When you first start learning either tai chi or qigong, it's all about learning a set of movements. For some people, it never goes beyond that point; they want something to exercise the muscles in certain ways and no more. Absolutely fine - why not?
And then there are those who would like to take it all a stage further, and, aside from learning the order of a set of movements, would like to 'perfect' them.Suddenly, learning tai chi/qigong moves on to a different level, and they start to discover the need to do that most evasive of concepts - 'relaxation'.
How on earth do you 'relax'?
'Relax' is a marvellously vague word, maybe conjuring up your favourite armchair, lying on beaches, taking a bath, having a drink with friends, looking out at herds of wildebeest sweeping majestically across the plain...But as soon as you try to relax, you've failed!
In tai chi and qigong, all of a sudden, you begin to observe how you do the movements, and as soon as you do that, you begin to observe how your body works when it's at its most efficient.
You know that you're on the right track when, one day, you have the experience of moving effortlessly.
This is the moment when you do a movement and realise that, not only did you not lose your balance, but also you had zero discomfort when doing the movement, that it appeared to 'go like clockwork', required minimum energy, and brought with it a feeling of complete ease and release in the body. You almost floated it was so effortless.You've cracked it!You try to repeat the feeling, and it's mysteriously vanished.Why? Perhaps because you're no longer 'in the moment', you're trying to recapture how the moment was.
So why practise so slowly?
That effortless sensation that you might have experienced relies on a number of factors; even putting some of them into place helps to chip away at the unrelaxed state and produce effortlessness.
In no particular order:-
• Heavy Arms, e.g. a sense of using the minimum number of muscles to lift them
• Song (a whole-body sensation of connection to the ground - a settling of tissues)
• Head Alignment (postural)
• Allowing the spine to undo (pelvis to settle/neck to release)
• Freeing the waist (has much to do with being flexible in the lumbar spine)
• Coordinating hands/feet; elbows/knees; shoulders/hips
• Using correct knee alignment•Awareness of where your weight is on your feet
• Using the concept of 'Open/Close' throughout the body
• Breathing and using the breath in movement
• Keeping connection of Jin (unbroken energetic line)
• Use of the centre to produce the movements of arms and legs
• Joints opening/releasing in palms/feet; elbows/knees; shoulders/hips; spine
• Correct method of transference of weight from one foot to another
• Releasing the foot as you transfer the weight off it
• Awareness of body's energy rising/settling
• Connection of elbows/hips, knees/hips, or shoulders/hips
• Use of the 6 directions: forward/backward; upward/downward; left/right
• Awareness of central equilibrium
•Using the eyes correctly
• Awareness of the martial application (relies on the previous points being in place or it can increase tension)
In effect, your body becomes a microcosm of the way in which the Universe is constructed and functions - well, it couldn't be anything else really - but being aware of that is the game!
With all of that going on, how could it NOT be slow!
James Drewe teaches Tai Chi and Qigong in both London and in Kent and online.
Details of weekly classes both live and online can be found on the website, and there are classes for 2-person Tai Chi on one Saturday a month.
You can also learn both tai chi & qigong through a monthly subscription, and there are also many free videos on YouTube.
CONTACT:
Email: taijiandqigong@gmail.com
Phone: 07836-710281
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