Tai chi (also T’ai Chi, Taijiquan, Taiji, Tai Chi Chuan) is a centuries-old Chinese system of exercise that has become one of the world’s most popular forms of exercise. Tai chi’s deliberately slow body movements and carefully executed stances and positions cultivate mental relaxation and strengthen the body. It was originally, and still is, a martial art; but, now is practiced more as “meditation in motion.” Scientific research is showing that tai chi can provide many health benefits, such as improved blood circulation to almost magical curative properties in treatment of degenerative diseases.
Several styles of tai chi have developed over time, all of which are characterized by “forms.” The form links various postures with transitions between each posture. Most people practice a Yang style form of tai chi that originally linked 108 movements, but these days, a shorter 24 and 37 posture forms are more and more popular.
Taijiquan is actually only one of several ancient Chinese martial art systems that are referred to as “internal” systems. Internal aspects are the secrets to tai chi’s effectiveness and its distinction from other forms of exercise or martial arts. Durango is lucky to have a number of accomplished practitioners living in the area who share their knowledge and teach others. Instructor Tim Richard, who teaches publicly at Trimble Hot Springs and Durango Sports Club, practices three styles of taijiquan, as well as aspects of other internal arts. He employs 13 years of intensive study in helping others who seek better health and are interested in learning fundamental principles of Chinese internal martial arts.
“The proper progression of movement in Taiji is ‘mind moves energy moves body’,” Mr. Richard explains. “This sounds simple, but it is not easy to do at first, because most of us are accustomed to a different way of moving that we take for granted. Without a mindful awareness of how we move we cannot affect change in our energetic and physical beings. And change is why we do Taiji. Change is why we do any exercise, but of course I prefer Taiji for the way it engages the whole being—mind, energy, body.”
Mr. Richard describes tai chi as a complementary exercise, and although it stands alone among exercise routines, rather than an alternative to other exercise routines that so many in our community participate in. Bicyclists, hikers, runners, skiers, swimmers, golfers, rafters and so on can benefit from tai chi secrets, he says. He adds that the only thing he sees that competes with tai chi is time. Even though many feel some benefits in their first few practice sessions, few seem to have the time it takes to learn tai chi to the most beneficial degree.
He recommends that two years of weekly classes is a good measure of building capacity to get the most and the best from tai chi. By then, he says, you will have memorized the forms and you will be familiar and comfortable with them and can do them anywhere, anytime.
Anytime is a good time to begin tai chi he says; adding that “now” is the best time. He teaches Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays at Trimble Hot Springs and Durango Sports Club, and privately by appointment. He also co-teaches with his teacher and kungfu sister, Sifu Susan A. Matthews, on Friday afternoons at First United Methodist Church. Call him for details at 970-749-0891, or email at taichiquest@durangotaichi.com.
Tai chi appeals to many, but they have a hard time fitting even a single class into their weekly schedules. They already have so much to do, would hate to break any regular exercise routine they might have. Getting back a disrupted routine is not easy. Adding another commitment to your health regime is just too hard, even if you know you’re missing out.
Such a scheduling snafu gives tai chi a poor first impression before you even know what it really is and what it can do for you. Part of the problem might also be that conventional thinking has us assuming that lots of effort and time are needed in order to feel the effects. But tai chi is not like muscle-building or working out at the gym (or even like jogging or swimming; although you can incorporate tai chi principles into such routines with great results). Actually, you can feel the difference quite quickly. Of course, regular, long-term practice produces more in-depth knowledge and ability, as well as longer lasting benefits. Taijiquan becomes a life-long pursuit for many.
Lately, I’ve been wondering how necessary it actually is to think that you need to do tai chi regularly over time to get much out of it. Can you actually learn something about tai chi in a relatively short time and practice it without disrupting established routines? I think you can. I’ve suspected so for a long time, but the subject just recently surfaced to the forefront of my attention.
I was hiking with an acquaintance who had taken some tai chi classes in the past and had learned a little form. Along the way, she had moved to a town that had no tai chi teacher; so she got a membership at a health club to exercise. She likes to hike, but she goes to the club, which is handy when the weather is bad (What? No tai chi class at the club?!). While we were hiking she pointed out to me a strain that was bothering her. She had turned up the resistance factor on the machine to work her arms against it, which turned out to be too much. She hyper-extended a ligament, tendon, or muscle…whatever. … Her shoulder was still hurting weeks later and her range of motion was painfully constrained.
Hearing her story got me to thinking. I knew that she had injured herself because she had used her body incorrectly. I could have told her about whole body movement and initiating and completing moves from the lower dantian. I see it all the time. People don’t know they could avoid injury if they knew just a little bit about tai chi principles of movement. In a relatively short time, she could produce equal-to-better effects less hazardously by knowing some tai chi. For one thing, she would know how not to hyper-extend any part of the body.
If I showed someone just one thing about taiji it could make a difference in their exercise routine. They could reduce the risk of, or even prevent, injury just by practicing whole body moves as a single unit.
You can learn how to move from the dantian in a very short time with a good teacher and a balanced frame of mind. Just initiate and finish each move in the abdominal area. It’s enough even if that’s the only task you do for a long time. You can practice it at the gym on those contraptions that you push and pull against.
Taiji has existed so long that its origins are steeped in legend. But it is no longer a mystery that it can improve your health. Our lives have gotten away from the child we once were. Return to the beginning. Return to the source. Explore how you can realign your energetic configuration. Realign life with your whole being: mind, body, chi. Feel again.
The Earth heals. It heals itself, . . . . it heals us. The pace of earthtime passing is slow by human standards; like whales drifting in the sea… ponderous and sentient. Our sense of time differs from that of our planet. Not surprisingly, we feel out of balance. As gifted as we are with Earth’s support of our rise to such a finely evolved species (we’ve attained even the power of gods), we suffer from an unhealthy imbalance of mind, body, and spirit. Shouldn’t we evolve a clearer understanding of who we are and where we came from? Some practices heal partly by repairing our natural connection to Earth. That link is our natural heritage, even though few seem to feel it anymore. Taiji and qigong can help to hone that link. They are healing practices, like ritual… rhythmic, repetitive, meditative, relaxing and generative.
Taiji is a beneficial use of the body. Especially if you learn some of its “secrets.” They’re not secrets in the sense that they are surreptitously and jealously guarded by a few initiates. In taiji, I call them secrets to draw attention to them. It’s a way of attracting our imagination to look at a thing more in depth than we usually do.
Sometimes, we call them “principles.” But often that’s just something to go on while we figure out what they really are. Below the surface, though, we are aware that, whatever you may call them, they express harmonious movement–whole body moves as a single unit. Language alone does sufficiently define it. Getting in touch with the core of your being is the task of tai chi.
Lots of people have trouble learning the simplest things in tai chi, not because they are difficult; but, because they are not familiar. Life is like that. New learners struggle with learning simple cloud hands, or remembering to maintain a proper stance while moving the upper body. With practice though, they gradually build familiarity with the moves. They become more comfortable. Over time, with practice and continued focus, we improve at the learning process itself. We look forward to new movements so that we can practice learning skills that the moves themselves teach us.
Humans have advantages that four legs don’t have. Our shining evolutionary accomplishment is our minds. Maybe this makes us more adaptive, maybe not. Maybe we’re smarter, may be we’re not.
Learn intention from conscious, deliberate movement. Practice enough with a seeking mind and you will discover something marvelous about movement. It replicates on a larger scale the inner workings of things. What the mind perceives is only a shadow of the mystery that it does at all. Exercise your mind and the body will follow.
