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Budukon: Beginning Practice,
with Cameron Shayne. Gaiam; gaiam.com
Budokon, Japanese for “way of the spiritual warrior,” is a video that’s billed as a reunion of martial arts, yoga, and meditation. The 40-minute program consists of three parts: a 20-minute asana warm-up, a 15-minute martial arts workout, and a 2-minute standing meditation. (Asanas are used as preparations for the real point of the presentation—the cool-looking kicking and punching of martial arts.) The concluding meditation seems almost an afterthought, tacked on at the end to leave the sweating viewer with a short but meaningful spiritual practice.
While Budokon may be a first step toward true integration of traditional self-realizing disciplines, it’s also a vigorous workout with an asana-style warm-up that will appeal to yogis who are interested in martial arts and to martial art practitioners who are interested in yoga.