Wing Chun and Mental Health

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about mental wellbeing due to a series of work-related incidents I’ve encountered over the last few months. I won’t go into the details, but it posed a question regarding the understanding of our own minds and what tools we have as martial artists that can help us be aware of how our minds are working.

Most of us are aware that our bodies require energy. We get this from the sun, sleep, the food we eat and the air we breathe. We tend to be able to recognise when our bodies are running low on energy and we fuel ourselves accordingly; having something to eat or a snooze / rest etc. Therefore, it is an established cycle that repeats in the form of habits; regular mealtimes, bedtimes and recreational periods etc. If we do this well enough, we stay can energised and feel pretty good. These habits are so well embedded into our overall routine, that we don’t need to think about them too much. I state this, because most of us accept the energy of the body is fundamental for health, but often we aren’t aware that mind needs energy too.

The energy of the mind is essential to its wellbeing, just as is the energy we give to our bodies. If our minds don’t have enough energy the quality of our mental states begins to deteriorate. The biggest cause of depleted mental energy is constantly being absorbed in thought and emotion without any let up. Now of course we need to operate, and we can’t just be free of thought all the time, but it’s the excess mental activity that depletes the energy of the mind. Usually, excess thoughts come from being obsessed with past events or the worrying, or even being overly excited, about any that may occur in the future. I believe that continuously living in the past and the future burns up the energy of the mind, leaving the mind depleted. It sounds obvious, but when you are “lost in thought”, as we often are, you are unaware of it even happening. It’s an apt phrase, because I believe people suffering mentally do truly become lost in the machinations of their minds and struggle to get free.

The hard part is training the mind to rest in the present moment, to focus only on what is in front of you and letting go of our obsessions on the past and future. If we can be less caught up in thought, the energy of the mind can be gradually replenished. Eventually, and in an ideal world, the energy of the mind increases to where it is relatively full. This is what gives life its flavour and allows even the simplest things to be appreciated.
It’s like when you’re on holiday and you’re are taking in the scenery, feeling the sunshine, relaxed and distanced from “normal” life. You are capable of existing in a more blissful state. You find you can forget the stresses of daily life and simply enjoy existing. This energy of the mind can dissipate the unsavoury experiences of life that causes things like depression. Unfortunately, we can’t always be on the beach sipping a mojito, but we can train our minds to become more aware and mindful, so we can increase our mind’s energy enough to become healthier and happier in everyday life.
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As Wing Chun practitioners, we are fortunate in that we have specific exercises that allow us to practice gaining a singular focus. Regardless of lineage, Siu Nim Tao can be an ideal way to let go the excess mental baggage and develop a more highly focussed mind. If you practice in this way, I guarantee you that you’ll begin to recognise getting “lost” in thought and that subsequent awareness will allow you freedom it. You’ll gain some ability to rest a little better in the present moment and find space within yourself to live a happier life.