Kokoro – The Origin Story

I have been practicing various Martial arts, Dance, Theatre, Movement and Holistic/Wellness Methodologies for over 50 years now, and teaching them for over 40.

Over the course of years, I realised two things – that to become really proficient at any one of the above, one needs a lifetime commitment and single-minded focus. Obviously, most of the folks I worked with over the years and taught – don’t have either that kind of time or commitment because they have so many other priorities that they have to cater to. And yet, most people do want to become healthier, happier and more wholesome!

The pressures of day to day living, work, family, society…place an inexorable weight on most people. And it becomes even more stark and obvious in an organisation where you have deadlines, the numbers crunch, the targets to meet, schedules to be met and adhered to etc. It’s like an assembly line and all that matters is the end result!

So, for me it became a real challenge to be able to come up with a methodology wherein I could work with a group or organisation, within a very limited time frame and attempt to impart the following…

• A reorientation of the self in terms of physicality and emotional receptivity.
• Actual tools at hand that one could use.
• Simple, easy to practices methods that had a visible and tangible effect.
• Exercises and techniques that genuinely and visibly made a difference.
• Methods of relaxing, breathing to take away and ease the stress and pressure of work orientation.
• A methodology of sensing, understanding and becoming more receptive and comfortable with one’s own body, physicality.
• And lastly to realise – that the keys to becoming, better, stronger, more wholesome, more productive and, more potent – lie within us and not outside.

So, after a whole series of trials and errors, over a period of 15 odd years, I created Kokoro – a combination of Chi Gong, Tai Chi Chuan and Dance your Senses/The 5 Rhythms.

Photos are from a Kokoro workshop conducted for the India Sensed program run by Direct Create for the students of the winter travel semester class of Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) on January 11, 2025, in Delhi

About Kokoro

‘The organic heart’ or ‘The heart of stillness’ or ‘The heart Of things’ (Having Heart).

To be still, to be silent, to slow down when life’s frenetic pace just about seems to overwhelm and suffocate one. Here, stillness and to quieten down doesn’t mean loss of productivity, on the contrary it actually means increasing productivity. To be able to realise one’s core strengths and attributes and, to strengthen those aspects that are lagging or needed in one’s repertoire – can actually only be done in quietness, not in chaos.

Kokoro does primarily that – it allows one to see the pathways to a stronger, more balanced and productive life – on all levels. Various aspects of the disciplines that Kokoro draws upon from – nourish, teach, realign, strengthen, rejuvenate, build upon all these aspects -biologically, physiologically, neurologically, intellectually and emotionally. To be able to live well, holistically, potently, gently with strength, both personally and professionally.

Using Tai Chi Chuan, Chi Gong and Dance Your Senses/The 5 Rhythms (Flow, Staccato, Chaos, Lightness and Stillness), is how the Kokoro methodology works – infusing one with a new sense of energy, balance and calm, rejuvenating the senses and the body.

Photos are from a Kokoro workshop conducted for the India Sensed program run by Direct Create for the students of the winter travel semester class of Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) on January 11, 2025, in Delhi

So, if you, your teams, or the larger organisation, are experiencing stress and burn out, or simply feeling the need for ‘stillness’, reach out to us at syngrity@syngrity.com and let us help you find your ‘inner calmness’.

Rashid Ansari is a practitioner and teacher of performing arts, martial arts and various mind-body Wellness integrated disciplines for over 45 years. He is an international master instructor in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean martial arts as well as a contemporary and modern dance instructor and choreographer and has delved deeply into Physical Theatre and Theatre Movement. Rashid is associated with Syngrity as a Master Facilitator and conducts our signature wellness program for stress management – Kokoro