48 | SUNRAYS
DECEMBER 2013
ONLINE:
SCTXCA.ORG
I
t was 1997, and I’d read in the news-
paper that the public was invited to
a free lesson in Aikido―the “Way of
Harmony,” a non-violent method of self-
defense. Being the adventurous soul I
am, my curiosity was piqued.
With little expectation, I showed up at
the dojo (practice room) that Saturday
morning. The Sensei (teacher) welcomed
all and asked us to approach the floor
mat and show respect for the dojo by giv-
ing a small bow. He asked us to kneel in
a line and sit on our heels. Should that
become uncomfortable, we could relieve
the pressure by bringing a knee forward,
thus placing one foot flat on the mat, or
we could sit Indian-style. Piece of cake.
So far, so good
The Sensei was a soft-spoken, gentle
person. Kneeling as he’d shown us, he
held his hands to his forehead, as if in
prayer, and bent at the waist in a bow
that brought his hands and head to the
mat. This, he told us, was how we show
respect for each other.
We’d been on the mat maybe a half hour,
and I’d switched from kneeling to In-
dian style, and back to kneeling several
times. That “piece of cake” mentioned
earlier was beginning to crumble. We
were asked to sit up straight and spread
our legs as far as we could. I failed quite
miserably; the old bones weren’t very
limber, and it hurt.
When the hour was up, we were told to
go straight home, draw a hot bath, and
soak. Straight home―no shopping, no
nothing.
The
Way of
Harmony
By Tina Berryman
I had reached my
60th birthday
before beginning
this new journey,
and everyone in
the dojo was
decades younger.”
~ Tina Berryman
