AHP Perspective is a magazine published bi-monthly for members of the Association for Humanistic Psychology. It includes interviews, articles, essays, updates on member activities, conference announcements, and book reviews. Members receive the complete AHP Perspective as part of their membership.

AHP PERSPECTIVE April/May 2002 Table of Contents

AIKIDO IN THE TRAINING OF TRANSPERSONAL THERAPISTS — David Lukoff

The moon does not think to be reflected nor does the water think to reflect in the Hirowasa Pond. — Tesshu

— Aikido, the blending of harmony ( ai) and spirit ( ki), evolved in Japan from lethal fighting arts. However, Aikido is not used to defeat enemies. Rather the context of lifeand- death combat is used to master one’s own mind and body. “Winning means winning over the mind of discord in yourself,” declared Master Morihei Ueshiba, founder of Aikido. Master Ueshiba studied the traditional Japanese martial arts of judo and jujitsu, as well as the arts of the sword, spear, and staff. Buddhism, the folk religion of shintoism, and the new religion of O-Moto-Kyo also were important influences in his life.
— Following a mystical experience in 1925 at the peak of his prowess as a warrior, Master Ueshiba began reshaping Aikido. Through his influence, it has evolved from a fighting art into a way of selfdevelopment which promotes both personal and spiritual growth. As a mind-body-spirit discipline, Aikido cultivates many of the core attributes of a somatically based therapy. Several programs for transpersonal therapists now incorporate training in Aikido.
— Aikido in Therapist Training Mind and body must be coordinated in Aikido. This trains the attention and brings about other changes in consciousness that are central to creating the healing presence so important in therapy. A therapist who can maintain a calm state of mind, free from fears and illusions of the past or of an imagined future, can relate to others empathically. The ability to relax and blend in the face of conflict and to enhance one’s sensitivity to self and clients are attributes the psychotherapist cannot simply adopt as a philosophy. One must also train the body. As William Shakespeare wrote: “By my body’s action . . . teach my mind.”
— The objective in Aikido is to join one’s personal ki with universal ki to achieve ultimate harmony ( ai). Aikido emphasizes working with a partner, not fighting against an opponent as in competitive tournaments. The essence of the practice is the blending of movements and breathing ( waza) which physically creates harmony in conflictful encounters. Aikido techniques neutralize and control rather than violently defeat an attacker. Training emphasizes form, mutual cooperation, awareness of others, and the coordination of the body’s movement with a calm state of mind. The practice also stresses perfection of character and development of positive human qualities such as compassion, courage, endurance, and inner strength. In this spirit, Aikido improves the individual, and the effects of one’s personal training extend into society.
— Aikido’s influence on the training of transpersonal therapists has been shaped by Robert Frager and Charles Tart, two key people in the field of transpersonal psychology. Frager, who studied Aikido with Master Ueshiba, later founded the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology (ITP). He heads a dojo for students in the residential program at ITP. They spend two years practicing Aikido four times a week as part of a mindbody healing course. Charles Tart incorporated some of the concepts and practices of Aikido into his influential theoretical work. Among the transpersonal schools, Saybrook Graduate School, JFK University, and Naropa Institute also offer classes in Aikido.
— Eugene Taylor, a William James scholar, is the head instructor of the Harvard Aikido Club. He and I (DL) have taught Aikido techniques as healing tools by combining methods from shiatsu with ki and applying them along the acupuncture meridians. In this way, Aikido provides training in the psychospiritual dimensions of healing. Patrick Faggianelli has used Aikido to train therapists in workshops and classes. George Leonard’s programs at Esalen and his books (e.g., The Way of Aikido: Life Lessons from an Amerian Sensei, Dutton 1999), have also served to bring this discourse and practice to therapists, as have Wendy Palmer’s books (e.g., Intuitive Body: Aikido As a Clairsentient Practice 1991). Palmer’s classes at JFKU and her workshops for therapists use principles drawn from Aikido.
— What makes Aikido ideal for therapist training? It is a mind/body/ spirit practice usually performed with a partner, and its interactions often mimic therapist-client interactions. Frager describes how issues of projection and transference, as well as ways of dealing with conflict and closeness, arise in Aikido. For therapists, particularly during training, this provides an opportunity for self-examination, skill development, and growth.
— Humanistic therapists have maintained the importance of being fully present in the existential encounter of therapy. For example, Bugental describes the therapist’s need to be “totally in the situation . . . in body, in emotions, in relating, in thoughts, in every way” (Bugental, James, Psychotherapy and Process, Menlo Park, CA: Addison-Wesley, 1978, p. 37). This is an excellent description of what it means to “be centered” in Aikido. It is also similar to Freud’s “evenly suspended attention” and Rollo May’s “total relationship” as well as Carl Rogers’ “being present,” which have been identified as the fundamental basis of psychotherapy.
— Patrick Faggianelli’s interview study of eight advanced Aikidoists, who were also therapists, found that they brought experiences from their training on the mat into their consulting rooms (Faggianelli, Patrick, Aikido and psychotherapy: A study of psychotherapists who are Aikido practitioners, Doctoral dissertation, Saybrook Graduate School, 1995). “The participants reported that Aikido practice has powerfully affected their ability to be present and effective in therapy” (p. 191). They described how they apply the key Aikido concept of “blending with the attack” to the resistance of clients during therapy. One therapist described “getting off the line” (out of the way of the attack) when a client has “. . . an emotional outburst not meant for me. It needs to come out. I can step aside emotionally and just witness the emotion going by” (p. 120). Another theme that emerged relates to the Aikido technique of Takemusu which involves spontaneously dealing effectively, safely, and compassionately with conflict. The therapists reported that Takemusu “transfers directly to the ability to be relaxed, present, flexible, and spontaneous in therapy” (p. 98).
— Aikido, Transpersonal Psychology, and Spirituality Transpersonal psychology highlights the spiritual dimensions of existence. In Aikido, the spiritual dimension is expressed as ki, “universal life energy.” This same life energy is described as Qi in Qigong and chi in Tai Chi. Aikido is a “moving meditation,” yet it requires stilling of the mind even as the body is in action. As with meditation, higher states of consciousness can be attained through the practice of Aikido. The flow of harmony ( ai) and spirit ( ki) can sometimes lead to peak experiences. As Wendy Palmer points out, Aikido can provide therapists with an experiential grounding in spirituality. “I have found the body to be the most revealing and rewarding focal point for exploring the ecumenical nature of the spiritual path, for it is through the body that an individual manifests the ideas or inspirations of this path” (Palmer, Wendy, The Practice of Freedom: Aikido Principles as a Spiritual Guide, Rodwell Press, 2002, p. 5). In this vein, the therapists in Faggianelli’s study reported that Aikido provided “an embodied, practical, and spirituallybased model” for understanding their own experience” (p. 191).
— Clinical Applications of Aikido At times, Aikido can be directly applied in clinical situations. For example, Richard Heckler used Aikido in his work with children diagnosed as emotionally disturbed. He worked with their issues somatically —teaching the children how to move and experience their bodies differently. He began by teaching them to stand in an Aikido way—to find a position that is balanced, solid, and relaxed. The Aikido movements themselves were used to create change. As they learn Aikido, the fundamental thing that begins to happen to these young people is that their ability to feel and sense is awakened . . . . I believe this work is as valuable, if not more valuable than traditional talking therapy . . . . Through the Aikido training these children deal with issues of competition, aggression, intimacy and contact while they learn to unify their minds and bodies (Heckler, p. 138). Heckler’s book Aikido and the New Warrior (North Atlantic Book s, 1985 ) contains other examples of Aikido techniques used with people in a coma, in family therapy, and in other therapeutic contexts.
— He now offers somatics coaching and leadership training programs for health professionals and others at the Rancho Strozzi Institute.
— As psychologists, we have found that Aikido training increases our ability to “read” bodies, increases perceptivity of social/emotional issues embodied in our students and clients, and is invaluable in rebalancing ourselves physically, spiritually, and emotionally. Experiencing the difference between being off balance and in balance and the enjoyment of learning to “roll with the punches” and return to a centered stance is a practice of resilience and learned optimism.
— Ponder this . . . We spend our time, our money, and we sometimes drive long distances just for the opportunity to be thrown to the ground! Then we get up and get thrown again, and then we change roles. Throughout this practice, we seek our still center. Why? So we can learn to respond in a way that maintains safety for both the attacker and the attacked. Just as water reflects the moon, so do we strive to reflect the concerns, emotions, and dynamics of our clients as we create for them that same environment, the stillness and safety of Hirowasa Pond.
— Therapists interested in exploring the interface of Aikido and therapy can contact Aiki-Extensions, www.aiki-extensions.org, which has interest groups in:
— -- Incorporating aikido elements into psychotherapy
— -- Working with adolescents with sexual aggression problems and/or violence/anger management problems.
— -- Using aikido practice to help survivors of physical and sexual abuse.
— -- Incorporating aikido ideas into training programs in somatic education.

— DAVID LUKOFF is a Professor of Psychology at Saybrook Graduate School, co-president of the ATP, serves on the board of directors of Aiki Extensions and the Board of Editors of the Journal of Humanistic Psychology, gives workshops on psychospiritual approaches to death, grief and illness, and maintains a web site of resources and online courses on spirituality and mental health at www.internetguides.com. He trains with Sensei Richard Heckler at the Two Rock Dojo in Petaluma, California.
— BETH TABAKIN is a psychologist and Reiki Master in private practice in Marin, California, treasurer of ATP, and founder of Life After Breakfast which incorporates a mind-body-spirit approach to healthy weight loss. She has been challenged since January 1988 with Senseis George Leonard, Jack Wada, Bob Frager, and currently trains with Sensei Wendy Palmer at Aikido of Tamalpais in Mill Valley, California.

AHP PERSPECTIVE April/May 2002 Table of Contents

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