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Week 1: The Beginner’s path – learning how to breathe

Week 1: The Beginner’s path – learning how to breathe

 

 

 

Goddess path:

            Meditate on Kuan Yin this lesson at least 2ce.  Journey with her to the upper, lower, and middle realms of your consciousness and begin to understand what she has to teach you.  Consider her aspects of compassion and caring.  Take away at least one thing from your trip and apply it to your life, in the form of schoolwork, coaching, or just the way you interact with people or yourself. 

 

            Research the legends of 3 different warrior goddesses from any tradition.  Record these stories, and list key points from at least 1 that you can/would like to add to your daily routine.

 

Warrior path - martial:


            Do at least 30 mae ukemi this week.  At least 10 of these should be done without using your hand as balance.  Use ONLY unbendable arm for these 10.  If you are able, do the other 20 the same way.  If not, try to at least resist relying on the opposite hand too much.  In your ukemi, focus on not holding your breathe, but on breathing correctly – inhaling when coming up, exhaling when rolling.


 

            Practice bokken katas 1 & 2 at least 3 times each this week.  Review ikkyo and nikkyo on your own and practice the technique. In using these techniques, focus on your breathing and your extension. 

       Wake up at 5:30 to practice tai chi 3 days this week and yoga 2 days each week.  Do Stress Relief yoga 2x in the afternoons or evenings this week.


  

            Breathing:  Inhale deeply and slowly through your nose, and exhale slowly through your mouth.  Try this ten times.  Life your arms so that they are parallel to the floor, keeping your shoulders back.  Take a deep breath.  Bend your elbows and slowly push your hands together, exhaling as you push.  Feel the air entering your body, and your body expelling the tension and stress.  Progressively slow down your breathing. 

            Reveling in awkwardness: For this lesson, when you feel that you cannot figure something out…do not get frustrated.  Instead, understand that you cannot master everything at once, and ask for help.  When someone offers to help you, don’t become defensive.  Accept their help with ease and thanks.  Keep a beginners mind – open, uncritical, and accepting – for as long as you can.

 

Spiritual path:

       Zen:  Sit in stillness at least three times this week, for at least 10 minutes each sitting.  To keep your mind still, focus on making your inhalation just as long as your exhalation.  Also, try to make your breathing deeper and longer each time. 

       Tao: This week we focus on breath, one of the three treasures.  Also, focus on compassion.  Try to bring compassion consciously into your everyday practice: in class, sports, or life in general. 

           

Magickal path:

       Set up temple this week at least once, and when doing so, really consider the breathing portion of calling each aspect in each direction.  How does your breath bring power to the circle? How does it help with protection of your sacred space?  You can even do this to prepare for your Goddess meditation or your Zen meditation.

 

Bringing it all together this week:

 

       This week was about compassion, beginnings, and learning to breathe.  How do all of your experiences with this lesson tie in to these three things?  Write as much as you need to regarding what you have learned/gained from concentrating on these things during this lesson.  Discuss how these aspects were incorporated into your daily routine (work, coaching, personal, etc).