Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Our Mission

The first Earthrise photographed by humansImage via Wikipedia

I've been teaching Wujifa for a while, but starting 2010, I'm really focusing on building it up, and bringing what I know and have practiced out into the world more. As part of this goal, I've developed a mission statement, and thought about who would really be interested in the practice. Keep in mind, this is just a personal mission statement, and I don't speak for all of Wujifa here.

Our Mission statement:
To understand what it means to be a Human Being and increase each person’s direct experience of the freedom of knowing and being who they are.

Who would be interested?
You’re curious. There may be aches or stress in your life, and you’re beginning to wonder if it really has to be that way. Maybe you’re tired of looking to answers from the outside, and you’re ready to start increasing your own role in your life. You’re ready to start understanding who you are and what you’re truly capable of. If you are ready to grow in Self-Awareness, and ready to discover the freedom that comes with it – this practice is for you.

Where do we start?
We start at the beginning. We start with what we can directly see and feel so that we know we are doing something real. This means focusing physically – on our posture and how we support ourselves as we stand – to gain a fuller direct experience of ourselves. The practice we do is a container for connecting with ourselves. It’s more than physical, mental or spiritual because we are more than bodies, minds, or spirits: we are Human Beings.



The two classes
We are partnered both with Bodyworks Healing Center and with Donna Harber's Embodied Meditation.

Starting January of 2010, classes will be at the Bio Self-Emergence Institute in Southfield, MI every Tuesday night from 6 to 7. Click the link for directions. I'm really excited to be partnered with Donna and her Embodied Meditation, because both of our practices are really focused on helping you discover yourself more fully - in differing but complimentary ways. I really encourage you to check out her website and learn more about the amazing work and understanding she brings.

There will also be a class most Wednesdays at Bodyworks Healing Center in Plymouth from 7 to 8. Click the link for directions. Bodyworks is amazing in going above and beyond as a healing center dedicated to providing for members of the community through an extraordinary number of healing modalities and classes integrating Body, Mind, and Spirit. Please check them out and see all of the wonderful things they do!



We start at the beginning, and each person is met where they are. Classes are not part of a sequence, and the learning is ongoing.

Please, send me any questions and I will be sure you get what you're looking for! My email is todiscoverfreedom@gmail.com, and I'd love to talk to you.



Also, check out this article, which explores the benefits of Zhan Zhuang, which is one of our main practices. Also visit here for some great and insightful information about Wujifa - this blog has some really valuable stuff to contribute, and if you're at all into internal martial arts, I would highly recommend it.

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Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Human heart. Picture taken during autopsy.Image via Wikipedia

Wujifa, like everything, is an exploration of life. Zhan Zhuang should be "alive", as the core practice of our art and science, but what does it mean to have life in your practice? For me, when I consider life, I think of breath, movement, flow - and awareness of these things as the self-consciousness of life. An exploration of this, not as a theory but as direct experience lies at the heart of Wujifa.

When we stand, we adopt a certain posture. What is the meaning of this posture? Tai chi and Qigong call it "Chi Flowing" but what does that mean to us, as practitioners of the practical method of Wujifa? Obviously, there is a physical human experience these ancient methods and ways of speaking are pointing to, so how can we better understand and experience this without becoming ungrounded from reality?

Take a look at the heart pictured above. Physically it is no different from the one in your chest right now. What is this picture missing that your living heart has? Your heart is connected to the rest of an integrated system, for one. Your heart moves. Your heart is involved in the flow of blood through your body. What is missing from the heart in the picture might be called "life".

In stance it is no different. Is your stance just like a picture in a book? To what degree is there connection, movement, and flow? I'm starting to notice this in my practice, and beginning to ask myself if I'm focusing on the heart in the picture, or the heart in my chest. One looks beautiful, but has no life, the other is part of who I am. Which will you choose to listen to?



Look at the amoeba in this video - and notice how everything moves through its whole body toward its food. If this isn't "Chi Flowing" I don't know what is.


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