by S.S. Desai (The
Times of India, April 1, 2003)
T'ai Chi, the ancient martial art form, is not only about movements. It is also
about the principles behind the movements following which you can discover the
stillness in movement and the energy that flows through you. Its first
principle is: Go slow.
As you do the movements, pretend you are the tortoise in the race against the
hare. Rushing gets you nowhere, certainly not to mindful balance and definitely
not to enlightenment. Discover the stillness in slow movements and the movement
in quiet stillness.
In the modern world, forcing things along is a way of life. Many people do
things while tensing up or clenching - physically and mentally.
The mantra of T'ai Chi is the opposite: Take it easy. Look down at your hands.
Perhaps your fingers are holding on to a pencil for dear life. What about your
legs? Are they crossed tightly? Think about your shoulders. Up to your ears
perhaps? Stop tensing up. But that does not mean you slouch on the couch.
Imagine being snake-soft, supple and relaxed but powerful. Use your mind to
relax the body and your body to relax the mind.
Movements in T'ai Chi are curved and circular, and rarely linear. This allows
one movement to flow seamlessly into the next. Take a look at the famous
Yin-Yang symbol. The line separating white from black is curved, representing
cycles of change. Straight lines indicate stagnation, like a muck covered pond
in the park, which isn't what you want your insides to resemble.
In T'ai Chi, elbows are not locked, not even during a push or a punch. Knees
are not straightened, not even in a kick. At all times, avoid snapping your
joints, keep them soft and curved.
Simplicity boils down to the ability to live fully and naturally, moving and
feeling the way that feels is best. This ability can be difficult, considering
today's frenzied pace that encourages you to have one eye on tomorrow and the
other on the mobile phone.
T'ai Chi requires simplicity, but it also provides simplicity. It gives you an
opportunity to put the world on hold for a while and let your mind settle into
a simpler state.
Bending your knees to sink lower - a T'ai Chi technique is not just about
exercising your legs. T'ai Chi is a process, not a goal for fitness. Fitness
and strength happen. The demand to sink lower stems from Tai Chi's roots in
training for combat. If you can sink lower than your opponent, you can get
beneath his centre of gravity and turn him over. The higher a person stands the
easier he is to uproot.
Have you ever been on a rocking boat? Or on a bus or train that swayed along,
perhaps jerking in fits and starts? What do you naturally do to stay upright?
Bend at the knees. The same applies in T'ai Chi. Sinking lower allows you to
root firmly to the ground beneath you.
Sinking lower is also a behavioural characteristic that T'ai Chi hones. You
retain an appropriately humble view of your own abilities, no matter how good
you are. You are sure to have met people like that. You chat. The person seems
right enough. Then you find out later that she is a well-known film director or
has written a best seller or competed in the Olympics.
The Tao Te Ching says: "All rivers run to the sea because it is lower than
they are. The ocean's willingness to be humbler and lower than the rivers gives
it its power." The same applies to a true follower of Tai Chi.
|
