Aiki Institute Of Spokane

How can an Aikido class for your office help at work?  We have seen in the article ” How Aikido Made Me a Supervisor” the benefits of applying our understanding of Aikido to the work world. What might the benefits of an entire department, work group or agency training in Aikido be?  While teaching in Chicago we had a software company that encouraged their employees to participate in a company sponsored Aikido class held twice a week during an extended lunch period.

What did these people exchange their lunch hour for?  They built a very high functioning team.  They learned to communicate better.  They laughed (a lot) together.  They learned to support each other.  They challenged their limits.  They stretched and worked out their tension.  They returned to their office energized, with a connection to each other that could not have been made through the partitions of their cubicles or email exchanges that made up their work day.  A fair exchange.

What did the company receive?  More productive workers.  A happier work place.  Less sick time.  A good investment.

Looking at a recent poll by Money magazine regarding the best places to work one thing that stands out is that companies that take care of their employees by investing in programs that support healthy living and respect the personal development of staff outside of the office are reaping the rewards of staff retention, greater production and employee buy in.  How can your company benefit by supporting training such as Aikido, Yoga, Qi Gong?  How can your company become more productive by providing personal and professional coaching, training opportunities, and family support services?

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Rely on Peace
To activate your
Manifold powers;
Pacify your environment
And create a beautiful world.

When I first ran across this quote I struggled with the line “Pacify your environment”. In my time on earth to pacify has taken on a meaning of stepping on, holding down, subdue, bring to submission, as in “pacify the resistance”.  It wasn’t until I took some time to think about the meaning and origins of pacify. Pacify comes from the Latin p?cific?re; to make peace.  This led me to the thoughts; to ease, to appease, to quiet, to calm.  I don’t really know why in my experience pacify took on a negative connotation, maybe too many news reports on war.  It was just my experience.  Yours may be different.

Now this quote has some strong meaning to me.  To rely on peace to activate my many powers.  To be relaxed, centered, extended, to be at peace so that my true power may come through me.

Pacify your environment.  To be at ease with; to be calm, to be comfortable with, to be one with the world surrounding my center.  In this way I can have a positive, productive, influence on creating a beautiful world each moment of my life.

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In class the other night I was instructing irimi nage.  In doing so I said to bring uke’s cheek and nage’s bicep together.  Interestingly this was interpreted as forcing uke’s head to nage’s arm.  This of course set up a struggle.  Uke fought, nage pulled harder, tensing the shoulders and stiffening the next movement of tenkan, pivot.

This is not all together unknown in our off mat lives… What he said is we need to get together on this project.  What I heard was you need to get over here and follow my direction.

How do we get together?  We must each make a move.  A drowning man can’t be saved by yelling at him to get over here.  We have to go into the water, and help him.  We must lead him, guide him, and if necessary hold him up while we make for shore.

So often we force the challenge to come to us and fight with it until it has been beaten into compliance.  Let’s give our challenge a name, Zeke.  Zeke may not take the road we wish, Zeke may make a bumpy journey, Zeke may fall down, get bruised, wet, cold, tired, and angry.  Imagine if we walked out and guided Zeke along a path, a road that we would wish to walk.  In so doing Zeke feels more relaxed and secure.  Zeke is better able to understand us, to understand our guiding, nurturing, compassionate side, to understand where we are going.  Having walked the same path we now have a friend, a ally, a shareholder, a partner, we are in concert, we have come together.

Meet you nage part way.  Go on the journey with them, hand in hand, center with center.  Show them the way.  Move together as one, then send them on their way, renewed, invigorated.

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Potentials…What are all the potentials of all the good things that we listed regarding our Aikido training? In part 1 we listed some of the good things that come about because of our training in the Aikido dojo. Now it is time to take the next step in this process of PPCO; Potential. What are the potentials of our actions? Where might all this good stuff lead?

A positive that was listed is Increased Awareness. What might be all the future benefits of increasing our awareness?

• I might avoid that accident when the other driver slides through the intersection, unable to stop in the icy road conditions, thereby saving injury and money in repairs.
• I might avoid being mugged by the sketchy looking guy hiding in the entry way of that dark building, keeping me physically safe and my cash in my pocket.
• I might make a connection with a work partner that will be of benefit to my work making me a star to my boss and earning me that promotion and raise.
• I might see an opportunity to invest that will increase my wealth and lead to that vacation in Fiji.
• I might see that my relative needs my help but is unable to ask. This leading to a closer relationship with that relative and a good feeling for doing something helpful.
• I might see that my supervisor is having a challenging day and that it would not be a good time to press him on an issue, saving me from being chewed out.
• I might see that my supervisor is feeling light, happy, and powerful today, giving me the opportunity to positively present an issue to her. This leading to more interesting challenges at work.
• I might feel the pain in my stomach that may indicate that I need to cut down on my coffee intake before I end up with bigger health problems.
• I might have less conflict in my day, which will result is less stress resulting in a healthier life.
• I might get more work done.
• I might find more time to spend with my family.
• I might find more time for me.
• I might find new ways to teach that have a positive effect on my students.

Let’s look at the potential of another positive of our Aikido training; Social Network.

• I might meet people I would never have talked to if I did not meet them on the mat.
• I might learn about a new job opportunity that will increase my salary.
• I might find someone that can help me with that project that I am stalled on.
• I might learn about an author that I have never heard of but sounds like something I want to read.
• I might find support in solving a child rearing issue that will reduce my stress and help my child live a more productive life.
• I might laugh more making my day more fun in general.
• I might try a new beer opens my taste buds to different styles of brewing.
• I might find new, better ways to solve problems that leave me more energized and with more spare time.
• I might meet someone that opens a new path for my life, leading me to more fulfilling work.
• I might fall in love.
• I might find new perspectives that keep me interested, increasing my lust for life.
• I might be challenged to open my mind, which opens up all sorts of possibilities.
• I might meet someone that could help me get my message out to a larger audience, thereby, positively effecting more lives.

This is the short list of just two of the positives we listed regarding our Aikido training. Take a few minutes to add your own thoughts to these lists. Then think about why you train in Aikido. All of the positive reasons for coming to the dojo. Then list all the potentials, the benefits, the spin-offs, the opportunities, of those positive reasons.

Now you are beginning to see the true substance and power of our training. Now you begin to see how training ourselves effects the community around us. How the community of our dojo, the community of our Aikido Association, the community of Aikido Practitioners, effects the community that is our society, our civilization.

Next up…How to deal with concerns in a positive and constructive manner.

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