The Mind Body Split
/Here are the parameters of human movement systems:
Quiet-Quiet. A quiet mind and a quiet body. This is the standard notion of meditation where the body is still and the mind is also still.
Active-Active. An active mind and an active body. This is the standard for competitive athletics. The body is very active and the mind is racing all over the space looking for openings and opportunities.
Quiet-Active. A quiet or serene mind and an active body. This is sometimes held up as the ideal for Shaolin - and external styles of martial arts - where the mind achieves a kind of peaceful calm while the body is in an explosive power flow mode. It is perhaps more common for people who do long distance running or swimming, the mind becomes calm because the body knows what to do.
Active-Quiet. The spacial mind is very lively, and the body is quiet. This is the exclusive territory of internal martial arts. The quiet body is a process in which the intention to move or control is systematically removed from the four limbs, and eventually the entire body, while being replace with an active spacial mind outside the body.
Of course these are parameters, not necessarily perfectible experiences. Never the less many of my students have found it helpful in understanding how different types of movement and meditation engage us.
Quiet-Quiet. A quiet mind and a quiet body. This is the standard notion of meditation where the body is still and the mind is also still.
Active-Active. An active mind and an active body. This is the standard for competitive athletics. The body is very active and the mind is racing all over the space looking for openings and opportunities.
Quiet-Active. A quiet or serene mind and an active body. This is sometimes held up as the ideal for Shaolin - and external styles of martial arts - where the mind achieves a kind of peaceful calm while the body is in an explosive power flow mode. It is perhaps more common for people who do long distance running or swimming, the mind becomes calm because the body knows what to do.
Active-Quiet. The spacial mind is very lively, and the body is quiet. This is the exclusive territory of internal martial arts. The quiet body is a process in which the intention to move or control is systematically removed from the four limbs, and eventually the entire body, while being replace with an active spacial mind outside the body.
Of course these are parameters, not necessarily perfectible experiences. Never the less many of my students have found it helpful in understanding how different types of movement and meditation engage us.
