Benefits in Daily Life

• Mental Resilience: Learn to maintain calm and clear thinking during stressful situations

• Emotional Stability: Process feelings without being overwhelmed by them

• Physical Balance: Improve posture and physical presence in challenging environments

• Decision-Making: Make clearer choices by reducing mental clutter

• Continuous Renewal: Develop the ability to shed old patterns and adapt to changing circumstances

Table of Contents

• Reflection of the Week:

  • Path of Continuous Shedding

  • Relax Completely

  • The One Point as the "Magic Pot"

  • Stability Through Continuous Motion

  • Exercises

  • Extending to Daily Life

  • The Paradox of Continuous Stability

Reflection of the Week:

Path of Continuous Shedding

In Zen Buddhism, Dogen Zenji described "shinjindatsuraku" (身心脱落) or "bodymind molting." This practice of repeatedly shedding our constructed sense of self, much like a snake molting its skin, lies at the heart of our practice. This isn't something we do once and complete. It's a continuous process of letting go, again and again.

In our Ki Aikido practice we can practice this through Fudoshin (不動心) or "immovable mind." Far from being rigid or unchanging, true Fudoshin embodies stability through continuous movement, continuous renewal. Like a tree that remains standing through seasons of growth and release, we too find our strength not by clinging but by the ongoing practice of letting go.

Relax Completely

The second of Tohei Sensei’s Four Basic Principles captures this process: "Zenshin no chikara o kanzen ni nuku"—take the power of your whole self and throw it all away. This instruction initially seems counterintuitive. How does throwing away our power make us stronger?

The answer lies in understanding what we're actually releasing: our attachments, tensions, and self-limiting narratives. The "power of your whole self" that needs to be thrown away includes:

• The stories we tell ourselves about who we are and what we can or cannot do

• Self-judgments about our abilities, appearance, and worth

• Preconceptions about situations and other people

• Habitual tension patterns we've developed over years

• Social masks we wear in different contexts

• Emotional reactions that dictate our responses

• Even our attachments to past successes in "letting go"

Each time we practice, each time we face a new challenge, each time we enter the dojo, we must shed anew. Yesterday's letting go doesn't suffice for today's challenges. The stories, tensions, and patterns we release don't disappear permanently—they often return in new forms, requiring fresh recognition and renewed release.

This is the essence of "Relax Completely." Not a collapse into weakness, but a continual process of physical, mental, and emotional release. Like shinjindatsuraku, relaxing completely isn't achieved once for all time—it must be rediscovered moment by moment.

The One Point as the "Magic Pot"

Where can we throw all that stuff away? Tohei Sensei offered a particularly evocative answer when he called the One Point the "magic pot." This metaphor takes our understanding beyond just a physical location or focal point for attention.

The "magic" of this pot lies in its capacity. Tohei Sensei taught that the One Point can contain everything—all our scattered thoughts, our tensions, our strengths and weaknesses. Nothing is too big or too small for this container. When we truly commit to placing everything into this center, something transformative happens.

Think of the One Point not just as where we focus our attention, but as an active process. Our scattered energies become unified, our contradictory thoughts find resolution, our physical tensions dissolve into coordinated movement.

Stability Through Continuous Motion

When stationary, a top falls over easily. But set it in motion, and suddenly it becomes remarkably stable. Even when bumped or jostled, it wobbles momentarily but rights itself, continuing its dance.

This illustrates our central paradox: sometimes continuous change creates stability. The spinning top stays upright not despite its motion but because of it. The dynamic energy of rotation creates a steadiness that a static position cannot achieve.

We see this same principle in bicycles. Their wheels serve as gyroscopes—the faster they spin, the more stable the vehicle becomes. A stationary bicycle can barely stand on its own, but once in motion, it can maintain balance even when leaning into turns or going over uneven terrain. The spinning wheels create a stabilizing force that actively resists being tipped over.

In Ki Aikido, we embody this principle. If we try to be rigid and unchanging we are easily toppled. But if we maintain an ongoing process of shedding and renewal (i.e. relax completely), centered on the One Point, we experience remarkable stability.

Exercises

Exercise 1: Meditation with Shedding Focus Sit comfortably. With each exhale, identify something you're holding onto—a tension, a thought, a judgment—and consciously release it into your One Point. Notice the immediate lightness, then notice as new tensions or thoughts arise. Continue practicing the continuous cycle of identification, release, and renewal.

Exercise 2: Partner Practice - The Molting Cycle With a partner, practice a basic technique like Katatekosatori Kokyunage. Between each repetition, take a brief moment to "shed your skin"—let go of how you performed the technique last time, including both successes and failures. Approach each repetition with fresh awareness, as if performing it for the first time. Notice how this continuous renewal affects your execution.

Exercise 3: Daily Life Shinjindatsuraku Identify one recurring challenging situation in your daily life (a difficult conversation, a stressful commute, etc.). Practice approaching it with the shinjindatsuraku mindset—let go of how you responded before, shed preconceptions about how it will unfold, and enter the situation with renewed presence. Journal about the differences you observe.

Extending to Daily Life

The beauty of continuous shedding extends far beyond the dojo:

Professional Situations In rapidly changing work environments, those who cling to outdated methods or rigid identities struggle to adapt. By practicing shinjindatsuraku in your career—continuously shedding what no longer serves while maintaining your centered stability—you develop the rare capacity to remain grounded amidst constant change.

Personal Relationships Relationships stagnate when we cling to fixed images of ourselves and others. By continuously shedding your preconceptions about your partner, child, friend, or colleague, you create space for them to change and grow. Each interaction becomes an opportunity for discovery rather than confirmation of what you think you already know.

Health and Aging Our bodies are in constant flux—cells die and regenerate, systems adapt to changing conditions. Resisting this natural process of change creates suffering. By shedding our ideas of body image and physical capabilities, we develop a healthier relationship with the inevitable changes of aging and health fluctuations.

Emotional Resilience Emotions arise and pass away naturally when given space. By continuously shedding your attachment to both pleasant and unpleasant emotional states, we develop greater emotional fluidity. Like the spinning top that wobbles but rights itself, we can experience intense emotions without becoming destabilized by them.

The Paradox of Continuous Stability

Fudoshin and shinjindatsuraku present us with a beautiful paradox: we find our greatest stability through continuous change. Like the spinning top that remains upright because of its motion, we too find our center not by rigid fixation but through the ongoing process of shedding and renewal.

The spinning wheels of our practice keep us stable—not because we've perfected Fudoshin once and for all, but because we continually engage in the dynamic process of letting go. True immovable mind comes not from being unmovable but from being so completely in harmony with change that we maintain our essential stability through it all.

I invite you to experiment with this continuous practice of shedding. Notice what you're holding onto. Practice throwing it all away into your One Point. Notice when the next layer arises, ready to be shed. And please share your experiences—our collective wisdom enriches everyone's practice.

Upcoming Events

May 16 - 18, 2025 EKF Seminar hosted by Minnesota Ki Aikido Register Here

July 24 - 27, 2025 International Ki Conference taught by Kaicho Shinichi Tohei Sensei
Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina
https://internationalkiconference2025.com/

I look forward to seeing you on the mat (and in daily life) soon!