Hapkido and Relaxing the Mind by KJN Jae Jeannotte

Hapkido and Relaxing the Mind by KJN Jae Jeannotte

Now in my fourth decade of teaching Hapkido I have seen literally hundreds of students who learned to apply Hapkido training to reduce stress and relax. If you ask anyone why they are under stress most of the week, what answer do you expect to get? I have so much work to do, deadlines to meet, tasks to be completed, prepare for the new baby etc. Don’t you think that something like this will be the response?

What is relaxation?

In common terminology, relaxation means that we leave ourselves free of tension. In Hapkido we teach that relaxing mind may mean that the mind is not under stress or active. In today’s lifestyle, this looks difficult. Isn’t it? Not if you learn Hapkido. Hapkido classes are not just great exercise or a way to learn self-defense but also an effective method of reducing stress.

Now a days, most of us believe to be being under stress during most of the week and relax only on the weekends. This is considered the common way of life. Is this the right way of living? Is living a relaxed life all the time not our right? Let us reclaim it by training in Hapkido regularly.

Bad stress – Let us discuss why most of us are stressed all the time.

At some time in our life, while we are chasing the dreams, we lose our habit of sitting back and reflecting. We begin giving auto responses. If we are held up in a traffic jam, our response is – either to worry about the work ahead or blame the system or some such negative thought. Not many of us think – All right. If the traffic is not moving, let me relax, listen to some good music, or go back to some childhood memories, remember good friends, let me make the best use of the time to relax and enjoy life. Not many of us respond in this way. We respond in stressed way whenever we come across any similar situation. This habit is taking a big toll on our quality of life. That is why during those moments I rely on my Hapkido breathing to bring down my stress level and blood pressure.

Stress – A way of life.

We have taken stress as a way of life. Very few of us think about why they are trying to work at such a hectic pace and if ultimately, we are going to leave this world with a lot of incomplete work, why not at least work in a relaxed way? What is the use of working so much if we kill all the joy. In search of a better tomorrow, we kill the present.

Stressed work environment, stressed family life, no time to just walk around doing nothing but watch the nature…Why? It is as if we want to achieve most in the shortest possible time and therefore have no time to relax Working non-stop all the week is a way of life for a large majority.

The increase in cardiac attacks, depression etc, are all the results of this stressed lifestyle. When we get stressed, we look around for the latest stress busters, latest therapies, etc. to counter the stress.

And then by the time the week is over, we again go out somewhere to relax when if fact we could have used Hapkido to help us stay relaxed all week long.

Sometimes holidays also stress us, don’t they?

Why not lead a relaxed life all through the week?

Why not work in a relaxed frame of mind? Why get stressed?

Reflection about our own life is very essential if we want to reclaim our right to live peacefully. Will it help if we bring some beautiful scenes of nature into our minds? Will it help, if we visualize beautiful mountains and forests while doing our Hapkido breathing and meditation? Can it make us little relaxed?

If your answer is yes, then make a note on your calendar to practice this every day for a few minutes until it becomes a habit that benefits your health for the rest of your life.

About the author: KJN Jae Jeannotte is a lifelong martial artist who has served as an officer in some capacity in several of the top Hapkido organizations in the world. He is the Founder of JaeMuKwan Hapkido which is recognized by several of the leading Korean organizations. KJN Jeannotte is also the Chairman of the USA Hapkido Union Board of Advisors.

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