Similarities and differences between Tai Chi and meditation.

Tai Chi and meditation are both traditional Chinese ways of practicing body and mind, and each has its own unique charm and benefits. Combining the two, that is, meditating during Tai Chi, can allow people to experience the harmony and balance of body and mind more deeply.

Tai Chi is based on the Tai Chi and Yin-Yang dialectical concepts in traditional Chinese Confucian and Taoist philosophy. It integrates multiple functions such as nourishing temperament, strengthening the body, and fighting. It combines the changes of Yin-Yang and Five Elements in Yixue, Chinese medicine meridians, and ancient guiding techniques and breathing techniques to form a traditional Chinese boxing that is both internal and external, gentle, slow, light, and hard and soft.

Meditation means opening your mind, stepping back and watching, and keeping a distance. Practice observing everything that enters awareness.

In the Tai Chi boxing manual, the older generation of masters called Tai Chi a perceptual movement. Chinese characters have one meaning each, and knowing and feeling are two mental states or states of consciousness.

Knowing is mindfulness, the consciousness is focused on the action, body or a certain point in the void, with a direction.

Awareness is meditation, although the consciousness is focused on a certain point, there is a broad and boundless awareness scattered in the surrounding environment, clearly and distinctly.

In Tai Chi routines and push hands training, this mentality is also called the combination of spirit, will and qi, or the shroud of spirit.

In Tai Chi training, after laying a certain foundation of body and internal qi through the early accurate form and joint-through training, you should no longer pay attention to the body and qi, but naturally transition to perception. A master with profound kung fu can keenly perceive the every move of people 10 meters or even more behind him, which is due to long-term training of awareness and the large magnetic field of human body induction.

Tai Chi boxing routine training is the kung fu of knowing oneself. Some predecessors simply call Tai Chi an opening and closing movement, which is also reasonable.

Opening and closing is not about the body shape, but about the mentality. Opening is meditation, opening the mind, loosening the consciousness, and spreading the mind into the void; closing is mindfulness, concentrating the mind, focusing the consciousness on the body parts such as the spine or tailbone. Under the control of two different mentalities, the body movements and breathing will automatically open and close with the opening and closing of the mind. At this time, the acquired consciousness of the person does not work, and the instinct to open and close the movement through muscle force is put down. When doing the movement, you can use the mind without force, and the mind comes before the form.

Therefore, Tai Chi training is essentially the training of the mind and consciousness. Some people also call it changing the brain. When you have more experience in actual practice, the terms such as awareness, mind, meditation and mindfulness will no longer bother you.

Tai Chi is a meditation + mindfulness exercise, a perceptual exercise. This statement helps to understand the state of consciousness when practicing Tai Chi!

The unity of Tai Chi and meditation

I have been practicing Tai Chi for many years. Every time I practice Tai Chi, my body and mind are very calm. Every movement of the body needs to be closely coordinated with breathing, and this coordination itself is a kind of meditation. By focusing on every movement and breath, and being aware of every movement and breath, I gradually enter a state of tranquility and relaxation, and feel the connection and unity of body and mind.

After each Tai Chi practice, I feel that my mind becomes clearer and sharper, and I can better understand my inner world and external environment. This insight not only improves my Tai Chi skills, but also improves the quality of my daily life and happiness.

In addition, every time I meditate in Tai Chi, I further explore my inner world, understand my true needs and desires, and adjust my mentality and behavior to make my body and mind more harmonious and unified. This self-cognition and growth is another important gain and feeling of my Tai Chi meditation.

In the process of Tai Chi meditation practice, in order to achieve a good meditation effect, my understanding is that you need to practice and be aware of your breathing, the position of each movement, your physical and mental state, and gradually find the most suitable meditation awareness method for yourself.

In general, I like to meditate during Tai Chi, and the harmonious state of body and mind has kept me going. For our physical and mental health, I hope everyone will actively participate in meditation activities.

The benefits of practicing Tai Chi with meditation

Tai Chi is good because it can maintain health, cultivate one’s character, and strengthen the body for self-defense. There are many ways to practice Tai Chi well. It should be said that Tai Chi can be practiced while walking, sitting, or lying down. Years of experience in practicing Tai Chi have taught me that practicing Tai Chi requires practicing internal skills to fill the internal energy, and practicing Tai Chi with meditation is a good way to practice internal skills and gather internal energy.

The “meditation” here refers to closing your eyes and relaxing, calming your mind, and leading the brain’s consciousness to sink, turning the brain’s shallow consciousness into deep consciousness, thereby preventing the brain from being disturbed by the outside world, so that you can reach a state of selflessness, make the brain more awake, and make the potential consciousness more acute.

1, Meditation can wake up the brain and strengthen the heart

    You can practice Tai Chi while standing or sitting quietly, closing your eyes and calming your breath, so that the shallow consciousness disappears and enters the deep consciousness realm, as if you have entered a place without people, and use arm movements to guide the internal energy to flow in a quiet and quiet manner, so that the qi fills the waist and abdomen and runs through the whole body. Sitting quietly can help gather Qi in Dantian, and standing can help Qi sink under the feet, thus making the whole body full of Qi.

    Meditation can make the mind sharper and the thinking clearer, as if entering another dimension, with increased imagination and artistic conception. Through meditation, there are beautiful scenery in the mind, strange sights in front of the eyes, the wind and clouds, the gurgling water, and the fragrance of flowers, making people feel like they are in nature and easily reach the state of unity between man and nature. Meditation and boxing can open up inspiration, perceive the true meaning of life, find the instinctive things of the human body, and mobilize the heart.

    2. Meditation can relax the body.

    People often say that out of sight, out of mind. Meditation and boxing can block external interference. Without interference, the mind can be quiet, and the body can be relaxed. Meditation can relieve stress and release nervous and irritable emotions, so that people can practice boxing freely and feel at ease. It is crucial to relax the body when practicing Tai Chi. Without relaxation, Tai Chi cannot be practiced well. The key to physical relaxation must be guaranteed by a relaxed mood. Meditation is a good way to relax the mood.

    Practicing boxing with meditation and relaxing the body can make the Qi sink and achieve a state of lightness on the upper part and solidness on the lower part. Meditation while standing can practice body balance, allowing the internal strength to support from all sides, thereby enhancing the stability of the body and practicing concentration. Meditation while sitting in meditation, sitting cross-legged, can practice standing upright, sinking the head and shoulders, holding the chest and dropping the elbows, shaping a beautiful body and calming the mind.

    3, Meditation can gather Qi in Dantian

      Because meditation can better relax the body, it can make the internal Qi sink, and sitting in meditation is more effective in gathering the internal Qi in Dantian and increasing the energy of Dantian. Dantian is located in the lower abdomen and is the source of internal energy. Meditation itself is a basic skill for practicing internal skills. Imagine the blue sky above your head and receive the energy of the universe, which is called opening the gate of heaven. The perineum is sitting below to prevent energy from flowing out of the perineum, which is called closing the door of the earth. The palms of both hands, the soles of both feet and the top of the head are facing upwards to collect the fresh air of nature, which is called five hearts facing the sky. Cross your legs to make the three yin meridians and three yang meridians of your feet intersect, so that the energy of your legs complements each other and the qi is gathered into the pelvis. Put your hands together to make the three yin meridians and three yang meridians of your hands connect, so that the internal qi of the belt meridian can flow through. Press your tongue against the palate and close your lips slightly to connect the Ren and Du meridians, so that the internal qi can flow smoothly, which is called building a magpie bridge. The basic skills of meditation combined with meditation and boxing, leading with consciousness, and sinking qi into the dantian are more conducive to practicing internal strength. Sitting cross-legged can gather internal qi in the dantian and make it full.

      Why does qi gather in this way? Because if you don’t cross your legs, the energy of the human body is scattered, but once you cross your legs, the sinking internal qi is intercepted in the dantian, so that the energy is gathered and becomes the capital of internal strength. If you use meditation, mindfulness and boxing to exert the gathered energy, you can let the qi run and form soft strength or explosive power. Can standing meditation and boxing gather qi in the dantian? It can also gather qi in the waist and abdomen. This is because meditation relaxes the meridians, and the Qi sinks to the feet, which can borrow the reaction force of the ground, and the Qi returns to the Dantian and meets the sinking internal Qi. Under the control of meditation, the Qi gathers in the Dantian.

      4, meditation can repair the body

      Practicing boxing with meditation can easily open up the small and large circulations and make the Qi and blood flow smoothly. When practicing boxing and collecting Qi in meditation, the internal Qi goes from the front Dantian, down to the Ren Mai, down to the perineum, up to the Du Mai on the back, up to the Baihui, and then down to the Ren Mai. The Ren and Du Mai are connected, allowing the internal Qi to form a cycle, and the internal Qi returns to the Dantian, which is the small circulation cycle. However, the use of Qi in boxing is the opposite, which I call the small circulation reverse. Meditation and boxing are to open up the Ren and Du Mai, ensuring good health and energy.

      Practicing Tai Chi with meditation consumes less energy than normal practice, and the heart also supplies less blood, so that sufficient blood circulation is allowed, which is beneficial to repair the sub-health state of the body and improve the functions of the internal organs. It has a certain conditioning effect on chronic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, gastrointestinal disease, kidney disease, liver disease, lung disease, cerebral blood supply insufficiency, rheumatism, depression and insomnia.

      In short, on the premise of practicing Tai Chi, you might as well practice Tai Chi with meditation. There will be wonderful things. The practice of Tai Chi makes people calmer, the boxing is smoother, the qi is smoother, and the gestures are elegant and gentle. Unconsciously, you will be able to keep fit and cultivate your body and mind.