Equilibrium is a difficult state to achieve. There are so many forces of discombobulation and chaos in and around us, that we are astounded when we see someone who is able to find balance and maintain it for more than a few seconds. But why does it take so much discipline and practice to achieve?

Our bodies are built to stand upright, and our basic symmetry should mean that it is easy to do so, whether on two feet or one, on our hands or our heads. Perhaps it is simply a matter of education: For the masses, who are not taught to live in balance from early childhood, the body and mind lack the conditioning required.

Hatha Yoga teaches that conditioning the body conditions the mind, and vice versa. It is lucky in this age of information that more and more people are able to discover the ideas and principles of balance. As more minds become conditoned towards equilibrium, more bodies will follow, and vice versa.

So, despite the current prevalence of imbalance (in the martial arts world and the world at large) we have more potential than ever before to evolve rapidly into harmony and equilibrium.

Given the constant stream of horrible news with which we are bombarded, it is easy to end up in a negative mindset. Finding a way out of the vortex, without turning to escapism means turning inward for an answer.

Meditation is simple and costs nothing - but the rewards are immense. Sitting quietly and breathing opens up a new dimension to life that cannot be accessed in any other way. Distractions keep us from this place. No matter how deep a thought can get, now matter how profound a conversation or how intense an experience - these things do not take us to the place of perfection that can be found in meditation.

This is not to say that there is no value in the things listed above. They are immensely valuable, and they are the reason we are on this planet. But, as Chögyam Trungpa said, square one is the place of eminent power and potential. Meditation is returning to square one.

Here, you begin to look at life from a different perspective. Things that seem weighty and difficult can suddenly appear less significant when you realize that life is less about what we do than what we are.

We are all here to grow and move towards perfection - every one of us, whether our behaviors show it or not. The first step in this direction is to realize this fact. The second is to know our true nature. Only then can our doing be brought into line with our being. Knowing this negates our negativity and allows of to consistently find happiness from the inside out.

Eating is as much a part of the training regime as cardio-vascular conditioning, strength training, stretching and sparring. But, it is often not treated with the same degree of discipline.

How many fat karate black belts are there out there? Way too many if my experience is any indicator. What about the kids who scarf candies before the lesson, and cool off afterward with a soft drink?

Mastery demands discipline - in the area of food as well.

In order to determine the right diet, the first step is to honestly assess how many hours are spent in training each week or day.  For instance:

If you warm-up and stretch for 15 minutes once daily, strength train 3 times a week for 30 minutes, do road or bag work for 30 minutes twice a week, spar once a week for an hour and spend 45 minutes a week practicing other techniques - you can calculate that you are burning about 3300 - 4000 calories per week in training. Add to that a baseline metabolism of between 2000 - 2300 per day (roughly 16000 per week) and other activities burning an extra 300 calories per day (2100 per week), and you get = 21751 cals. per week or 3100 cals. per day. (This requires 5 hours of training per week).

Let’s now look at some junk food that might be eaten during the course of a week:

1 power bar = 230 cals.

1 Starbucks Grande Drink = 270 cals.

1 small bag potato chips =270 cals.

1 large cookie = 130 cals.

This seems to be a reasonable amount of “snacks” - but they add a total of 900 calories to your intake per week, or an average of roughly 130 per day. This is manageable as presented, but the question to ask is: are you maintaining the above level of activity?

If not - and if you are exceeding these snack figures, you are coming close to the range in which you will begin to gain weight. (3100 cals. burned - 2200 cals. average of meals eaten - 130 cals. snacks = 770 cals. deficit - i.e. good) but (2800 cals. burned - 2300 cals. average meals eaten - 270 cals. snacks = 230 cals. deficit - i.e. shaky).

Considering that the average American consumes just over 3800 calories per day, however - even strict adherence to the above workout schedule will result in a surplus of 700 calories per day (4200 per week) and extra pounds.

A real man; a real tough workout; reality-based self defense - surely you have heard these phrases and more.

The question I ask when confronted with them is: what is real? Or better yet: real for whom? To me, this seems to be the basis, not only for effective martial arts training, but for happiness and in life itself.

For instance, does it make sense to train Krav Maga if you live in the suburbs and had your last fight in junior high school? Answering “no” to this question doesn’t make the martial art any less realistic in the context for which it has been developed, but it does mean that battlefield combat might not fit with your lifestyle.

Reality is always in the eye of the beholder. Someone can grow up in the worst of neighborhoods and never experience violence first hand. Others suffer one violent attack or altercation after another, and die at an early age.

It is the way we approach the world, the way we look at things, as much as the conditions we are born into, that dictate what reality is for us. Phyisics proved long ago that there is no absolute “out there” reality. We create reality for ourselves through our actions and ommissions, our thoughts and imagination.

As a simple experiment to prove this point, try this:

On a cold day, go out for a short run. Notice, when you leave the house, how cold the air feels against your skin and how much this sensation influences your attitude about going for a run or being outside in general. Walk for a while and slowly warm yourself up by alternating between jogging a few yards, then walking some more, until you get to the park, or wherever you run.

Finish your jog close to the place where you started to run in earnest and repeat the warm-up procedure as a cool-down on the way home. As you walk, notice the air on your skin again. Notice your general disposition towards being outside. What has changed? Perhaps you’ll feel that the air is not as cold as is had felt before you started. But, it certainly hasn’t gotten much warmer in the last 20-30 minutes. It is you that has changed, of course. Is it any different with more abstract things than the ambient temperature vs. your body temperature?

You have the freedom to look at anything in your life from a new perspective. It need not even be a lasting change (e.g. when your body temperature drops back down, you will feel the cold again). But a new way of looking at things will expand your range of choices for future action. And, as any fighter knows, opening up a new option can be the key to victory or defeat.