Healing Aikido: An Internal Journey

Aikido is a martial art that is powerfully healing. Built within Aikido’s movements are thousands of years of martial technique and etiquette, and, at the same time, Aikido is new and fresh. Through the practice of Aikido, we connect the somatic body, the limitless mind, the compassionate heart, and the collaborative spirit. We do this integration, together, in a combination of learned forms and spontaneous flow that is relative to energy coming toward us. Aikido is not a dance; it is not a fight. Instead, it is a fully-human conversation, that, as a practice on the mat, teaches us how to better converse, when we are not on the mat. As humans, we have an ability to reestablish connection with a natural flow we may have forgotten. Aikido helps us learn and remember to move with that universal energetic flow that surrounds us, always. Learning and practicing in this flow is what makes Aikido healing as a personal practice and in community, as leaders who seek to heal our world. Aikido’s founder, Morihei Ueshiba, is called O-Sensei (great teacher). O-Sensei taught that the mission of Aikido is to bring people together as “a way to reconcile the world,” creating a single human family. As we practice Aikido, we constantly connect with and touch each other. Now, more than ever, we need to connect. While we currently are not touching, physically, we continue to learn how to extend, energetically, feeling each other’s intention, attention, and presence. “Up to now, old-time martial arts required years and years of practice before one could begin to understand the true purpose of budo [depth of martial prowess]. In contrast, the Aikido I have developed is a means to make this realization come quickly. This is the difference between old-style martial arts and Aikido. Those who are sensitive to the flow of energy, and in tune with their surroundings, are the ones that must take the lead by acting nobly and with determination.” -O-Sensei About the Class: People new to Aikido are welcome, to get a sense of the practice. This class also speaks to intermediate/advanced practitioners and teachers because I will be exploring foundational ideas of our practice. At the beginning of our time together, I will speak briefly about Shinto as we “bow-in” (a ritual to begin and end) then we will call-in three kami (great spirits) that O-Sensei often spoke of. Much of the class will explore Aikido's natural movement, letting it flow through our systems.