What is Mindfulness as a Martial Art?

“We can’t stop the waves of life but we can learn how to how to surf” 
Jon Kabat Zinn (Full Catastrophe Living)

Mindfulness is a verb – it’s a doing word. 

When we engage daily in mindfulness practices like conscious deep breathing, meditation, self-reflection, journalling, connecting with nature,  and gentle movement (qigong, yoga, tai chi, pilates); our minds, brains, bodies and nervous systems become calmer, steadier, clearer and more skilled at:

• Focusing our attention
• Coping with stress and recovering from stressful events
• Self awareness and emotional self-regulation
• Emotional intelligence
• Feeling and expressing compassion, kindness and empathy.

When we consistently exercise our mindfulness muscles, they improve as if we’ve been working out at a brain gym. Over time, we become mindfulness martial artists by skilfully engaging with inner and outer energies. We learn to feel stillness and clarity in the storms of life AND we can better ride the big waves of life with composure and dynamic balance…in the workplace, community, home, family…