to REACT when something feels off or goes wrong.  Not many take proactive initiatives to take control back of their lives.

         When I scanning myself I knew I didn’t have to go far to know that I was already out of alignment.  My head was rotated and tilted ever so slightly to the right.  If you were to face me and talk, you’d probably wouldn’t notice.  I guarantee you, that if each of you were to look in the mirror or have someone really pay attention, that none of us have our heads on straight- literally.  We all have these small imbalances in our body, all the twists and tilts, weight shifts, leans.  These aren’t necessarily an issue, one can be very functional without ever having pain or noticeable impairment.  Though for some, these minute shifts could be a precursor to something more serious later on, if left unaddressed.

          Over time these things will change with: lifestyle, activity, sleep, diet, age, stress, you name it.  Our outward appearance are usually physical manifestations of what’s going on inside, although of course, injuries happen too.  Imagine what all this means for our King Fu.  All of us at any moment are compensating in some way to pull off a technique.  Could be the next day, week, year and we will compensate in some other way to execute that same technique.  How does one master anything with so many variables?  Well, that’s part of mastery, perhaps THE most important part of mastery, mastering thyself- knowing thyself.  It’s important to know both our flaws and weaknesses in order to progress.

         Eye for detail starts within.  It starts with really feeling what’s going on in our bodies and projecting outwards.  Even though sensory information is bombarding us externally, that information is processed internally and then can be outwardly emitted, same should go with our forms.