Exercises supporting the flips of The Zen Leader

Chapter 1 Exercises
Flip #1: Coping to Transforming

As every martial artist knows: effective action starts from being grounded and relaxed in ones physical body. Aikido makes this explicit with its basic principles: relax completely, keep one point. The latter refers to a point a couple inches below the navel, which is the physical center of effective movement. It also refers to a sense of centeredness: a state of ready acceptance. These two principles are linked because this state of acceptance emerges only to the degree that the body relaxes. The first exercise helps you find this relaxed center using the breath. The second exercise moves from this center, helping you enter and become the eye of the storm.

Centering
1. Stand comfortably, with the weight on the balls of your feet. Let your eyes soften, using peripheral vision to see 180 degrees around you all at once and nothing in particular. Picture your torso in the shape of a thermometer bulb, clear and relaxed in the shoulders and ribcage, with your belly free to expand with each breath. Place your hands on your lower belly and breathe slowly in and out through your nose, letting tension drop away with every exhale until you can feel your breath move under your hands (Figure 1-1a). On your next inhale, let your hands rise, palms up, to your solar plexus, allowing the breath to fill your belly from the bottom (Figure 1-1b). As you exhale, turn your palms to the ground and gently push them down, along with your breath. At the same time, imagine tiny rockets firing out of the heels of both feet and notice how this extends the backs of the legs, bringing the weight to the balls of the feet (Figure 1-1c). Release and relax on the inhale as hands rise up. Extend through the balls of the feet on the exhale as hands press down. (Figure 1-1b and c alternating). a
Inhale Keep shoulders down

Eyes 180

Ribs soften

2.

Belly free to expand with breath

Weight on the balls of the feet

3.

Exhale

4.

Fill belly

Hands press down

5.

Balls of feet press down

b Figure 1-1

Entering the Eye of the Storm

1. Stand with feet a bit wider than your hips, feet parallel, using peripheral vision to see 180 degrees around you all at once and nothing in particular (Figure 1-2a). Slightly bend your knees. Push your right foot down and twist to the left, keeping your upper body straight (Figure 1-2b). Transfer weight to the left foot and twist to the right (Figure 1-2c). Keep swinging left and right, your arms loose like spaghetti and your hands freely hitting your body before you reverse direction. Feel the movement come from your feet and belly center. Repeat 10x. Come to rest by cutting the motion in half, half again, etc. Picture a radiant sun at your center. Turn your palms outward and feel energy extending through your arms, hands, legs, feet and top of your head.

2.

3.

4.

Eyes 180 Shoulders relax Ribs soften Belly expands with breath

Go back and forth 10x

Weight on the balls of the feet

a. Front View

b. Side View

c. Opposite Side View Figure 1-2

d. Front View

Chapter 2 Exercises
Flip #2: Tension to Extension

Tension flips into extension when we have enough awareness and energy to let go of whats stuck. We can do this by punctuating work activities with mini-recovery breaks and, once or twice a day, engaging in a physically renewing practice. You can use the Down, Not Up Mini Break whenever you need to get unstuck from your head and centered in hara. Other mini-break ideas are also listed, as well as a host of longer term practices that may become part of your personal prescription for building and sustaining your energy over time.

Down, Not Up Mini Break

a. Stand comfortably, feet shoulder-width apart. Shrug your shoulders as high up toward your ears as possible, and then drop them, as in Figure 2-1a. Repeat several times; notice that you automatically exhale as you drop your shoulders. Loosen up your face. Do this by opening your jaw as wide as possible and closing it a few times; moving your lower jaw laterally back and forth a couple times, opening your eyes as wide as possible and closing them a couple of times; make a few crazy faces (Figure 2-1b). Loosen up your neck. Stretching your neck long, lay your left ear over toward your left shoulder. Roll your head forward and around like a free-swinging pendulum until your right ear is toward your right shoulder (see Figure 2-1c). Stretch your neck long, and roll back the other way. Repeat a few times. Shake out any tension in your arms and hands. Standing on one foot, shake out tension in your legs one at a time. Retuning to a still position, bring your awareness to your breath and do several, ever-slower inhales and exhales of the Centering breath exercise (Figure 2-1 d, or see Chapter 1 exercises if you need a refresher). Stand, breathing naturally to and from your hara (Figure 2-1e).

b.

c.

d.

c
Inhale Exhale

e.

Fill belly

d Figure 2-1

Other Ideas for Mini Breaks

When you need a 2-minute break you might try one of these, or make up your own:

Get outside Breathe a few sighs of relief Massage your eyes Get a drink of water and/or a 100-150 calorie snack Stretch Sing, use your voice to make simple vowel sounds: ah, oh, etc., yell! Shake out tension Kick off your shoes and massage your feet, pressing on the soles with your thumbs, and opening the bridge of the foot like a fan Take a brief walk Listen to a piece of music, move to a piece of music, play a piece of music if you can Splash warm or cool water on your face Move away from your desk, go talk to someone

Ideas for Practice

Depending on what you enjoy or need, work some of these into your day or week, or come up with similar ideas of your own. In chapter 5, youll see each column of ideas relates to a specific energy pattern.

To speed up or sharply focus your energy: Running Karate Weightlifting Cardio machine (hard and fast) Kendo, sword work Bicycling (hard and fast) Aggressive sports Skiing (hard and fast) Tennis Things done with cutting, sharp motions

To slow down or stabilize your energy: Walking Ballet, formal dance Yoga Meditation Dressage Ceramics Housecleaning Organizing a space Woodworking Needlepoint Things done step-bystep

To brighten or lighten up your energy Latin, Swing-era ballroom dance Aikido Golf (the swing) Skating, rollerblading Swimming Bicycling (slow and easy) Skiing (slow and easy) Weaving Juggling Team sports (more fun than competitive)

To open up or be more present in your energy Tai Chi, Chi Kung Meditation (flow state, Samadhi) Sailing Hangliding Scuba diving Snorkeling Photography (in the moment) Being out in nature Things that stimulate the senses

Chapter 4 Exercises
Flip #4: From Out There to In Here

Our ability to see into the mirror and find our root fears can be systemically accelerated by practices that build awareness and relaxation in the body. Why? Because psychological fears are also manifest as held tension and stuckness in the body. Once that tension releases, its as if the fear loses its hiding place. The more free and clear we are in our body, the fewer hot buttons we have, the fewer hooks we have to take things personally. Two excellent ways to build awareness and relaxation in the body are through meditation and deep bodywork.

Deep bodywork includes various traditions of bodytherapy (e.g., Zentherapy, Integral Bodywork, Rolfing)
and deep tissue massage. As the bodytherapist works outside in, finding stuck points where were carrying our pain, we can work inside out to release those tight muscles, whereupon the pain decreases, and eventually dissipates as that part of the body clears. We might not know exactly what fear that pain was tied to. But ask any bodyworker, and he or she can tell you countless stories of clients who have vibrant memories and emotions that surface when a muscle releases. Deep bodywork is priceless practice for conditioning our body to release its fears. In meditation, we stop the body and, sitting still with all senses open, we can cultivate a condition of complete relaxation and complete awareness inside-and-out all at the same time. After about 20 minutes of this practice, people commonly experience an abrupt drop in tension (dropping into the hara its called in my Zen tradition). This is not something we can consciously will, because this tension is not conscious in the first place. But when it falls away, it feels like, Ah-h-h, why was I carrying all that? And yet we do. We all do. The best way to learn meditation is with the guidance of a skilled teacher. Seek one, and you will almost certainly find one. But if youd like to get started on your own, or refresh what you already know about meditation, the following practice will help.

Sitting Meditation
1. Loosen up your neck and shoulders, shaking out any superficial tension. Sit on a cushion or chair, with your spine as naturally straight as it would be if you were standing. Your hip joints should be slightly higher than your knees (see Figure 4-1) Eyes take in 180 vision, with your gaze splashing off the floor a few feet in front of you. Arc your arms into letter Cs, with your shoulders relaxed and the blades of your hands on your center (i.e., hara), palms up, one hand on top of the other, slightly below your navel. Here, your hands can feel the breath move to and from your hara. Fold in the thumb of your lower hand and close your upper hand around it. Breathe quietly in and out through your nose. As you start to exhale imagine two things: first, a slight current of energy extending through the balls of your feet (or through your knees, if on a cushion) down into the earth. With this slight extension, youll notice a thereness or set feeling in your hara, and a sense of extension through your spine and out the top of your head (Figure 4-1c). Second, in your minds voice link your exhale with a deep vowel sound, starting with ah-h-h, and working through ay, ee, oh, and uu on successive breaths. Let the imagined sound penetrate all the way through your exhale, making it as long and slow as you comfortably can. After uu, or if you lose your place, go back to ah. 3. At the end of your exhale, relax completely (i.e., quit extending energy) and allow the inhale to happen on its own, from the bottom up (Figure 4-1d). Continue in this way, alternating slight extension as you exhale and relax as you inhale. As thoughts or impulses arise, simply watch them without getting lost in them, and blend them with your breath and voiceless vowel sound. It is this bringing the mind back to the breath that builds awareness and trains the mind. Sit for 20 minutes.

2.

a Front View: on Chair

b Side View: on cushion

o-o-o-o-o 2

relax set

exhale

inhale

Figure 4-1 Posture for Sitting Meditation

Chapter 6 Exercises
Flip #6: Controlling to Connecting

An Invitation to Samadhi
Samadhi is a state of complete connectedness, in which thought is suspended, as no I stands apart to think. This connectedness is not an exotic condition, but a natural state that arises when were absorbed into our setting. For example, in a thrilling baseball game when the pitch is thrown, the bat is swung, a moment of collective Samadhi arises in the absorbed tracking of the ball. Or at the end of a momentous symphony, in a brilliant performance that has captured the audience, the quiet of Samadhi rides on the end of the closing note before thunderous applause erupts. As these examples illustrate, Samadhi arises on its own. It cannot be willfully entered, because that which would will it is none other than the stand-apart I. That said, the body and breath can be developed in ways that become conducive to this condition arising. And the exercises themselves are relaxing and rejuvenating. Without trying to make anything happen, invite your body and breath into the exercises that follow. Let the quiet of Samadhi come to you. The breathing series that follows is adapted from hara development exercises taught at Chozen-ji and from Lisa Sarasohns exercises in The Womans Belly Book (Novato, CA , New World Library, 2006), used with permission. I gratefully acknowledge these sources.

First, Establish the Center

1. Stand with feet hip-width apart, arms at side (Figure 6-1a). Beginning a long, slow inhale through your nose, let your arms drift straight up in front of you (Figure 6-1b). When theyre parallel to the floor, moving ever-so-slowly, open the arms 180 degrees, letting your vision expand at the same time (Figure 61c). Continue to inhale, and lift your arms overhead, palms to the sky. Stretch slightly toward the sky at the end of your inhale, slightly lifting your heels, shifting your weight toward the balls of the feet (Figure 6-1d). Set, meaning set down your heels, maintaining a slight pressure from the balls of your feet into the earth, and feel a connection to the base of your hara. Exhaling slowly through your mouth, make the sound of a-a-ay (i.e., long ) as if from the hara itself. Through the base of both palms, extend outward, turning the wrists back 90 degrees, and slowly arc your arms back to center (Figure 6-1e). At the end of your exhale, relax completely and begin again. Repeat for 5-10 breath cycles.

2.

a-a-a-y

c Figure 6-1

Second, Release Whats Holding

a-h-h-h

1.

Stand with feet in a wide, but comfortable horse stance. Inhaling through your nose, and hunkering down slightly, gather your forearms together in the middle of your chest, as if to metaphorically gather any worry, concern, or thought of any kind (Figure 6-2a). Exhaling through your mouth, make the sound of ah-hh as you straighten your legs, open your arms, and release any and all holding. Let the sound of ah-h-h resonate through your entire being, with nothing held back or bound. As your arms open, let your eyes also drift to 180 degrees, and see with your ears. At the end of your exhale, pause for a moment to hang in this openended Now. (Figure 6-2b). Draw in your arms and inhale for the next cycle; repeat for 5-10 breath cycles.

2.

a Inhale: Gather

b Exhale: Release

Figure 6-2

Third, Hear/Feel Your Entire Body All At Once

1. Stand with feet in a wide, but comfortable horse stance, shoulders relaxed, eyes 180 degrees. Lightly press your palms together at your hara, fingers pointing downward (Figure 63a). Breathe in and out quietly through your nose. As you begin each exhale, slightly extend the balls of your feet into the earth, and maintain this extension through a long, slow exhale. Relax on the inhale, and let it happen on its own. Repeat several breath cycles. Continue breathing the same way as above. Leaving your left hand where it is, rotate your right elbow so that your right hand points upward, thumb side touching your chest. As you feel the contact of your hand, release any tension in your chest, so that the touch can be felt all the way to your spine (Figure 6-3b). Repeat several breath cycles in this posture. Continue breathing the same way as above. Leaving your left hand where it is, extend your right hand just over your head, pointing upward, near the back of your skull, where your spine would extend if you had a few more vertebrae (Figure 6-3c). As you exhale, feel both the groundedness of hara under your left hand, and the extension of your spinal energy through your right hand. Repeat several breath cycles in this posture, opening your senses and feeling/hearing everything within you and around you. Continue breathing the same way as above. Leaving your left hand on the hara, rotate it so that the palm faces up. Draw your right hand back down to chest level, fingers pointing nd upward, as in the 2 posture (Figure 6-3d). Again, as you make contact with the chest, empty any tension that has accumulated, feeling the contact all the way to your spine. Repeat several breath cycles in this posture, feeling/hearing your entire body all at once. Continue breathing the same way as above. Leaving your left hand on the hara, palm up, rotate your right elbow so that your right hand, also palm up, comes to rest on your left. Fold in the thumb of your left hand and gently cup it in the right; this is the same hand position as for sitting meditation (Figure 6-3e). Repeat several breath cycles in this posture, feeling/hearing your entire body, your entire world, all at once. c

2.

3.

4.

5.

d Figure 6-3

Chapter 7 Exercises
Flip #7: From Driving Results to Attracting the Future

Hopefully, youve already experienced all four energy patterns, and have a sense about how each of them plays differently through you. The more easily and instantly you can move between any of them, the more all of them are simultaneously available to you right Now. These two exercises help you experience all 4 patterns at once, and then create a driving rhythm without losing the connected state. They are simple, but subtle, and deepen with practice.

All Patterns At Once

1. Establish the Center and Extension. We start with the same breathing exercise you did at the end of Chapter 6, also depicted below (Figure 7-1). This time, as you press the balls of your feet into the earth and palms upward (Figure 7-1d), pay particular attention to the base of the abdomen. This is the Driver center and you can feel it firing whenever you push. As you open your arms on the exhale (Figure 7-1e), notice energy out the top of your spine through the top of your head. This is the Visionary center, which is not fixed in the body, but extends outward. Notice both solid foundation (Driver) and extension (Visionary) at the same time. Repeat several times until you can feel both patterns at once.

a-a-a-y

c Figure 7-1

All Patterns At Once cont.

2. Add Rhythm and Stillness. Breathing in and out through your nose, start shifting your weight from foot to foot, feeling a gentle rhythm come up from the earth through your entire body. Let your head move as well, and your hands make figure-8s (Figure 7-2b). Pay particular attention to your belly as the center of this Collaborator swinging (Figure 7-2c). Keep listening to that belly center as you cut the motion by half, and half, and half again, like a string damping out, but still capable of vibration. In this dynamic stillness, touch your palms together just above your solar plexus (dont press), forearms making a straight line from elbow-to-elbow (Figure 7-2d). Notice the uprightness and calm of this Organizer center coming to life. Feel both the rhythmic potential of the Collaborator and the stillness of the Organizer at the same time.

d Figure 7-2

3.

All At Once. Breathe out through your nose, extend through the balls of your feet into the earth, open your arms wide and feel your eyes, ears and all senses open (Figure 7-2e). Relax on the inhale and continue breathing in this rhythm. Let your arms drift down and stand in stillness (Figure 7-2f). Feel the Drivers power, the Collaborators rhythm, the Organizers calm and the Visionarys extension all at once.

Driving Rhythm
1. Starting from feeling your entire body and all patterns at once (Figure 7-3a), open the palm of your left hand and very slowly start chopping it with the blade of your right hand. Keep your hand soft and feel each plodding chop like a heavy step (Figure 7-3b). Now sharpen your hands a bit by extending energy through your fingers and pick up the pace of your chopping until it matches a brisk walk (Figure 7-3c). Feel into your body for anything that tightened when you picked up the pace and relax it, returning to your all-at-once state, even as you continue chopping. Keep going back and forth between focusing on your chopping and feeling your entire body all at once. Play with different rhythms; see if you can pick out the rhythm of the day (hint: its around a walking pace and feels slightly easier to maintain than other rhythm). A driving rhythm is neither fast nor slow; rather it matches conditions and stays just half a beat ahead riding the crest of the wave.

2.

b Figure 7-3

2012, Ginny Whitelaw. Selected exercises in chapters 2, 4, 6 and 7 are reprinted, with permission of the publisher, from THE ZEN LEADER: 10 WAYS TO GO FROM BARELY MANAGING TO LEADING FEARLESSLY Published by Career Press, Pompton Plains, NJ. www.focusleadership.com

to learn more about our programs, contact Anthony@focusleadership.com