Jiu-Jitsu Is Where Philosophy Becomes Physiology: a Profound Spiritual and Energetic Practice
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…🥋 In My Jiu-Jitsu Training and Teaching
You might not expect to find the lessons from The Untethered Soul or The Book of Awakening on a mat thick with sweat and effort, but Jiu-Jitsu—at its highest expression—is a profound spiritual and energetic practice. For me, it has always been more than just combat or self-defense. It’s a moving meditation.
Jiu-Jitsu Is Where Philosophy Becomes Physiology
When I step onto the mats, I bring with me the teachings of flow, presence, and surrender that these books have instilled in me. The Surrender Experiment, for instance, taught me to release resistance and control. In Jiu-Jitsu, this shows up when I stop fighting the roll and begin flowing with my opponent’s energy. Like water seeking the path of least resistance, I use breath and timing to find the opening.
Breath is Foundational
Turning the Mind Into an Ally gave me the tools to manage the inner storm that can rise in moments of perceived threat or exhaustion. Through breath, I create “the zone”—that optimal state of calm alertness, where decisions feel intuitive and time slows. My students learn to use the breath not only to oxygenate the body but to regulate the mind and shift from survival to strategy.
Presence is our Greatest Ally
Wherever You Go, There You Are echoes in those long moments trapped under top pressure or struggling to escape. It reminds me—and those I train—that presence is our greatest ally. Every micro-movement, every shift in weight or hip angle, becomes an opportunity to reclaim power through awareness.
The Four Agreements also deeply influences the way I teach and model the culture of Jiu-Jitsu:
Be impeccable with your word becomes the foundation of respectful instruction and feedback.
Don’t take anything personally helps students navigate defeat and ego.
Don’t make assumptions trains us to stay curious and observant.
Always do your best—but understand that your best looks different on every roll, every day, every breath.
Jiu-Jitsu is Physics, Yes—but also Metaphysics
The Healing Self awakened in me a deeper understanding of energy transfer, nervous system regulation, and embodied healing. On the mats, I often speak to students about force vectors and the energetic principle of “meeting and redirecting” instead of resisting. We talk about how intention and structure create leverage—not brute force. I emphasize the sacred geometry of connection—grips, frames, angles—all of it infused with awareness.
Perhaps Most Importantly, Jiu-Jitsu Teaches the Art of Enduring
This too shall pass becomes more than a mantra—it’s embodied. In those long, crushing holds, the practice is to stay. Breathe. Find one inch of space. One flicker of awareness. I’ve pulled this directly from The Book of Awakening—the ability to be fully alive, even in discomfort, knowing that both the struggle and the breakthrough are temporary.
The Heart of Why I Teach
When I teach self-defense, especially to women, I bring the full presence and power of these teachings. I want them to know not just how to defend themselves physically—but how to inhabit their space energetically. To feel rooted in their breath. To channel assertive force without losing their center. To rise, again and again, knowing they are capable, they are whole, and they are not alone.
This work is profoundly near and dear to my heart. It is not just about protection—it’s about reclamation. Reclaiming voice, space, safety, and sovereignty. Teaching self-defense through the lens of embodiment and awareness is the soul of why I teach.
Jiu-Jitsu, like the soul work of these books, is a path of embodiment. It’s not about domination—it’s about evolution. These teachings live in the pauses between transitions, in the quiet exhale after a hard roll, in the shared respect of a bow. Through the lens of these books, the mat becomes a sacred space—where consciousness meets contact, and healing meets the art of the fight.
