Body and Soul 6

[Apollo]

Apollo smiled at Phoenyx, if there was any beef between them it was not apparent. "I practice Samatha and Vipassana meditation" Phoenyx was of course a practiced meditator and he figured she would know what they meant.

[Phoenyx]

Phoenyx nods once at Aurora's response. "If you are falling asleep, you are not meditating." It is not scalding - the Arrow has her small smile her friend knows well. "What sort of methods did your performing teach you? Are you attempting to meditate in a physically still or active state?" She was suspected Aurora used still meditation - but it was best to know.

Apollo's response draws a wider smile. The Arrow clearly recognizes his response, and nods more keenly. "Tranquility and insight - yes. That is good to know - perhaps we could discuss that later. My own experiences explored them but my training was more rooted in Taoist and martial practice. Are you a Buddhist, or do you find the techniques to be beneficial to your own meditative state?" She looks to Aurora. "Are you aware of these concepts? It does not matter if not - they are the traditional terms for techniques that are used, but the names are not always provided in Western translation."

[Aurora]

She spoke a few different languages, but whatever Apollo was speaking, she didn’t know it.

A flat look was given to her friend, she was aware falling asleep did not equal meditation. “A still state. But when performing, it’s obvious an active state, and a lot easier. So maybe I need to work on meditation while performing bits from my show. Maybe my body needs to be moving.” A shrug.

More words she didn’t understand. Though she knew Buddhist. With the look comes a shake of her head. Nope, this girl was not aware of the concepts. Was thing going to be another thing where she was going to be the only one with no damn clue what was going on? Cause that wasn’t fun.

[Apollo]

Apollo thought about his answer for a couple of seconds. "Ish..." he paused, realising it didn't really answer her question. "I am a bad Buddhist if I count myself as one and I don't really count myself as one. I share a lot of similar beliefs, but the more I learn about the universe the more those beliefs change."

Apollo looked at Aurora "Maybe a meditation bowl may help? You are not moving as such but it is more of a sound thing"

[Phoenyx]

Phoenyx nodded at Aurora's description. "That makes sense - I was thinking the same. If you can find a peaceful state during performances, a more active meditative form such as Tai chi may be better for you which we can try now - we will start there. Mirror what I do."

"Take a relaxed stance, feet shoulder-width apart. Focus on your breathing, in for a count of four, and out for a count of eight." The Arrow demonstrates. "Focus on your breathing and on my words - I will introduce the next motion in stages. Continue as I describe the following motion. First, raise your arms together in front of you to head height and back down in time with your breathing. Bend your knees as you bring your arms down. Feel the flow of the movement - you want it to be as smooth as possible, as I am doing."

The pipe musing is quieter, but provided a gentle setting for the exercise.

"Now, raise your arms outward - still in time with your breathing. From your sides, out and above your head, then in and down, bringing your hands together." The Arrow's voice is very calm. "Bend your knees, and in... reaching back out again from the sides and out. By focusing on the breathing and the movement, your mind had something to hone in on. Keep focused on the movements and breathing. As simple as they are, keeping them aligned is enough to settle the mind."

The Arrow looks between her students to check how they are doing with the motions.

Apologies for the delay - I was struggling how to do this art as the focus is the thing, which isn;t always conductive to talking!

[Aurora]

A questioning look was offered to Apollo, “A what?” meditation bowl? “Well, I usually always have music on, as I can’t be left to my own thoughts.” True story, bad things happen. “So I wouldn’t be opposed to something that added sound.” Especially if the sound helped.

“It’s more about how I’ve trained my mind to push out outside noise, lights, sound, pain.” The usual things. “I’m able to completely clear my mind and focus not only on the job I’m doing, but whatever is bothering my me, whatever’s been nagging at the back of my mind.” She knew it was weird.

Mirror what the Arrow does. Ok. She might be able to do this.

But one thing was unnatural for her in these movements, bending her knees as she brought her arms down. Though, to her credit, she tries.

Phoenyx would see Aurora was trying to follow, trying to mirror her. But it wasn’t something that was coming naturally. While she could do the whole focusing on her breathing, there was no stimulus to push aside. She needed that. So she tries to imagine she was getting ready for a suspension. Pushes her mind to remember the usual pain that comes with it, and slowly, her movements become more fluid. She found something to grab onto.

[Apollo]

Apollo had done Tai Chi before, back in New York he had taken part in several classes in Central Park. For him it was coming naturally as he focused on the sound of the Arrows voice, eyes closed his breathing slowed. Part of him made a mental note to send Aurora a meditation bowl.

[Phoenyx]

Despite Apollo's jibes about her in the previous concillium, Phoenyx wanted to show that she was a proffessional, no matter who came to her. It was clear he knew what he was doing following the motions.

Aurora was struggling at first, she could see that much. "Try to relax - close your eyes. Focus on stretching out - think about the pull of your muscles, the feeling of the grass on your feet."

She glanced between the two of them, checking.

"Extrend your arms forward together... out... and in. Move in time with your breathing. Think about the movements, the sound of the pipes, the sound of my voice. Let go of your conscious thought. Focus on your breathing and follow the motions."

There's not an awful lot for this except me narrating all of Phoenyx's guidence through the meditation session, so I'm going to fast-forwards a bit

The Arrow taks them both through almost forty-five minutes of tai-chi. The peaceful pipe music is on repeat, flowing like water.

"In... and out... and open your eyes slowly."

She smiles between the two of her students. "I hope you found that useful," she says, focusing on Aurora. "Routine makes the peaceful state more accessable and helps you block out all manner of distractions. If not, we could always discuss ways to change the routine to make it more active for you." She looks to Apollo. "Though it was clear you knew what you were doing, I hope you found it equally beneficial."

[Aurora]

What Phoenyx didn’t realize, was despite being a Thyrsus, Aurora did not in fact like nature or the feel of grass on her feet. It had never really been a sensation she enjoyed. But she does try.

Why the focus on her? So she just shrugs. Meditation was never going to be something she enjoyed. It was something she did to try and help process certain things.

“I had originally learned this as a recommendation from you. As to if I’ll make it a routine, I won’t lie, it probably won’t happen. Nothing against the practice if others find it useful, but it’s yet to help me a whole lot.” She would always be honest with the Arrow, one of her closet allies.

[Apollo]

Apollo smiled at Phoenyx "Thanks, I had some good teachers and some encouragement from the Arrows back in my last city. I can add you to that list." he turned to Aurora and smiled "It's not everyone's cup of tea. You find performing relaxing where as I would find it stressful. What works for you works for you, and its great that you give new things a try. For me relaxing is this, getting out into nature or the gym."

He turned back to Phoenyx "I will drop you a message some time about doing some combat practice. May not be the immediate future, I have recently started college and lets just say I need to enquire if the Mysterium do 'how the hell to study' lessons." he of course was half joking.