This 3’ by 9’ beautiful piece reads ‘Ki-Shin-Tai’ which translates as ‘Mind-Body-Heart connection’. It now lives above our shoman as a constant reminder to live the warriors path as a full being.
Aiki-Girl Reflections
Today after class, I started thinking about what’s happening in our world. There are many views and opinions that people share, and I try to remain neutral and respectful of everyone’s opinions and political views. For the most part, I like to believe those views come from a place where people want to see good come to this world, they just come from different angles. Much like aikido right!
It got me thinking about the principles of Aikido and how universal they are. How these principles can be applied everywhere in life, and easily adapted to be useful for everyone.
Fundamentally, Aikido is the notion of embodiment and healing, of the mind-body split, pandemic in modern life. Having a physical body is basic to living. It is critically important that we learn to be respectful, integrated, and whole beings. If we go back into history we understand the origins of how we got to such a place of duality, disconnecting our mind from body, and our emotion from spirit. And now I feel, in our modern world we are paying high costs as individuals and as the worlds dominant species, in terms of alienation and illness, violence and war, pollution and environmental decay.
The mind body split teaches us to distrust, ignore, or override the innate wisdom of our bodies including gut feelings, natural desires, and the secret language of the heart. Access denied to the creativity and sensuality that come from body-based intelligence. Body shame. Self hatred. Deep-rooted confusion about sexuality. An unconscious alienation from the body, and the ability to punish our own bodies makes it easier to punish someone else’s body.
As aikidoka, it is important that we train the techniques, not only as a physical movements, but practice them with meaning and application in how to behave out in the world. It’s not about becoming the strongest, fastest, the best, or where you rank in any martial arts organization. It’s not about defeating or vanquishing outer opponents. It’s about focusing on what O’Sensei (the Founder of Aikido) called “achieving self victory”, by “polishing the self” and conquering “the mind of discord within”. This is something to think about, on and off the mats.
–Maria Ferraro
“The Way of the Warrior is to manifest Divine Love, a spirit that embraces and nurtures all things. The Way of the Warrior, is to stop trouble before it starts. It consists in defeating your adversaries spiritually by making them realize the folly of their actions. The Way of the Warrior is to establish harmony. Ultimately, you must forget about technique. The further you progress, the fewer teachings their are. The Great Path is really No Path. Real Budo is the protection of all beings with a spirit of reconciliation.”
I often feel the best way to bring peace to yourself, to others, to our world, is to be work on yourself. Be an example, lead by example, words are not always necessary, and intention is everything. Let’s reconnect our Mind-Body-Heart, and live Aikido on and off the mats.