Mission
The mission of Ki Workshop is to help people elevate consciousness; develop body, mind, and spirit; better understand themselves and each other; and discover the pure joy of Being in order to lead balanced, healthy and happy lives.
Ki Workshop focuses on self-defense in the broadest sense of the term. Not just defense against physical aggression or violence, but defense against accidental injury, sickness, stress, negative emotions and thought patterns, and all sorts of maladies stemming from lack of awareness and unconscious decision-making.
The best tool for self-defense of any sort is awareness. It is easy to recognize that a lapse of attention at a critical moment, such as driving through a busy intersection can have disastrous results. Imagine the effect of years of living in a state of chronic unawareness on your health and life! The more we are aware of, the more we know. The more we know, the better decisions we can make. Simple.
Means
Ki Workshop offers workshops, seminars, classes and private instruction in various forms of "mindful exercise," namely Yoga and Martial Arts. The idea behind Ki Workshop is that exercise doesn't have to be an unpleasant chore you have to distract yourself from while you are doing it, like watching TV on the treadmill. Rather, exercise should be something that you look forward to because it is enjoyable and rewarding, on a number of levels.
Life is one long learning process, and endless stream of decision after decision. Each decision we make, whether it is a conscious decision or not, has an effect on our lives and in part, determines what decisions we will face in the future. The purpose of life is to make the best of ourselves, and through conscious decision-making, to realize the inner divinity within us. Mindful exercise, or "physical spirituality" can be a powerful aid in achieving this goal.
Body, mind and spirit are not separate aspects of a person, but interconnected parts of one unified whole, each affecting and affected by the others. As a case in point, exercise has been shown to be effective in treating depression. What if exercise were a moving meditation? What if you could improve your physical and mental abilities at once? What if you could better understand the underlying cause of a physical challenge and see how it manifests in other areas of your life as well? What if your exercise could give you physical, as well as moral strength; physical, as well as intellectual flexibility? By integrating movement and introspection, engaging the mind with the body in exercise, a person can train to become healthier physically, mentally, and emotionally – all at the same time.
More and more American are beginning their search for personal fulfillment and meaning in life – and rightfully so! Ki Workshop recognizes the shortcomings of consumer culture in providing people with a sense of peace, security, purpose and meaning in their lives. In a society which implicitly values speed over quality, competition over cooperation, and promotes attitudes of fear and incredulity among its citizens, it is no wonder so many of us are riddled with stress, anxiety, depression, and feelings of isolation and emptiness. Ki Workshop seeks to address these issues by acknowledging the need for, and providing information, tools, and techniques that people can use to improve their physical, mental, and spiritual well-being.
Ki Workshop programs are based on Eastern philosophies and universal spiritual principles, which are NOT in conflict with any specific faith or belief system. It all comes down to knowing and making the best of ourselves. That is what Ki Workshop is about.
What is Ki?
Ki is the Japanese word for a concept that pervades Asian cultures. In Sanskrit, it is called prana; in Chinese, chi; in English, the closest words are energy, intent, consciousness, or life-force. This concept can appear mysterious at times, but so do the many wonders of science. Although technically invisible, Ki is a real, observable phenomenon. Like the wind that blows the branches of a tree, or electricity that powers a computer, only the effect of ki on things can be seen with the eye. Ki itself must be felt to be observed directly.
The various forms of ki (energy) constitute everything in the Universe, from physical objects (matter), to what we normally think of as energy (heat, light, sound, etc), to the most subtle and abstract objects (thoughts, emotions, etc.). This idea is fundamental to many Asian world-views, and is gaining more and more credibility in Western scientific communities as well. The field of quantum physics is showing that what our minds often perceive as solid matter, when examined at its most fundamental level, actually exists only as a bundle of energy and information, with no discrete boundaries or definable substance. Basically, what we usually think of as separate and different entities, such as thoughts and physical objects, are really just different frequencies or phases, of the same thing, like ice and steam, or visible light and ultra-violet light. Dr. Masaru Emoto has demonstrated that thoughts or emotions do indeed have an effect on physical reality in his fascinating experiments with water, as featured in the film, "What the Bleep Do We Know?"
In our daily lives, we exchange ki with our environment in countless ways: in the air we breathe, the food we eat, the clothes we wear, the music, books, films, TV, and other media we are exposed to, the words and ideas we hear and express, and on and on. We we are conscious of the fact that everything we interact with has an effect on and is affected by the various kinds of ki in our own bodies and minds
Breath and mind are intricately and inexorably connected – to control one is to control the other. Ki is the energetic link between the two. By learning to work with ki by consciously calming the mind and controlling the breath, coordinating it with movement, the body and mind can be made more efficient and powerful.
