Yoga

I know a lot of people who do Yoga. I've given it a try. It isn't for me.

Don't get mad. I do understand the appeal.

Slow movement, balance, gentle stretching, and all that calmness. The calmness seems to be a big part of people's attraction to Yoga.

They praise how they are able to reach a state of meditative calmness. Good for them.

I have been involved in Karate for a long time. There is an activity involved called Kata. These are strings of precise movement, done with moments of combat-speed intensity. On occasion, I've reached an incredibly deep state of meditative calm while performing Kata. The best name I've heard for this phenomenon is, “Moving Zen”.

More recently, I've become involved in Jiu-Jitsu. There are no Yoga poses, nor Kata. It is performed with a partner who is actively seeking to get themself into a position to choke you or to snap one of your major joints. You are also trying to do the same to them.

I've had moments of Zen while doing this.

You haven't lived until you're reached a point of total relaxation while being crushed beneath a large and powerful opponent. You wait mindlessly to instantly explode, without tension, and to do so in a manner dictated totally by the opponent's movement.

Again, a form of Moving Zen.