1 , Tai Chi is a state of mind

Tai Chi culture is the root of Taoist culture. The concept of Tai Chi is the core worldview of Taoism. It generally refers to the most primitive state of order in the universe, which appeared after the chaos (Wuji) before the separation of Yin and Yang, and then formed the origin of all things in the universe.

The idea of ​​Tai Chi does conform to the traditional Taoist culture of “refining essence into Qi, refining Qi into spirit, and refining spirit into emptiness”. But Tai Chi is not exclusive to Taoism.

Since Tai Chi often appears with Yixue, Yixue or Yichang is often mistakenly believed to be the specialty of Taoism, but the order is actually reversed. In the early pre-Qin period before the Hundred Schools of Thought, Confucianism and Taoism were inseparable, and the Book of Changes was the common classic of Confucianism and Taoism.

Tai Chi is the source of Chinese culture, but Tai Chi is indeed a Taoist health-preserving skill. Statements like the following are common forms in Tai Chi essentials.

“Hands are like no hands, the mind leads the hands, the opponent wants to attack, but there is nowhere to start.”

“The arms are as light as door curtains, sticking to the opponent and moving strictly, the opponent’s attack falls into the abyss, and the opponent retreats and flips out.” (The metaphor of door curtains is wonderful!)

Tai Chi advocates using intention instead of force, not relying on strength or speed.

The connotation of the word “Wu” is to stop fighting, which is a way to stop things and defend oneself, not to compete for strength. The purpose of practicing Tai Chi cannot be to win, but to stay undefeated.

There is also a very interesting saying: “listen to the strength”. This is a term in Tai Chi’s push hand strength method, which refers to the ability to sense the changes in the opponent’s strength when pushing hands. It means: concentrate on perception, and there is no need to do any action.

2 , The essence of Tai Chi lies in relaxation

Sitting and meditation are common methods of practicing and fitness in countries around the world. In Tai Chi, it is actually called relaxation.

Yang Chengfu (1883-1936), founder of Yang Style Tai Chi:

“Relaxation is the most difficult thing to achieve. If you can really relax, then everything else is nothing! To relax, you must relax all your bones and muscles. There must not be any tension. It is said that a soft waist is like a person without bones, only muscles. If the muscles can be relaxed, how can the rest not be relaxed?”

Relaxation is the soul of internal power Tai Chi. Even when moving, the mind is the main focus. The limbs will adjust naturally. The breathing is completely natural, and the inside and outside can be unified.

Specifically, the “four pillars and eight columns” of “Tai Chi Relaxation” include the following points:

Four pillars:

(1) Loosening joints: Use your mind to stretch all the joints in the body and slowly stretch them out.

(2) Loosening muscles: Keep the muscles loose and soft. By consciously relaxing the muscles for a long time, the muscles will become puffy, which will then loosen the joints. Then the turbid air and disease in the body can be continuously released from the body.

(3) Relaxation of the five internal organs: Allow the internal energy to surge in the body, spread to the limbs, and then form an aura, producing a kind of empty and spiritual top strength. The three burners we usually talk about fall into this category. The easiest way to relax the five internal organs is to take a deep breath calmly.

(4) Relaxation of the mind: Do not blindly pursue so-called kung fu in the mind, but maintain a strategic mentality of letting things take their course, especially when contacting and interacting with external consciousness, such as pushing hands.

Eight Pillars:

Relaxation: Loosen the muscles and bones in all parts of the body, loosen the tendons and activate the joints.

Looseness: The whole body is loose, keeping round and harmonious, and the whole body is a curve, as if there is a hula hoop protecting the body.

Relaxation and sinking: The feet have roots, like a loaded boat, sinking but not floating. Peng strength.

Relaxation and unobstructedness: The flow from the source of strength to the extremities of the limbs should be smooth, without any interruption or obstruction in the middle.

Relaxation and tranquility: It has both the meaning of relaxation and tranquility, allowing the body to flow smoothly and be spirited, without the risk of “slowness and heaviness”, and there is no uneven concern or hesitation in the movements, and movement is nurtured in stillness.

Relaxation and Softness: The “Tao Te Ching” says “Focus on the Qi and be soft, can you be like a baby?”, which means that if you keep the essence and Qi from being chaotic, the body can respond and be soft, like a baby without thoughts inside, without politics outside, and without spirit.

Relaxation and Spirit: It is flexible and free when changing between the real and the virtual, and the spirit is like a cat catching a mouse “If the other does not move, I do not move; if the other moves slightly, I move first.”

Relaxation and Transformation: If you relax yourself, you can also push it outward and transform it into a big one. If you relax yourself, others can also relax, transforming others into yourself and transforming yourself into others. When you relax to this level, you can naturally use a little force to move a lot of things.

After practicing the relaxation skill well, you will have a constant supply of internal strength to call on. The source of internal strength can be roughly divided into three levels.

The first skill: waist skill. The key to waist exercise is to “change hands with waist”, “change hands with waist”, and “lead hands with waist”. Use waist to generate power, and use waist strength to drive hands. The two muscles outside the two kidneys in the upper part of the waist muscle are the “core” strength.

The ability of advanced table tennis is similar to that of Tai Chi. The key to forehand power in table tennis is also to use waist strength, and to keep relaxed before and after the power is generated.

The second level of power: Qigong. Strengthen the foundation and nourish the essence. Through the pile exercise, let the “Qi” loosen to the four ends of the person and around the body, just like arranging an invisible “Qi field”. This “Qi field” can not only nourish the body, but also give the body an extra layer of sensitive protective barrier.

The third level of power: training nerves. Extremely soft and then extremely strong, the strength comes from relaxation. If you can’t get external force, you can seek it from the inside and experience the principle of mutual generation of yin and yang in Tai Chi.

‍3 , Tai Chi pile exercise can be practiced at any time

To practice internal power Tai Chi, especially the essence of relaxation, you can start with Tai Chi pile exercise. There are three modes of standing practice:

Wuji standing practice (standing posture);

Static standing practice (holding ball, supporting and pressing standing practice or virtual hand leading);

Dynamic standing practice (lion holding ball).

The general requirement is to relax the whole body:

Stand with your feet open, shoulder width apart; arms hanging naturally, palms close to the outside of the femur, head upright, tongue against the upper palate, eyes looking straight ahead, lower jaw slightly retracted; weight evenly distributed on both feet, get rid of distracting thoughts, and feel empty, quiet, loose and hollow.

Start from the joints and relax one by one, and even relax all parts of the body, relax the mind, let the muscles counter-beat naturally, and let the internal qi flow naturally. There is no need to worry about the duration of persistence, just let it go, step by step, and finally advance to the point where you can stand for half an hour without feeling tired.

Let’s keep healthy together!