chieko jp en

Chieko

It changed. The body, and the way of thinking about things changed. I feel like the circulation of various things has improved.

First, I built muscle. And my stiff body is still stiff, but it’s gradually getting more flexible.

In Baseworks you use the ball of the foot or consciousness all the way to the fingertips. By doing that, it’s not exactly that blood is circulating, but that blood and ki and various things are circulating. So I think reflexes improved, and I feel like my head turns faster too.

Beyond getting used to work, my handwork became faster and my dodging movements became more nimble. And conversing with customers too, I feel like my comprehension has gotten faster. Like sensing what they want to say, that察し has gotten quite fast. Like accidentally bumping my arm hard - that’s decreased. I think I can probably recognize my own size sense a bit now.

When shifting balance, I feel like I’m using my whole body to balance. That too feels like it’s thanks to Baseworks.

With diving, many people are like “please take care of me” and leave everything to the instructor without thinking much, thinking just breathe. But students coming to Baseworks are facing their own bodies and practicing.

By doing the same thing consistently, you can notice differences from day to day, and notice that you yourself are changing.

First, my interest in the body deepened, I learned the importance of practice, and I felt the effects of Baseworks Practice, the effects gained by doing it.

Through teacher training, the flexibility and strength I was seeking were cultivated, and by doing that my mindset changed. Like the spirit of challenging - I feel like I was trained in that aspect too.

For me it’s a type close to diving. In that limited one hour or hour and a half, that time in that space, the time facing yourself is really similar to diving.

In the water too, in that limited time, it’s not just about seeing fish. Depending on how you yourself move underwater, how the fish move also changes. And while matching yourself to the environment, the water flow and such, moving so your breath doesn’t get rough - in that aspect too.

Baseworks too, while directing consciousness to how you yourself move, you’re moving. And while moving so your breathing doesn’t get rough, exploring how far you can go - it becomes a really concentrated time.

For a while I only attended Elements, but compared to that time, the whole body moves more evenly. For a while when I was only concentrating on headstand in Elements, when I’d occasionally go to Foundation it was extremely hard.

So in Foundation there’s flexibility and intensity that you can only get in Foundation. I realized that.

It was really beneficial. Like you can clearly see what you don’t understand. And being able to watch repeatedly, the depth of understanding is deep.

When I actually took teacher training here, I was writing desperately, making calluses. But there were things I missed hearing. So being like “ah, that’s how it was” again, there was new awareness. It was really educational. It was also studying English.

If I want to be able to teach in English eventually, by hearing it once, the ways of expression increase, so it was really educational.

Really using the body, moving the body, facing the body - that Baseworks fits me perfectly right now.