Showing Up
In this clip from the Shaolin Arts class, Tim talks about showing up and doing the practice, even if you don’t feel ready, or think you won’t do it well enough.
It doesn’t matter if you don’t get it ‘right’ in the class. Right is only an idea anyway, which it can sometimes be useful to let go of. What’s important is being as present and connected as we can be in body, heart and mind.
When we allow ourselves to be fully engaged like this, we are practicing Triple Cultivation of Jing, Chi and Shen, body, energy and mind/spirit. This is one of the hallmarks of the Shaolin Arts and Shaolin Cosmos Qigong.
Triple Cultivation practice gives a felt experience of connection and presence. This can take you beyond thought, worry and judgement. When you practice coming from this embodied place in class, it becomes easier to come from there in everyday life.
Alignment of heart, mind and energy can sound like an abstract concept, but in classes you will get a felt experience that you can bring into what you are practicing, whether a qigong form or a kungfu set. It can feel really good to find a deeper connection with yourself. Sometimes it can even feel extraordinary. And some days it isn’t so easy to find, so we keep doing the practice.
This way of approaching things may start to feed into other aspects of life. Work, hobbies, interactions with other people, or doing everyday tasks can feel more rewarding and be less effort. We may find we are naturally showing up more fully to things, and relating to ourselves and to life differently.
If you are interested in exploring ways to become more connected within yourself, or finding ways to approach life with less stress and more engagement, why not try one of our classes for a month and see how you get on?