Set your intention in the quiet spaces between and without thought. As those who practice many methods of martial arts will tell you, one of the premises of harnessing massive amounts of energy into a focused spot is to 'stop thought.'
Whether you're practicing yoga, meditation or various other methods of reconnecting your body-mind-spirit continuum, you will need to learn how to shut off the racing thoughts and tune into the deep inner calm, knowing center of your being.
Fortunately, a few invaluable techniques exist to get you there! The most important of these is to find your spinal alignment. Here are a few basic tips to quiet your thoughts and come into presence and the 'now':
1. Learn to take a full breath.
Most of us use barely one-third of our lung capacity to breathe. Unfortunately, this tendency creates huge amounts of tension and stress in the upper back, neck and head area, trapping energy and contributing further to our inability to 'stop thought.'
2. Tune into your body.
Really feeling each and every part of your dynamic and vital being is a major key to unlocking your thoughts and freeing your spirit to delve more deeply into the quiet spaces between words and ideas into the realm of intuition and connection.
3. Try 'rolling back exercise' to neutralize your spine and reconnect with your vertebrate.
A simple technique for loosening each vertebrate in your spine is to do what practitioners of Tai Chi call rolling back exercise.
Lay on your back with your knees to your chest. Wrap your arms around your knees and pull your knees as close as possible. Tuck your chin. Rock back and forth, noticing any 'sticky' spots in your spine. These are vertebrae that are not in good alignment with the others.
The tension around them will account for the 'flat' spots you'll hit as you're trying to rock back and forth smoothly. As you practice this technique, you will notice a loosening of such tension, and it will become easier and easier to rock and roll smoothly for the full length of your spine.
Once you've released the tension responsible for the 'flat' spots on your rocking move, re-stacking and realigning your spine for optimal energy flow should become markedly easier.
4. Re-stack your spine one vertebrate at a time, noting any twinges pains, or difficulty.
Once you're comfortable rocking like a rocking chair on your back, learning to re-stack your spine in proper order is the next step to freeing your energy.
From a seated position, push back onto your feet, remaining crouched with hands on the floor. Let the weight of your head pull your body down as you SLOWLY straighten your legs, knees soft. Do not force your knees straight. There should be no tension in your spine!
Once you're comfortably hanging over your feet, begin to roll up one vertebrate at a time, beginning with your tail bone in a neutral, tucked not overly tucked position. Let your spine bring your body up one bone, one segment at a time, stacking yourself up while letting the muscles around it stay slack.
It is vital that you retain the sense of relaxation as you are rolling up. Beginning practitioners often begin with a good roll out of the sacrum, but rush as they approach and move through the lumbar spine. Take it slow. You have all the time in your life with THIS body! It's worth it. Trust me.
Now that you're standing up straight, on your center. See if you can't tune in a little more clearly to that tiny inner voice that has all the answers you really need to navigate through any of your days.
I'll be publishing more on this subject in the coming weeks. Be well in the meanwhile.
Namaste & Bless!