Chances are good that you have
seen tai chi in a neighborhood park. You may associate it with Asian people,
pacifists, or aging hippies. You may also have heard that it is good rehab for
heart patients and a fine way to manage stress. Perhaps you’ve been stirred by
watching people practice tai chi with a sword and inspired by how relaxed and
precise they seem. You may even have seen tai chi on television, in Hong Kong
kung fu movies and their recent Western derivatives such as Crouching Tiger,
Hidden Dragon, and Kung Fu Panda, or even in the cartoon series Avatar: The
Last Airbender, which draws heavily on the art. Yet for all the impressions you
may have, and all the curiosity, too, you likely cannot imagine the truly
transformative potential of this marvelous art. Long time ago, tai chi was a
system of battlefield fighting.
Today, tai chi is a perfect
exercise because it conditions the body, grows the spirit, and strengthens the
mind. It is also a means of personal expression for millions of people around
the world, an exotic paintbrush that can produce works of art as deep, rich,
surprising, and rewarding as the people who wield it. Yet tai chi is more than
an art form, a physical exercise, and a wondrous lens through which to see the
world; it is a philosophy that can be lived, a lifestyle through which we can
realize high ideals, and a complete recipe for health, longevity, happiness,
and power.
Street Tai Chi in a small town in China.
Tai chi is as much a state of
mind as it is a system of movement. Demanding presence and attention to every
sensation and detail, tai chi flees the moment the mind wanders. The instant we
think about the pizza we’re planning to have for lunch, worry about whether the
babysitter is into the wet bar, glance at the sky to track and impending
thunderstorm, feel a chill in our spine about an upcoming exam or performance
review, tai chi in its pure sense goes out the window. Let the mind slip away
to an interlude with a lover, pop off to a happy memory of a tropical vacation
or the best margarita we’ve ever tasted, and because tai chi is all about the
mind/body connection, it’s gone. Return to awareness of the present moment,
feel our muscles, our connective tissue, our joints and our bones, and tai chi
returns. Because it requires a completely inwardly directed consciousness,
genuine tai chi is not a performance and should not be done with an audience in
mind.
Geometricians and physicists
know that the spiral is nature’s archetypal shape, being found in galaxies,
tornadoes, seashells, the flow of liquid through pipes (or blood vessels), and
water exiting a drain. In recognition of this natural design, tai chi
movements—particularly Chen style, the founding family’s original
art—characteristically describe spirals. Spiral movement is a sign of tai chi’s
Taoist origins, and accounts for the fact that many people watching tai chi say
that in addition to looking exotic and graceful, the practice also appears
organic and natural.
Natural, however, does not mean
easy. While tai chi is adaptable to fitness levels from wheelchair-bound
patients to Olympic athletes and suitable from ages 12 to 112, the art
challenges us at every level. Every student soon becomes aware that every movement
has onion-like layers of depth and complexity. Watching tai chi in a local
park, health club, senior center, or martial arts school, it will immediately
become apparent—even within a single class—which players have been at it the
longest. A seasoned tai chi practitioner usually exhibits smoother movements,
seems more relaxed, may sink lower in his stances, and may perform strikes with
percussive authority.
The original purpose of form
practice was to test martial strength and alignment and to remain strong,
rooted (more on this later), and relaxed in the kind of unpredictable
situations a real-life battle might bring. In the battlefield of everyday life
today, and with a focus on health and longevity, these beautiful movements
function to enhance our balance, sensitivity, serenity, composure, and power.
While the elderly and infirm player can find plenty of benefit in performing
tai chi gently and in a high stance, the fittest, strongest, most flexible
athlete can crouch on one leg or go into deep and challenging stances. Form
practice coordinates upper and lower extremities at every athletic level, all
the while strengthening the body right down to the marrow.
As the tai chi onion suggests,
traditional tai chi training follows a set curriculum. Each grade, or level,
requires you to be able to do certain things. At the beginning, the focus is on
relaxing the upper body, shifting the weight properly, and learning arm circles
and stances. As the student’s skill grows, the requirements become more
demanding, traditional Chinese weapons such as straight or curved swords,
spear, halberd, sticks, mace, and the long pole may be brought into play to
build strength, increase mobility, sensitivity, and flexibility, and improve
footwork and timing. Simplified tai chi will not include such tools, but if you
find an advanced group at a park or martial arts school you may be lucky enough
to catch a glimpse of the art’s martial roots.
COME AND EXPERIENCE YOURSELF
If you are in San Francisco Bay
Area, sign up for a "rare find" Tai Chi workshop with our beloved master of 40 years of
teaching experience! First class and bonus demo will be held on Saturday,
February 9, 2019. Feel
free to check out
event page for details, or sign up at Eventbrite.
Source:
https://healthyaging.net/sports/tai-chi-perfect-exercise-mind-body/
https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/the-health-benefits-of-tai-chi
https://wecareholistic.com/
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