CONRAD'S CORNER Q&A

Think about those minutes you waste every day on the internet or otherwise, looking at your phone or answering to your social media feeds etc. Recent studies concluded that we already waste about 25% of our time being unproductive at work and we spend about 50% of the waking time -- mind wandering.  We all have more than enough time, it’s where we choose to apply that time. Every minute you invest in “doing” the Shatterproof Practices is building that mind muscle, building discipline, building focus, building resiliency.  And the added bonus in performing the exercises, you are learning to relax and destress – well worth the investment and time!!

Don’t worry about how you feel during the exercise.  Sometimes you’ll notice a difference after or the next day. Sometimes, you don’t even know this is helping until you are faced with an unexpected event.  You’ll become more conscious on how you choose to react to the situation.  You’ll have better control and find it easier to concentrate so you can come up with possible solutions or work-around.  Stick with it.

Remember that you are learning a new skill.  Like learning a new sports or musical instruments, it takes time.  With regular practice, it becomes easier and you become better at it.  Be patient…and you’ll become more patient.

When doing the mind management exercises, listen and repeat (in your mind) the words you are hearing.  When you are in a silent part of the exercises and various thoughts surfaces, simply give yourself permission to release those thoughts and allow yourself to let go.  Bring your focus back to the exercise which will lead you into a deeper state of relaxation while breathing into your belly.

That’s normal and common.  We carry a lot of “stuff” in our mind and when we sit down or lie down to relax, all that “stuff” surfaces because our mind slows down.  So do some warm up exercises and relaxation exercises before getting into the mind management exercises.  The breathing exercises and the triple warmer are ideal to get you into a more relaxed state.

At times we forget how tired we are from our busy and hurried lifestyle. So, when we put ourselves in a position to relax, we can easily fall asleep.  This is perfectly normal.  The mind management exercises are designed to help you focus while leading you into a relax state.  So, at first, your undisciplined mind will likely predominately lead you into a relax state which is where you can easily fall asleep.  With practice, over time, you’ll be able to consciously bring your focus back to the exercise without falling asleep.  The more you can do that, the stronger your mind muscle becomes. These subtle changes help build focus, discipline and mind resiliency.  Sometimes, your focus is sharp, and you end up experiencing a strong meditative state during your exercise.  You end up feeling energetic and in tuned with your surrounding while feeling a sense of calmness.  And other times, your mind is unfocused, many thoughts coming in and out and you can’t seem to get into the exercise in focus and in control.  It may leave you feeling like this was a complete waste of time. Don’t despair.  Don’t underestimate your work.  These are normal and useful.  See response for: “I don’t feel like I’m getting a lot out of the exercises.”

At first, this is normal.  Your body is not used to sit on the floor or on a chair, while keeping your back straight. To reduce this pain, when sitting on the floor, you can use a cushion making your sitting posture more comfortable. With practice, your back will become stronger and the pain will go away.  These initial exercises are not very long for a reason.  Nothing is longer than 20 minutes.  It was designed this way so you can complete them in a short period of time, while your body posture gets stronger, so you experience the least amount of back pain.  You may find sitting on a chair is easier and creates less back pain than sitting on the floor.

During your mind management exercises, you may hear noises like a neighbor’s lawnmower, or music or bird chirping etc.  Those are ideal to practice focusing on the exercise while consciously letting go of the noise and distraction.  So, continue through the exercise until it is completed.  You are adding to your mind muscle, helping you to become more focused and disciplined. On the other hand, should you be interrupted by someone coming to your door, or someone coming into the room disrupting you, you should slowly come out of your exercise, deal with the interruption, and go back and restart the exercise from the beginning.

When I first started, we were told by our master teacher not to eat for a minimum of three hours before our class.  The duration of the class was two hours.  So, this was far more demanding than what is being asked of you on these initial exercises.  I recommend that you do the exercises on an empty stomach.  You will get a lot more out of your work and effort.  Your stomach and the digestive process takes time and demands a lot of your energy.  You will likely feel sluggish after a meal, so best to do this before you eat.