No matter what your background, ethnicity, financial worth or gender, it is an undeniable fact that all things are subject to cycles. It is the preverbal yin and yang of living. As a race we have arrived at such a complex state of affairs stress is our norm.
I have heard the term “wellness” used in some of the most incredulous and creative ways. Yoga for example, with its ancient history as a tool towards enlightenment has many offshoots with various goals. Power Yoga, Mommy & Me yoga, there’s even yoga with your dog.
People gravitate toward Bikram Yoga, with its heated rooms for practice pushing the sweat quotient high, which probably instills a feeling of hard work. Of course, it was hot, it was India! Electric heaters can’t recreate the benefits of real sun rays. Bikram takes pride in his demeaning boot camp style of delivery. But the Americans love it despite the many reported injuries.
Yoga injuries, Yikes! Those words shouldn’t even be in the same sentence. Lip fillers, sandals, furniture, pet food, cosmetics all fall under the painfully stretched umbrella of “Wellness.” A popular keyword for Google to index.
My hope is that with the education and ascension of society, we cycle back to offerings and strategies which are best served undiluted in their original form. Purity becomes harder and harder to realize in a modernized world.
Just look at the endless water offerings on market shelves. It’s mind boggling. There is sanctity and power in purity. Sparkling mountain streams, a newborn, ocean breezes, stillness. This is a type of strength that endures.
When I see all the testosterone (not that there’s anything wrong with testosterone), blood and guts that infiltrate the arena of the martial sports/arts I’m so perturbed. What was once a self-sustaining practice of discipline and honor has been reduced to sensational, blockbuster entertainment.
You can’t just kick and punch anymore, it has to be attached to high powered music, screaming, big video screens and new exciting names for punches like the “Whizzer” to retain your students. The blind leading the blind.
We may not have a million-dollar enterprise, but we do have integrity and we say no to commercialized bastardization. Despite what a student may want, which is often based upon some misinformation on the net or a cool movie, we continue to deliver what the student needs. That is what a real teacher does. That is the path our Master followed to become a Master. It is our obligation, our responsibility and our honor to offer our children a nutritious meal not cotton candy.
Every movement, trend, (power tai chi, kick boxing, tae bo, whatever) can return to its roots in the traditional arts of Kung Fu, Tai Chi and Chi Gung. No injuries, no flying on wires, no lies. Just a straight forward, profound practice that encompasses all aspects of wellness in its most pure sense.
The Chinese Arts have had the mind, body, spirit connection since its inception. The medical and marital arts of China are inextricably intertwined. So, when you are injured enough, bored enough, or just hit a wall in your training and are ready to commit to a lifestyle that guarantees wellness in its most complete and pure sense, stop by Kung Fu Connection and transform from the inside out as it was originally intended.