involved in various martial arts; following his initiative, I spent several years exploring a variety of these practices, learning different forms of and and experimenting with tai chi qigong, aikido and Eventually, we both earned our black belts in Through these jujitsu. wing chun kung fu. experiences, I learned to value the calm, alert mindfulness and sensitivity to one’s sparring partner cultivated by the hands’ and hands’ practices that has tai chi ‘pushing wing chun ‘sticky also been shown through research (Vago and Silbersweig, 2012, p. 10). It wasn’t until I discovered the more vigorous style in 2003 that yoga eclipsed martial arts as my ashtanga yoga regular physical practice. My involvement with these physical practices has influenced me to have a strong commitment to including somatic awareness in any mindfulness training program, and integrating body awareness activities as classroom contemplative practices whenever possible. MBSR and various other programs include yoga postures and body scan awareness practices; some also incorporate or other movement meditations. I am particularly tai chi encouraged by recent research into treatment for high school students at risk for mental health challenges which integrates mindfulness treatment into the milieu of mixed martial arts and yoga training (Milligan et. al, 2016). The meditation process outlined in the earliest Buddhist discourse on mindfulness, the places the body first in its delineation of the four objects of mindfulness in Satipatthana this method, the remaining three being feelings, states of mind, and mental contents (Thera, 1980, p. 57). In my teacher’s monastic training, the first meditation given to novices when they were ordained was a meditation on the body (Rinpoche, 1983, p. 9), and subsequently, body work also became a foundation of the contemplative work he shared with his students. To support our study of the body, we spent many hours engaged with an Anatomy Coloring Book (Kapit and Elson, 1977); as a result of my experience with this absorbing activity, I am not
involved in various martial arts; following his initiative, I spent several years exploring a variety of these practices, learning different forms of tai chi and qigong, and experimenting with aikido and jujitsu. Eventually, we both earned our black belts in wing chun kung fu. Through these experiences, I learned to value the calm, alert mindfulness and sensitivity to one’s sparring partner cultivated by the tai chi ‘pushing hands’ and wing chun ‘sticky hands’ practices that has also been shown through research (Vago and Silbersweig, 2012, p. 10). It wasn’t until I discovered the more vigorous ashtanga yoga style in 2003 that yoga eclipsed martial arts as my regular physical practice. My involvement with these physical practices has influenced me to have a strong commitment to including somatic awareness in any mindfulness training program, and integrating body awareness activities as classroom contemplative practices whenever possible. MBSR and various other programs include yoga postures and body scan awareness practices; some also incorporate tai chi or other movement meditations. I am particularly encouraged by recent research into treatment for high school students at risk for mental health challenges which integrates mindfulness treatment into the milieu of mixed martial arts and yoga training (Milligan et. al, 2016). The meditation process outlined in the earliest Buddhist discourse on mindfulness, the Satipatthana places the body first in its delineation of the four objects of mindfulness in this method, the remaining three being feelings, states of mind, and mental contents (Thera, 1980, p. 57). In my teacher’s monastic training, the first meditation given to novices when they were ordained was a meditation on the body (Rinpoche, 1983, p. 9), and subsequently, body work also became a foundation of the contemplative work he shared with his students. To support our study of the body, we spent many hours engaged with an Anatomy Coloring Book (Kapit and Elson, 1977); as a result of my experience with this absorbing activity, I am not
CreatingSpaceforContemplationInfusingMindfulnessandAwarenessActivitiesinEnglishLanguageArtsClassesByKarenJacobsen.docx