Over the years I have spoken about anxiety so I could be repeating myself but it is worth talking about. When I was doing Karate as a younger man my Sensai talked at length about relaxation and tension. Every move whether it was a punch or block, even a set of moves we were taught to relax and know when to apply tension. Tension was momentary, it was only at impact, everything else was relaxed, it was aware but relaxed. The reason you had to learn to relax was so each move flowed into the next and tension was momentary then you were relaxed and ready for whatever came next.

One evening I was sleeping at a friend’s house  and I was having one of my customary anxiety ridden dreams that were common back then. I was being pursued in the dream and I was full of fear and dread. In the dream I realised my muscles were tense, my whole body was locked up with tension and I was full of anxiety. I decided to completely relax and when I relaxed the whole dream lifted, the spectre disappeared and the anxiety ceased. The lesson from Karate had fully sunk in and I knew how to control the tension and relax. This lesson changed my sleeping patterns a lot. I still found it hard to get to sleep but once I was asleep I slept well.

It wasn’t a magical cure all but it made a big difference, I could relax under pressure and normally people are surprised at how relaxed I am in difficult situations. If you want to get deep about it and look at it in energy spirit terms, tension closes pathways and invites negative energy. I am not into new age stuff so hear me out, a few years ago I had a tense back and there was a big storm. Some kind of travelling energy, you can call it a spirit or whatever you want, it has nothing to do with religion, it is just a part of the energy that mixes and moves within the world we live in. This energy grabbed onto the tense part of my back and when I relaxed it had nothing to hold onto and disappeared back into the storm.

I am not perfect and I have a heap of problems like anybody else but I know the mechanics and also my old Sensai introduced me to his spiritual master and I am a bit thick but I learned some concepts. I went back to train with the Master and I learned some theory but I haven’t mastered the theory, I just know some basic concepts. To change the direction a little I had a friend who suffered from Bipolar and he didn’t want to take prescription medication and his psychologist recommended magnesium supplements. He also learned management strategies so he could understand if an episode was imminent and be able to counter it. For example he would lose his appetite and not sleep.

So he would make sure he would eat even though his body was telling him not to and then he would relax so he could get a decent sleep. The magnesium helped because it relaxes  muscles and this helped him with sleep hygiene and winding down instead of going into a full blown episode. I met another older Chinese man who swore by magnesium and I would jokingly call him magnesium man. The thing was I do a daily exercise routine and so I took magnesium every now and then to minimise muscle fatigue. Anyone who knows me would know that I am the most chilled out person and it is rare for me to be any other way. Yet when I was younger I had a chilled side but also really bad anxiety. I had to disappear for weeks to cope with it.

After those lessons from my Sensei I got more of a handle on anxiety and I learned more coping mechanisms and I didn’t just disappear for weeks on end. When I learned those lessons I was even attacked on the street by two louts and I didn’t do anything at all but they ran away in fear because I literally did nothing and just waited for them to make the first move. Relaxation is the ultimate weapon. Recently some nut case tried to attack me with a broken bottle and he just fell over and I walked away. The lesson is don’t engage, be as empty as you can be because then the bullshit has nothing to grab on to. I still have issues of my own and I am always learning. I don’t want to fight people or engage with stupidity or pointless garbage. I originally learned some martial arts for self defence and I learned some coping mechanisms.

I only do QiGong now for health and I don’t take anything for granted. I am not getting any younger and nothing is guaranteed but learning to control tension is a good safeguard. I still get injuries here and there, I am actually pretty flawed, but I don’t have anxiety and that was from learning to relax. I did a lot of meditation when I was younger and at one stage I lived in an ashram but I think meditation is too hard to control, physical movement is a better option because you are contained within the cultivation of your body. The reason I am talking about this stuff is because a lot of what I have learned has been hard won and if you have issues with anxiety (capitalism, sociodemographic, communism, control, pressure, whatever) learn to control your body and your mind is on the same journey.