The ultimate mind/body program

In recent years Western physicians and researchers have begun formally acknowledging what folks in Asia have known for hundreds if not thousands of years: the mind and body are intricately linked and must be developed as one.  And one of the most profoundly effective methods of achieving this mind/body unity is by practicing what martial artists generally call "forms."  In taekwondo, the martial art that I have practiced for over 40 years, these formal exercises are called poomse.  In essence they are highly choreographed battles against several imaginary opponents, and they require intense physical and mental energy when executed properly.
   Beginning martial artists start out with simple forms that contain relatively few basic techniques: blocks, kicks, and punches.  As simple as these beginning forms may look, they require something that many people lack: the discipline to execute the form or poomse precisely as it was designed by the masters who created it.  In theory, at least, if two martial artists are executing the same form -- one of them in the United States, the other in Australia -- they will do so in exactly the same way. 
   As you might expect, the poomse grow more complicated as you advance up the ladder to and beyond first degree black belt, or first Dan.  The techniques incorporated in the poomse grow more complex, and there are more individual movements -- sometimes vastly more than you find in the beginning forms. 
   So where does the mind/body link come in?  Well, the first step in mastering a form is simply memorizing the sequence of movements.  In this early stage you're basically repeating the sort of exercise you went through when learning multiplication tables back in elementary school.  All that matters is knowing which move follows another.
   Once you've done this, oh, perhaps 50 times, you begin to enter a different realm of mastery.  You already know the movements, so now the goal is to achieve what you might call a meditative state in which the mind and body flow through the poomse with intense focus but without the constant annoyance of troublesome thoughts.  Stated differently, you attain a level of performance at which you no longer think about what move comes next; your mind and body simply deliver the entire poomse without your active control.
   The taekwondo poomse offers practitioners the same sort of "mindfulness" that many people seek to achieve through seated meditation.  You are aware of the present moment, but the moment requires nothing of you.  The more you practice the poomse, the closer you come to achieving a freeing of the mind that permits the movements to flow without your customary habit of controlling events.  It's an "active meditation," naturally, since the body moves and can grow tired, but throughout the exercise you should find yourself at peace -- almost outside yourself but aware of what seems to be happening on its own.
   How many repetitions of a given poomse will it take to achieve this sort of mind/body union?  If you refuse to give up control, it will never happen.  But if you give yourself over to the poomse and allow it simply to happen, perhaps you will get where you want to be after a few hundred repetitions.  That may sound like a tremendous commitment, but consider that the typical taekwondo poomse takes about a minute to execute.  Is keeping your mind and body in balance worth an investment of 200 minutes?  Certainly.  Surely you can find a few minutes even in a busy day.  And it's precisely a busy day that would benefit most from the "active meditation" offered by a taekwondo poomse.
   If you haven't begun studying the martial arts, now's the time.  And if you've "retired" from the martial arts but are still healthy, get back in training.  Your mind and body will both thank you.