Releasing Stress with Martial Arts

Are you an executive or a busy mom trying to do everything? Are you so stressed that it seems like you’re not achieving anything? If so, you can use martial arts to deal with that stress! Many of the skills and techniques used in martial arts training are the same skills and techniques you can use to de-stress your body.

You may be wondering how skills normally referred to as combat tools can actually reduce stress… Some of these common descriptions of martial arts are not entirely accurate. Cartoons, video games, and movies that show martial arts as a means of combat only show you a small side of the art. The skills required for martial arts training can teach you how to balance your mind and body and give you the confidence you need to deal with stressful events in your life.

HOW YOU DO THAT?

One technique used to create this balance is the use of breathing and meditation techniques that help you connect and control your mind and body. There are different types of meditation: sitting, standing, kneeling and moving. Find the most suitable position for you. Here’s how to get started.

1. Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth.
2. Take a deep breath. To make sure you’re breathing deeply enough, place your hands on your stomach. If your stomach doesn’t push out when you inhale, you’re not breathing deeply enough. Try to get the air up to your navel before you let it out.
3. As you exhale, hold your tongue against the roof of your mouth. This will further help minimize your drooling and swallowing.

In the Chinese way of thinking, this breathing completes a pathway: the mouth is the gateway and the tongue on the roof of your mouth circulates your vital energy called “qi” or “chi” (both pronounced “chee”). your whole body Chi helps your body and mind connect.

Once you understand the physical aspect of breathing, you can start counting your breaths — this is a form of meditation that many experts teach in stress management classes. Start short and work your way up.

1. Start on inhaling to 4 and exhaling to 6.
2.  As you continue, stretch in and out until you can count to 6 on the inhale and 24-30 on the exhale. Remember that you want to inhale short and deep and exhale long and slow.

WHY WORK?

This mind-body connection through breathing works because stress is a mental condition that manifests as physical symptoms in your body. These physical symptoms then act as triggers to tell you to do something about it. As you become more aware of your body, you will be able to spot the “triggers” before they become something intolerable, such as: B. a severe neck problem or migraine headaches. Once you are aware of your triggers, you can stop and do something about them, e.g. B. Practice breathing techniques. For example, I used to have stress-related migraines that knocked me out all day. Now I realize it actually started as a small thing in my lower back. When I let it go, it gets ingrained in my head. Now when I see this trigger on my back, I stop and breathe. This allows the problem to surface so I can work on it and not have to deal with migraines.

We all have those moments from time to time when we experience stress (some more often than others). The overall mind and body benefits of practicing martial arts (including self-awareness, confidence, focus, concentration and physical conditioning) all work together to reduce this stress. You owe it to yourself to eliminate stress in your life with the skills taught through martial arts. The best place to acquire these skills is at a good martial arts school. Why don’t you try it? You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. To make it easier, I’ll help you get started. Just contact me and I’ll send you my free martial arts school selection report.