Meditation can be a very loaded word in our western society. It can conjure images of mountain top monks, martial arts movies, or trendy yoga studios. Thanks to pop culture, the western world has been given a huge amount of misinformation regarding this practice and as a result, it can seem unapproachable or intimidating for a great many people. Even those of us who have studied Pa Kua for a while might have some incorrect assumptions about it. With this in mind, the following are some of the most common misconceptions surrounding meditation and some ideas on how to make this invaluable practice work for you.

1. Meditation Means Sitting A Certain Way 

   The most common posture to take when meditating is achieved by sitting cross legged on the floor, with the spine erect and the body relaxed. It looks very pretty and originates from eastern cultures which had a tradition of sitting this way. While there are many benefits to this posture, for many western adults, the last time they sat cross legged on the floor was during elementary school. As a result, it can be both uncomfortable and frustrating to try and sit this way. Don’t let your ego get in the way! You can use a chair, bench, or even lie down if it helps. Your main goal should be to position your body in a way that allows your body to feel stable, but your mind to stay alert. In other words, lying down might be helpful, but maybe not in your bed. If you sit in a chair, sit away from the back of the chair and try to keep your back straight. You should never feel like you are fighting against your own body, find what works best for you.

2. Meditation Means Clearing Your Mind 
This is such inaccurate advice that it is almost laughable. Meditation is NOT about clearing your mind or thinking about nothing. In point of fact, it is closer to the direct opposite. One of the most basic forms of meditation goes something like this: 1) Focus on your breathing. 2) Get distracted by the laundry you still have to do.  3) Realize you’re thinking about laundry. 4) Return to your breathing. 5) Start thinking about what you’re going to cook for dinner. 6) Realize you’re thinking about cooking.  7) Return to your breathing….ect. It’s not about suppressing or pushing away your thoughts and feelings, but about noticing them and not becoming attached to them. The breath is your reminder to come back to the present moment. This will allow you to get separation and perspective on these thoughts. A very famous metaphor is looking at your thoughts as if they were a weather pattern passing by above you. If it starts to rain, you simply notice it is raining. Barring superpowers, you have no way of stopping the rain, so you simply let the weather be what it is.

3. Meditation Is Something You can Succeed At  

There are days when you will go to the gym, or go on a run, and feel great when you are done. At other times, it will be a struggle just to get yourself out the door and you might only run half as far as you planned.  Likewise, there are days when you will meditate and feel great and others when you will not. There is no way to “succeed,” at meditating. No way to win it or beat it. Whatever comes up for you in the moment is what “success” looks like. That might mean you simply zone out and feel more relaxed, or you uncover some painful emotions. It might mean feeling sweaty, getting frustrated because you aren’t “doing it right,” and then giving up after thirty seconds. Each of these scenarios is what meditating can look like. The judgements we place upon ourselves do not have a place in this practice (though they will always fight to be there). There is no one way that meditation is supposed to feel or look. Just by sitting down and making the attempt, you have “succeeded,” because you’ve just learned something about yourself.

4. Meditation Is A Spiritual or Religious Practice

It can be. Though it doesn’t need to be. If you come from an upbringing, belief system, or culture that shies away from things like spirituality and religion, meditation is still for you. In fact, there are concrete scientific studies which show the positive effects of meditation on the brain. It reduces stress, relieves anxiety, helps with emotional regulation, and lengthens attention spans. There are plenty of books and videos on meditation that approach it from a modern and scientific perspective. In Pa Kua terminology, we would call meditation part of the “universal knowledge,” that is available to anyone regardless of culture, nationality, or belief.

5. Meditation Takes Time

Even ten minutes can feel like a lifetime if you’re waiting for your food to cook. In the same way, most people bite off more than they can chew when they first decide to try meditating. Not only that, but who has the time when work emails are coming in, the kids are screaming, and the cat is scratching the couch? If you’re totally new, instead of trying to meditate for any specific amount of time, give the following exercises a try. 1) Take three full and conscious breaths in and out. See if you can feel the air going all the way to your lunges and back out. You can do this in the car, on the walk between your desk and the water cooler, in the supermarket, or even on your thirty second elevator ride. The simple act of taking these three breaths will allow you to ground yourself and serve as a mini mediation. 2) When you’re eating, see if you can close your eyes, savor the food, and experience all of the sensations that come with it. Is it hot? Cold? Sour? Can you taste the separate elements of the dish? Congratulations you’ve just meditated and we got it down to three seconds!

        The hardest part of meditating is having the patience to recognize your own judgements and biases towards yourself. Your ego tells you that you have to meditate a certain way, your fear tells you that it’s too difficult, society tells you that you should be working,  and the longer you fight those things the farther away from yourself you will get. In its simplest form, meditation is about breathing, being in the present moment, and coming back to who you really are.   

Recently, Instructor Mo Williams completed his first fast and wanted to share some of his thoughts on the experience with all of you. 

     About a week ago I was sitting in the studio listening to Master Billingsley speak to a group of us, and for reasons I cannot fully describe, I decided that I was going to try fasting for the first time. I’d like to tell you this came as some great epiphany, but it was really just a random decision I made in the moment. I was immediately terrified. I had no idea if I could actually do it, and it sounded like an awful lot of work.

     Like many of us, I had toyed with the idea of fasting since I first began training over a year ago. There was always a completely justifiable reason as to why I shouldn’t or couldn’t do one, but assured myself that someday I was going to be ready, and when that day came, I’d turn myself into the Buddha and reach the highest plains of physical and mental enlightenment in no time flat…Just not right now. Then, in a random moment, I surrendered to the idea and told Master Billingsley. Telling the Master served two purposes; to get some much needed advice and to maintain accountability. I then waited in a panic for Friday to come and my suffering to begin.

     The Master gave me a few pieces of advice. 1) Accept that you might not make it, but understand that there is something to learn, even from failure. Make sure to reflect on the things you are saying to yourself and how that manifests in your actions. 2) Try and eat as cleanly as possible leading up to the fast, this will help you transition easier. Fasting is always going to be harder for someone who has a poor diet, especially if you eat a lot of processed food. 3) Drink water in large gulps instead of sipping it. This will help your stomach to feel full. 4) The Yin always comes first.

     While not yet a Pa Kua Master, I am a master of the ancient art of junk food, and would never describe myself as a healthy eater. Like many of us, my relationship with food is fraught with shame, guilt, and the impulsive need to lull myself into a sugar induced stupor to avoid my problems. I didn’t eat my first proper salad until I was sixteen and grew up thinking french fries counted as a vegetable. Over the last ten years I have made significant changes to my diet, including giving up red meat and soda, but like any good addict, I still have dreams of bacon filled soft drinks most nights. I tell you all this so you understand. I am like all of you. I struggle everyday to let go of my fears, excuses, and impulses and make the changes we all know will make our lives better.

     When Thursday arrived, I got halfway through the day and was struck by another thought. “Why am I waiting until Friday?” The day was completely arbitrary and I had no other important commitments that would require me to be in possession of my full faculties, so I made another decision. I was going to start right now. This was inspired by something Master Billingsley had said to me a few weeks ago about the idea of waiting. What was I waiting for? The “right time,” of course. It seems many of us are always waiting for the future, for the moment when it feels safe enough to step out of our comfort zone. As a result, we do not grow or change, because that time never comes. It is important to remember that the only moment we have, the only time that exists is right now. Plus, you might as well rip the band-aid off instead of dragging it out. Let the suffering begin!

     I think it’s important at this moment to point out one of the first things I learned about fasting…one of the biggest questions to ask yourself is WHY? Why do you want to fast? Is it purely for bodily health? Is it to prove something to yourself? Is it to prove something to someone else? I believe that your motivation can completely change the experience. For me, fasting was about learning about my own anxiety. Since fasting seemed scary to me, I hoped it might help me put some of my other fears into perspective.

     Being an avid hiker and backpacker, I am good at suffering. In fact many of my favorite activities are all about working incredibly hard through a lot of discomfort. Suffering is something that gives me a sense of accomplishment and a feeling of superiority to those around me. It’s not the most gracious reason to enjoy the great outdoors, but it’s the ugly truth. Why is this significant? Because as I began to reflect, I realized that I did not want my fasting experience to be about suffering, I did not want to fast to prove something to anyone else. I wanted to take this small journey with curiosity, like a scientist or explorer, so that I might discover new things about myself. I believe that this was one of the greatest tools I had in overcoming the obstacles that I would face over the next couple of days. Try and look at your fasting experience with an open mind, this will make it a lot less scary, and maybe even a little fun?

     Unsurprisingly, the first day is easy. Most adults I know have had to do a short fast for a doctor’s visit or because they forgot to bring lunch to work, so the first day was a piece of cake…mmmm cake. It did take my partner a bit to adjust, as we had to organize our days a little differently. She would eat upstairs, while I wasn’t around.

     This brings me to the next lesson. It is important to establish firm boundaries and expectations with those around you ahead of time. Don’t want until you’re weak and “hangry” to tell her wife or children not to eat in front of you. I live with three other roommates, so it was a bit inconvenient for me to ask them all to stop eating around me for three days, so I had to find ways to hide myself away when dinner was being cooked. This dynamic can be especially tricky because many people’s time for connection comes along with their daily meals, so it is necessary to find alternative ways to share in those experiences. The fear of missing out is a real and present threat to the success of your fast.

     Going into the second day I had anticipated that it might be the most difficult. Most people I spoke to mentioned this and they were right. I woke up around 6 a.m. with a slight headache and milled about my living room in a daze, trying to get the hunger pains to pass. When they subsided a bit, I decided to sit down and meditate. Throughout the day I found my energy cycling up and down, but tried to set my expectations low for what I was going to accomplish that day. I found myself bargaining and time moved to a crawl.

     Shockingly, eating takes up much more of your day than you realize. Not just the act of eating itself but also buying,preparing, and cleaning. Plus, the endorphins and all the other goodies food produces in your brain makes time seem to move much quicker. When you take all that away, you end up with a lot more time on your hands. You are forced to slow down both mentally and physically. Sometimes, there is nothing to do but look inward and this can be very uncomfortable. You may find your mind drifting towards things you did not want to see or hadn’t been aware of. It can be a surprisingly emotional experience.

     About halfway through the second day the first bout of panic set in. There is a primordial part of your brain that starts shouting, “You’ll die if you don’t eat!” I started getting some hot flashes and dizzy spells on and off, and just kept reminding myself that I was in my living room and not on the savannah. Like the other feelings of discomfort, they never lasted and afterwards I usually felt good. Nothing is permanent and everything is constantly changing. Intellectually, we know this to be true because that’s part of what Pa Kua means. How many times has a Master explained this concept in different ways or even shown us? Yet to my mind, there was no clearer teacher than my own body. To me, it is the most basic and direct manifestation of this idea. If you want to move this idea from being intellectual to being understood in your body/heart/soul, fasting is a very effective teacher.

     By the end of the second day I was exhausted and ready to sleep for the next thousand years. I kept clinging to the hope that the third day would be better, and it mostly was. I still had moments where I felt a bit ill, tired, or frustrated, but I could feel that my body had begun to correct itself. I was spurred on by the feeling of having survived the first two days and even managed to do a small workout with Master Kyle. Although it was a very soft session, I was surprised by how much energy and strength I actually had.

     The next day was Sunday. I had made it almost four days and decided that I was going to break my fast. Going into it, I did not set a concrete end to my fasting, because I wanted to limit the feelings of failure that might occur if I didn’t make it to a certain point. I had a rough idea that I wanted to go four days, but beyond that I was just going to play it by ear… or stomach. I spent the morning reflecting on whether or not I was giving up because I was being lazy or because I actually felt it was the right time. I came to the conclusion that it was the right time and broke my fast with some broth. Over the next half a day I slowly transitioned back to eating, so as not to shock my system. This was probably overly cautious, since I had not fasted for very long, but the last thing I wanted was to start eating again and feel sick.

     Despite my over dramatic recounting of this experience, I feel like three days isn’t a very long time in the big scheme of things. Yet, I must also acknowledge that most people in our country don’t go a day in their lives without eating something. I learned a lot about myself, about not taking things for granted, and how I operate mentally and physically. I was also reminded of how important and beneficial it can be to take time to do nothing, to reflect and try and be present in the world around you. The idea of fasting seems far less scary now and hopefully I will carry the lessons of those days as I move forward in life. I’m actually looking forward to trying it again…just not right now.

     I am sharing all this with you because I hope it helps you in your own journey. I hope it might inspire you to try fasting, even if you’re not always eating in the “perfect” Pa Kua way. Maybe try fasting and see what you learn about yourself. As Master Billingsley has pointed out to me, you learn just as much by failure as you do by success, and maybe sometimes more. Our fears, whether big or small, often keep us waiting to make the changes that will help us to lead more balanced and fulfilled lives. The question is, what are YOU waiting for?

   Here at Burbank Pa Kua, we take your health and safety seriously. Even more so because of the nature of what we do in many of our classes, and the close contact they require. As such we have implemented a new set of rules and guidelines to make sure everyone is kept healthy, safe, and happy. Per CDC and State of California guidelines we have taken extra steps to maintain the highest cleanliness standards. This includes using alcohol and bleach solutions to clean all surfaces before and after use, providing hand sanitizer, and keeping our doors open to increase airflow through the studio.

This is new for all of us, so please feel free to bring any concerns or questions to your Master or Instructor. We want to make sure everyone is comfortable and will do our best to accommodate your needs regarding health and safety. Below are a few general guidelines and specific rules to help with this.  

REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED FOR ALL CLASSES: Due to social distancing guidelines our class sizes have been reduced. All students will be required to register for any class they wish to attend. All class sizes will be limited to 8 students, except for archery which will be limited to 6. These class sizes are subject to change. 

You can register for classes through the Burbank Pa Kua website. If you intend on attending the same class from week to week, there is an option to hold your registration on a repeated basis. 
*Please note:Classes are first come, first serve. A waitlist will be available and if we see a consistent demand for more availability we will work to add classes to try and accommodate everyone we can.  

UPDATED LIABILITY WAIVER: All students will be required to sign an updated liability waiver before their first class.

SOCIAL DISTANCING: While we will endeavor to maintain the suggested 6′ of social distancing, please keep in mind that some classes such as Martial Arts and Kick Boxing will include activities that require closer contact and touching. If you are not comfortable with this, please let your Instructor or Master know and they will do their best to accommodate you. 

VIRTUAL CLASSES: We will continue to offer all classes virtually for those who feel more comfortable at home. (Excluding archery). 

Temperature: We will be keeping the doors open to increase airflow unless temperatures are extreme. As such, please come prepared if you think you might get cold or hot. 
HEALTH AND SAFETY GUIDELINES
1) Masks are required for all students. 

2) No grouping at the studio entrance. Parents and students waiting for their next class will need to wait outside or in their vehicles in order to maintain social distancing. Some classes may be staggered to limit person to person contact. 

3) Sanitize hands upon entering. A sanitizing station is available at the entrance to your left as you walk in. 

4) All students must sign in  for every class on their mobile device or studio IPAD.

5) When using school equipment such as bows, weapons, or exercise equipment use the following procedure. 
1) Sanitize your hands
     2) Use provided solution and towel to sanitize the piece of equipment.
     3) Repeat after use.  
*YOU ARE REQUIRED TO CLEAN EQUIPMENT BEFORE AND AFTER USE*

6) Please limit use of changing rooms and bathroom. If you can come in your uniform, or with the ability to not use the changing room, please do. 
We look forward to providing a clean, safe, and fun environment for all our students! 

We hope that you and your family are staying healthy and safe in this unsettling time due to Coronavirus (COVID-19).

Due to Los Angeles County’s Safer At Home Order for Control of COVID-19, our martial arts studio is currently closed to the public until further notice.

We assure you that World Pa Kua Burbank is focused on the health and safety of our members and guests as well as teachers and members of staff.

Currently, we are developing remote classes to continue to serve you at the highest level despite the widespread closure of fitness centers.

Starting Monday, March 30th we will begin offering online classes. Stay tuned for more information or email info@burbankpakua.com.

Rest assured, our paramount concern is the health, safety, and well-being of our amazing members, our staff and the communities which we serve. Thank you for being an important part of what we do!

Most of the students who come in to my school looking for weight loss solutions think they will find the answer in more rigorous and physical exercise.

Most of us, especially in the modern world, think of ourselves as multitasking.

This last week I had the experience that we all sometimes have, where I believed I understood a concept well but when the idea came up in conversation, I had a moment of epiphany.

This year I have found a common theme in what I say to others, and what I think about myself throughout the year.

One of our students, Jessica Martin, wrote this blog post about her experience in Chinese Archery.