Where and I and what am I doing?

I've been wanting to write about this for some time.

I started to hear about this from Sifu Wiebe a number of years ago.  He talked about it with me and shared that he always internally asked himself this just before bowing in and bowing out.  He said it helped him ground himself and put himself into the moment.  It took me a while to start to incorporate this into my Kung Fu but I've been doing it consitantly at bow in and outs for at least the past three years.  

I started asking myself these questions because I wanted to focus on what I was about to do.  I want 💯% of my mental focus to be on Kung Fu and not what my day has been or what it will be after class.  When we step through the Kwoon doors we're carrying the days baggage with us.  It's understandable that we carried it in with us.  What we shouldn't do is allow it to control us.  By asking these questions we immediately refocus and prioritize what's important.  When I'm in the Kwoon nothing is more important than my training.  I need to forget about what's behind me and what's after class.  When you think about it, I can't fix the past and I don't live in the future so why am I worrying about things I can't change?  That's why this concept is so powerful, it puts us in the moment where we can control things. 

I'm moving to incorporate this strategy into my daily life to go along with some deep meditative breathing.  I've found that when I'm stressed I remember my training.  I take deep cleansing butterfly breaths and bring myself back to the moment.  It helps lower my heart rate and focuses my mind on the moment vs the stress and anxiety of what I think may occur.  

Mr. Repay