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Method 1: Mental Quieting

The first method I would like to delineate is a simple exercise designed to quiet the mind. While most meditation has this effect, the exercise I describe here is the quietest and easiest I have found for newcomers to the concept of meditation.

What you will need:

- A quiet place to sit and relax.
- Music or white noise of some sort. I recommend either music specifically designed for meditation (check the New Age section of your local music store) or some sort of Trance music. Steer clear of classical music, anything with lyrics in a language you actually understand, or anything heavier than Simon and Garfunkel.
-- A quick word on music. Many traditional meditation instructors want you to sit in silence while you meditate. If you are new to the practice, this is pretty much a guaranteed way to get you to fall asleep. The use of music or white noise gives your mind something to focus upon and latch onto. Silence is fine, later in your meditation career, but not so much for your first time.
- About fifteen minutes of uninterrupted time to yourself. No group meditation this early on.

What You Need To Do

Having guaranteed that you will not be interrupted for a good fifteen minutes (at least, longer is fine!) and having found a comfortable place to sit, let us address posture. Some meditation has rigid requirements. You MUST sit in the Lotus Position, you MUST breath in through the nose and out through the mouth, and so on. For this exercise, sit in your comfortable spot. You can cross your legs if you want. I do it that way. I prefer to rest my hands either on my knees or in my lap. A more strict approach is (for a male) to rest your right hand on your stomach just below the belly button palm facing inward with your left hand over it or (for a female) rest your left hand the same way with your right hand over it. This isn't necessary, but I sometimes do it this way too. If you sit in a chair, cross your ankles. More on this in a later post. Sit straight. Let your shoulders relax. Your mouth should be shut, but don't clench it. Let your tongue rest lightly against the roof of your mouth. More on that in a later post too.

Proper breathing is imperative for good meditation. This is because proper breathing is essential for the relaxation of muscles and the proper circulation of blood in the body, among many other more subtle factors. Breath in through the nose. A proper deep breath should take between three and five seconds. Slower is better. Fill the lungs completely, but do not force the air in past the point of comfort. Let the air sit in the lungs for 2-4 seconds. Don't HOLD your breath, simply let it sit. Finally, exhale slowly, between 2-4 seconds through your nose. Some meditational traditions would have you exhale through your mouth. This breaks the contact of tongue against the roof of the mouth.

Once you have this breathing more or less down, the real exercise can begin. Close your eyes. This is why the music is important. Without something to keep the mind occupied, you'll fall asleep quick, breathing deep with the eyes closed. It is a common misconception that meditation involves completely shutting out any and all thought. This is not necessary. Instead, let the thoughts drift through your mind. For now, they are no concern. When they come to you, simply acknowledge them, and then dismiss them. For the next fifteen minutes or so, they are insignificant. Don't deny them. If I tell you not to think of elephants, the first thing you think of is either elephants or how not to think of them. Likewise, when trying to crush thoughts, you will only bring them to the front of your mind. Also, if you have an itch, scratch it, and change your seating if you are uncomfortable. Nothing damages the calm more than an unscratched itch.

Imaging comes into the fore now. To help focus your mind, imagine a place. Not just any place, but a serene one, a calm place where you can simply be at rest. I shall use my own for example though you are never obliged to share your place with another. I use a mountain pond, surrounded by pine trees on a quiet snowy evening.

Fix that image in your mind. But not just an image, and not just something vague seen from miles off. Imagine every single aspect of it. I know every pine needle, every drop of pond water, every photon of sunlight in the place I focus upon. Why is this important? Because in imagining every single aspect of the place focuses your mind upon it, locking it into the one specific task. Do this every time you meditate until the very act of imagining the place focuses your mind. It's much the same as developing muscle memory for a motion, only for your brain. What's even more important is to NOT actually be part of the place you imagine. You are not in it. Nobody is. The place is pristine and untouched by anyone. Why is THAT important? Because being a part of the place creates disruption and a changing element which can force the brain to work too hard. We're trying to focus, not generate a constantly-changing environment.

So, sitting properly, breathing slowly and deeply, focusing upon a pristine and quiet place. Got it. Now try to do it for as long as you can, holding your image of the place the whole time. Don't be discouraged if you cannot hold it for more than a few minutes at a time at first. When it slips, and it will slip just collect yourself and try again. Eventually, it will last longer and longer. Use your whole fifteen minutes in this way, or longer if you want.

When you are finished with the mental clearing exercise, you do not want to just drop the mediation. Your probably won't want to anyway, since the mental clarity is comforting and relaxing. But you'll have to eventually, and just slamming out of it is very unhealthy. Instead, slowly push the image to the back of your mind, tucking it away in a corner of your memory for later. Do this very, very slowly at first. If you simply drop the image, you risk trivializing it in your mind, which damages its relevance for later use. It's a psychological issue. Tell yourself gently that you are done meditating. Take your time standing, stretching out any stiffness that might have developed. Take a few deep breaths as you move and slowly transition yourself from the meditational state of mind to a more normal one.

Then, over the course of the day simply call the image to your mind, attempting to recover the feeling from meditation as your do so. As you do this more and more, you'll be able to call forward the mental quietude of before more easily and more often at will.

For martial application, this technique is useful for mental clarity before a fight, or when you need to control your thoughts and emotions during a situation. It also teaches deliberation, slowing you down so that you can better focus on technique over more physicality.

as i noticed many of todays schools ignore the use of meditation for some reason many of them just jump straight into stretches and then training.
but studies would show that the implementation of a quick meditation increases the focus and even the energy of the school and its students.

i myself experienced this in both areas one where i just ran a quick stretch and went on to training.

wile the other i did a 5 min meditation then my stretches and then to the task at hand. from what i noticed i was able to learn more effectively because my mind was not concerned with my responsibilities or even stressful events outside of the dojo. i was able to focus on the task at hand with a positive attitude.

Method 4: Mind Like Water

The fourth method I would like to delineate builds upon the third method, adding a significant level of difficulty through utilization and application. If you have been training method three for a while now you should be able to handle method four rather easily, especially if you've been training with a partner.

What you will need:

- A fairly quiet, spacious area in which you can move around as much as two steps in any direction.
- About a half hour of uninterrupted time.
- A partner who is willing both attempt to strike you and be struck (though not forcefully.)
- A padded stick of some sort. I use a bokken wrapped in foam, and I have a friend who uses a broomstick with a foam-padded tip to replicate a spear.

What you need to do

By now you should be developing a mentality that allows you to sense your surroundings rather keenly. Posture and breathing should come naturally at this point and you should be able to easily focus your senses in any direction around yourself if you are not already in a constant state of focus.

Standing with your feet firmly planted, knees slightly bent, coccyx (tailbone) at ease, shoulders held loose rather than tightly back, spine straight and head erect, you should feel something like you're trying to sit down on an invisible stool. This relaxed posture is more natural to humans and is found in most qigong and internal martial arts as well as certain forms of yoga. Breathing should be deep and natural, without pushing in or out too forcefully.

Your partner should be behind you with the padded implement. When you feel your mental state is relaxed and keenly focused, prepared to act, tell your partner that you are prepared with a slight nod or a quiet affirmative. At this point, the partner should move as quietly as possible to choose a random distance (within striking range of the padded implement) and angle out of your line of sight and outside of your peripheral vision. At intervals, they should then try to lightly touch you with the implement (not a hard strike as this can be dangerous. A stout tap should suffice.)

Your job is to get out of the way of the blow. Duck it, dodge it, step out of its range. Do not try to block it at this time since it is coming from behind. Evasion will be sufficient. Starting out this practice you and your partner should work out a regular interval. I like to have my own partner strike every ten seconds or so to give me time to refocus myself. However, as you get more advanced (you'll know when you're getting better because you'll get hit less often) you can have your partner speed up or even strike at random intervals.

As usual, do not just drop the meditative state when you have completed this exercise. Instead, release it slowly with several cleansing breaths and make certain that your body understands that you are about to return to your normal operating mode.

What is this doing?

This method builds heavily upon method three, taking the focusing exercises and giving them direct martial application. Also, it takes a broad step beyond simply focusing the senses and encourages the mind and body to actively attempt to sense the person behind you, that person's intent, and the action that they take. As with method three, this eventually becomes second nature when just walking around or hanging out.

The martial application of this technique should be apparent. It is less useful in a competition context as the first two methods, but more useful than the third method in a self-defense situation especially when there is more than one assailant. As with method three, many martial artists may have developed this method without ever even consciously thinking about it.

An Aside: Safety in Meditation

There is much debate over the metaphysics and actuality of meditational benefits. There are so many different techniques with so many different belief systems and so many methodologies that it can be daunting and it is easy to see why one might be skeptical; see the diversity of this planet's religions if you don't believe me.

However, there are some things that all techniques and methods of meditation agree upon irrespective of their origin. Most important among these in my opinion are the admonitions over safety. Meditation is not something to play around with; it's very serious business that has very real effects on the body. This post focuses on the most prevalent of recommended safety precautions.

1) Flow of Qi/Ki-- Though there are many different concepts of Qi/Ki, they are all roughly congruent in the broad assessment. Meditation grants you the ability to directly tap into this bodily resource and improper control can be very detrimental to you. It takes a great deal of time and practice before you are ready to try even the most rudimentary qi techniques.

2) Reflection-- There is some debate over this safety admonition but most sources agree that you should never practice any sort of intense meditation (still or moving) in the presence of mirrors or highly reflective metal. There's a mumbo jumbo explanation of this but I prefer a scientific approach to explaining what supposedly happens here. When you are deep in meditation you tend to become highly energized. As with all energy sources, odds are good that there is some local bleed (it manifests as EMP in electronics though a human can't possible give off that kind of energy.) Therefore it is possible that a reflective surface disrupts this energetic field. It's a very loose theory but it seems valid.

3) Qi/Ki "Kinking" and "Clogging"-- Tampering with your own internal energy flows can be a great therapy. You can learn to smooth them out and learn to send healing flows to places on your body that need them. But you can also accidentally cause meridian kinking and clogging. These sound like plumber's terms and in fact it's entirely similar. Improper qi/ki manipulation can result in the energy getting "stuck" inside of the pathway that it occupies. This can lead to internal injury, cramps, severe discomfort, and even death (in extreme cases.) Likewise, you can cause a discontinuity in the channels through which the qi/ki flows. This is even worse, because it means that the energy can either flow only one way or not at all. This leads to all manner of maladies (some of which are reputed capable of manifesting as diseases.)

To avoid these problems and dangers, one needs to be mindful of them. Don't do anything to your energy flows (if you get to a point that you can actually touch them) until you are absolutely certain that you can do it safely and start with tiny steps. Don't practice meditation for a year and then abruptly decide that you can use the budding flows of qi/ki that you can sense to heal a terminal illness in only one treatment. Moderation in all things, especially meditation.