5: witnessing mind and the process of replacing reactivity with intention

My favorite activity for fostering awareness, and health for mind-body health is Martial Arts. Actively and mindfully practicing has been proven to bolster physical health, temper the mind by instilling discipline and confidence, and elevate the spirit. From a physical connection martial sciences by nature exercise both the mind and body. Lets take a simple punch for example. A punch tones and conditions the muscle. Punching quickly also exercise the lungs and core muscles when it is connected to breathing. The punch is first mechanical. After this the punch becomes aerobic this connects force of your punch now to your lungs. Now in order to punch effectively you need to become aware of your breathing. Deeper awareness connects intention to the activity. So with a simple punch you have “body” (the punch), “Mind” ( awareness of breath) and “spirit” (Intention of the punch). Intention especially comes into play in combat situations. This is similar in a martial art activities from the punch, kick , block, to Kata (self practice), weapons, and combat.