The following is a guest article from Jarell Lindsey.
I want to present a concept to you. Walk through this scenario with me, if you will. You, right here and now, are tired, more so than you’ve been in a long time. The stress on your body and mind is something fierce, yet you’ve got to draw something deep, something primal to reach the goal you’ve set for yourself. You don’t have a cheering squad behind you to drive you to your task; your motivation has to come from within, but you struggle to find it. Still, your fatigue cannot, WILL not stop you. As a final resort, you concentrate on yourself, your body, your breathing. You do a simple exercise that reinvigorates you. I mean, you feel a tingling sensation all across your body; you begin to fill with so much strength and energy that your legs literally begin to shake. The technique gives you new strength, and a deep well of hidden power is unleashed as you roll a frying pan with your hands.
Wait, what?
Alright, the concept part is done, because we’ve now stepped into the truth that’s stranger than fiction. I attended a workshop with Chris Rider and Eric Moss in New Jersey on April 4th, and that is what happened. I found a well of internal power that gave me the strength and persistence to roll a frying pan like a pack of silly putty.
Wuxia novels, martial arts flicks, and qi gong gurus alike will outline different interpretations of that esoteric energy that people seem to draw out of themselves at critical moments. The articles and books have been written, and the movies have been overplayed, so I won’t go deeply into trying to convince you the difference between having internal energy and firing a Kamehameha. What I’ll say is that you’ve felt this energy before.
It’s slightly different from an adrenaline rush, when your heart joins a drum corps, time seems to slow down, and your breathing is reminiscent of bagpipes in the summer. What I’m referring to is like feeling when your mind reaches an alpha state, a moment of clarity or ingenuity that gives you the feeling that you can confront whatever task is before you. Perhaps you felt it on a sports team when you enter “the zone” and your movements seem to become more fluid. Perhaps you’ve had a creative idea that seemed to have no inspiration, but is one of your most prized thought forces.
I say “like” that feeling because this technique takes you even deeper than that mindstate, allowing you to not only consistently maintain it, but link your mind, body, and breathing with it. The core of it, as is the core of many energy techniques, lies in breathing.
First, you need to envision what it is that you wish to accomplish. For the sake of familiarity, I’ll use rolling the frying pan as an example. If you are familiar with Logan’s techniques, the visualization should come easily to you: you feel the weight of the pain in your hands, envision it rolling with ease, picture the sensation in your hands as it’s rolled and the feeling of victory you’ll have when you roll it. Then I want you to take a big, deep breath…
…out. I want you to exhale very deeply. For every two counts that you inhale, exhale four. Focus on breathing with your stomach for this (stomach expands as you breath in, and contracts as you breathe out) Do this for at least 10 breaths, but maintain your goal in your mind. Now go for it. Drive your soul into that goal with all the energy that you’ve built.
Now, this exercise will not overcome consistent practice; think of it as a supplement instead of a replacement. If you lack the base strength to bend a frying pan, this exercise will not empower you to bend the Brooklyn Bridge with your pinky. It does, instead, allow you to channel the strength of mind, body, and spirit that you already possess directly into the goal set before you. Think of it as transforming your racing mind with various thoughts from a shotgun into a sniper rifle. You have the mind and breath weapon; go forth and shoot.
“Strength is more than just muscle”
Find more from Jarell Lindsey at https://www.