When we feel good about ourselves, that feeling tends to carry over into other aspects of our lives.
Our outlooks improve and, as this happens, our relationships and even our opportunities improve.
But external results must not be our primary motive as they are largely outside of our control.
Our focus should be on living better, feeling better, and behaving better.
By changing our actions in a healthy way, we change our bodies and minds in a healthy way.
Inevitably, this will have a natural ripple effect in the rest of our lives.
Change like this happens slowly, over a long period of time, however, so we have to be patient and trust the process.
The truth is, if we are healthier in mind, body, and spirit, even if nothing around us changes in kind, we will still be better off for our efforts and more well adapted to interact with an unhealthy world in a healthy way.
‘Healthy Change’ by Robert Van Valkenburgh
HOLISTIC BUDO: As in Life, so too in Budo. As in Budo, so too in Life.
What can we do today to promote mental, physical, and emotional health and well-being for ourselves and those around us?
With more time on our hands than usual lately, many of us are thinking about what an ideal, productive, and healthy day can and should look like. Here are some general guidelines, a checklist if you will, for a pretty full and fulfilling day. This is intended only to be helpful and can be adapted based on individual needs and circumstances (family, work, ability, etc.) and, obviously, as with all ideals, the goal is incremental progress and consistency through practice, not immediate perfection.
For The Mind
Meditate – Sitting, Standing, Moving, Silent, Guided, or Using an App such as Calm, Headspace, or Waking Up
Squat Something – Bodyweight Squats, Back Squats, Front Squats, Goblet Squats, Lunges, etc.
Hinge Something – Deadlifts, Kettlebell Swings, Tire Flips, Clean, Snatch, etc.
Carry Something – Farmer Carry, Front Rack Carry, Goblet Carry, Overhead Carry, etc.
For The Community
Cook Something – Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Snacks, etc. Make it up, Follow a Recipe, Watch a Video, etc. (see also: Learn Something above)
Teach Something – Kindness, Reading, Writing, Math, Science, Martial Arts, Yoga, Investing, or whatever you have to offer to whoever is willing and in need
Give Something – A Hug, A Smile, A Phone Call, A Meal, A Kind Word, A Book, etc.
Express Gratitude For Something – Waking Up, The Sunshine, The Rain, Family, Job, Health, etc.
Repeat as Necessary & to the Best of Your Ability
*Disclaimer: Always consult your physician before beginning any exercise program. This general information is not intended to diagnose any medical condition or to replace your healthcare professional. Consult with your healthcare professional to design an appropriate exercise prescription. If you experience any pain or difficulty with these exercises, stop and consult your healthcare provider.
Holistic Budo: As it is in budo, so too it is in life. As it is in life, so too it is in budo.
Robert Van Valkenburgh is co-founder of Taikyoku Mind & Body and Kogen Dojo where he teaches Taikyoku Budo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
All photos by Robert Van Valkenburgh unless otherwise noted.
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Choose a practice that affects you in the way that you want to affect others.
If we commit ourselves to a practice consistently enough, over a long enough period of time, for better or worse, that practice will begin to shape who we are and how we relate to the world. Oftentimes, our actions and our interactions affect our thinking much more than our thinking affects our actions. What we do, how we do it, and who we do it with transforms us as well as our perceptions and that, in turn, transforms the way that we relate to and move through the world.
Martial art practice, as one example, is a microcosm of human development, behavior, and relationships that, within the right (or wrong) circumstances, becomes an operating system for our lives. Not all operating systems are created equal, however, nor do they all serve as healthy models of human interaction. For this reason, as important as an effective martial art practice is, it is equally important to consider how the martial art we practice will affect us and how we will affect others because of it.
Martial arts were always intended to be more than simply a peacetime hobby for self improvement or even self-defense. Especially in samurai-era Japan, the martial arts were used as a means by which to affect society and culture as a whole in accordance with the ideas and ideals of that particular martial group. This is part of the meaning behind the name Holistic Budo, in fact, which is to say that this is a blog about how martial arts can positively affect and shape our thinking and behavior so that, through them, we can positively affect and shape our relationships, society, and culture.
Holistic Budo: As it is in budo, so too it is in life. As it is in life, so too it is in budo.
Meditations on God 