The scene is set. Two Tai Ji Quan players are about to engage in a fight. They stand facing each other, neither begins, neither moves. They wait for the other to begin the attack. They are standing still, yet nothing is static. Qi is flowing, they are both sensing the subtle changes of the other and the environment. Through sensing, comes awareness. A Tai Ji Quan player will have an edge over the other, if her/his ability to sense is more acute. The moment one begins an attack, s/he has begun a forward, outward motion of energy, transmitting her/his information of her/his energetic distribution to the opponent, who will then utilize this energy to a counterattack. As such, no Tai Ji Quan player would make the first move, unless s/he is sure that her/his Qi is stronger than the other. Check out this clip from the movie "Hero," from many years back. It is not of Tai Ji Quan but demonstrates what I am trying to describe very well.   
 
Tài Jí Qúan太極拳, sometimes written as Tai Chi Chuan (Wade-Giles romanization), translates as "Supreme Ultimate Fist." As you may have read in a previous post, Tai Ji Quan is a martial art with Chinese roots. It is estimated that 300 million people from at least 57 different countries practice Tai Ji Quan, making it one of the most practiced martial arts in the world. However, many have no idea that it a martial art, even those who practice it, as it has been transformed into a method of maintaining health or a form of dance. And why should it not be so? If something has the ability to adapt better in a changing environment over a period of time, then this adaptation will ensure its survival. This is something that has helped Tai Ji Quan to persist and thrive in the world, as people of all ages, children, adult and elderly practice this art with different emphasis and intentions set by its practitioner. Maybe it is even this skill to adapt to change, which is in itself a flexibility in being, that the Tai Ji Quan practitioner acquires through the practice of this art. One image my Tai Ji Quan teacher, Donald Rubbo, used to present was of bamboo. He described how bamboo is flexible and bends with the wind without breaking, as compared to rigid trees that may be strong but break due to the lack of flexibility under the strain of strong winds.  
 
Tai Ji Quan is considered an internal martial art, meaning that the energetic work is done inside the body, versus an external focus where emphasis is placed on external strength. It is based on Daoist philosophy and the principles of Yīn-Yáng, which many of us know as the diagram with the black and white 'fish;' white fish with black eye and black fish with white eye. Master Huang, master of Tai Ji Quan, calligraphy and dance, describes the philosophy of Tai Ji and Yin-Yang very well through movement as well as intellectually. One of the Daoist ideas that is key to Tai Ji Quan and Chinese Medicine is the principle that we, all living beings living in this world, are connections between Heaven and Earth; the sacred trinity. If we learn to be and stay connected constantly to this Heaven-Earth power, we are always filled with Qi; thus, we are able to conserve our own personal Qi and Jing (life Essence) to maintain life in our bodies. A manifestation of Yin-Yang is in the form of the elements Fire and Water: 
 
"Fire rises and water flows down. Water can put fire out when placed on top. This is reversing. It is a natural law that never changes. However, when the water flows down and you put your pot under it to stop it from reaching its extreme limit, the result is the boiling of water. This is called Yin-Yang reversal theory that allows one to make use of the natural laws. The T'ai Chi boxing system is based on this reversal theory, which is used in every aspect of the skill." (Kuo, Guttman, 1994, p.1)
 
Tai Ji Quan applies these philosophical principles into movement and through practicing these movements regularly, we begin to embody these principles in living our daily lives.
 
Going back to that first scene in which I described the two players; my teacher used to emphasize to us to 'play' Tai Ji Quan when we got too serious thinking and trying to make the correct form or application. We learned to move slowly but also quickly, when it was needed. In moving slow, one becomes aware of the subtle changes in weight distribution on the different aspects of the feet; thus aiding in balance training. Also, the awareness of the space around oneself, the elements in the environment and that a gentle flick of the finger, when one is connected to her/his Dān Tían, can move boulders. One aspect of Tai Ji Quan is form training, Tào Lù, where one performs the empty-hand or weapon form without contact, and if so it is choreographed. This is how many people practice Tai Ji Quan, especially if it is for health and it works on the basic form. Tùi Shǒu is Pushing Hands; this is the application of the form with contact to another practitioner but only to push the hand to uproot her/his stance, not to strike, punch or hurt. Another two aspects are the Nèi Gōng and Qī Gōng, which translate as "internal work" and "Qi work" respectively. These refer to breathing techniques, meditation, awareness training, meridian stretching as well as stillness practice. For me these are the most important aspects of the practice because they work on the unseen, deeper connections of the individual to Heaven-Earth and the clarity of mind to dis/engage in a confrontation. With stillness in body, the mind learns to become still but the Qi flows relentlessly.
 
 
 
Reference
Kuo Lien-Ying/ translated by Guttmann (1994): The T'ai Chi Boxing Chronicle. Berkeley, CA, USA: North Atlantic Books 
 
 
 
 
Image by Ron on Pixabay

"Big watermelon, cut half. Serve left, serve right." - This is what I remember of Tai Ji Quan as a child growing up in Malaysia. We were at my uncle's and aunt's house for Chinese New Year celebrations and they wanted to share that new video that they were following along with to learn Tai Ji Quan. As I listened and watched, I thought then, "old people's exercise."
 
As I got to the US, I was in a modern contemporary dance class in university. The teacher, a former professional dancer with the Martha Graham Dance Company in her mid-30s, started to introduce some movements from Tai Ji Quan in our dance class. I thought, "Oh, my...big watermelon is back. Maybe there is something to this movement form, maybe I need to be more open to it, maybe it isn't just for old people." When I was injured from dancing later, I decided to take a Tai Ji Quan course taught by a physical education professor from China, who was doing a study on Tai Ji Quan and balance in the elderly at my university. I thought then that the movements of Tai Ji Quan were actually quite circular and inward-focused; in contrast to ballet, which were more focused on creating long lines that extend outward.
 
When I finally got to Chinese Medicine school, I knew that I wanted to study Qi Gong to aid in my energetic studies. I looked for a teacher near to where I lived, I found Shi Fu Donald and Cheryl Lynne Rubbo; they taught Qi Gong, Tai Ji Quan and Shao Lin Quan Gong Fu. After Qi Gong class, Tai Ji Quan would often begin and I saw people of all ages, children-teenagers from 10 years old onward, and adults from 20 to 70. My teachers were in their 40s. They were doing robust exercises, not just round watermelon-serving movements ;-) but low, deep stances that required strength and flexibility to perform. They were jumping, kicking, punching and blocking, sometimes in slow motion but also in normal or fast speed. It was then that I realized that Tai Ji Quan is a martial art; that some people actually practice this form of movement in order to fight and defend themselves from attack. My Shi Fu had the ability to apply their skills in combat but they chose to use them for health purposes; to train the body-mind to find healing and balance in life. I was encouraged by my Shi Fu to join Tai Ji Quan class too and later on Shao Lin Quan.
 
It took me a while to un-train my body, from the tension-filled holding and overextending style, which is normal in ballet, to a relaxed, easy sustaining of a posture or in performance of a movement. What is asked for in the practice of Tai Ji Quan is holding poses without muscular tension and moving in a flowing manner with little effort. This is the concept of Sōng 鬆 ; to let go of muscular tension and, enable Qi to flow as well as sustain postures and movement. Every time I thought I was getting it, Shi Fu Donald would tell me to relax and let go of the tension I was holding. Another focus of Tai Ji Quan that I find so vital and challenging is the movement that comes from the centre, the Dān Tían 丹田 . I had often heard in ballet classes to "move from my centre," but nobody could ever explain or showed me what that meant. This I learned vey quickly with my Tai Ji Quan teacher, as every time I would perform a movement he would come over to show me the martial application of it and my stance would crumble, if I was not moving or connected to my centre. Another aspect that I developed from the practice was patience and humility. Since I began learning organized movement from the age of 5, learning movement comes quick to me, but my Shi Fu would introduce to me 1 posture of the 64 from the Guang Ping Yang Style Tai Ji Quan form over a period of weeks, sometimes months. So, I learned to be patient and persevere in my repetitive practice of the same movements, sometimes at very slow speeds and sometimes on my own, as the other more advanced students continued on with the 64 movements.
 
As I look back on my first contact with Tai Ji Quan as a young person in Malaysia and what I later experienced practicing it, I realized that I was young and arrogant; too busy indulging in my youthful strength and sneering at those I imagined to be inferior to me. Making a movement like a big watermelon may sound silly, but it is an easy way to remember how to make the circular movement with the arms - a mnemonic. Like many things in Tai Ji Quan, or for that matter Chinese Medicine, it may seem simple but is effective and often times profound. As I have once mentioned in a previous post, there is a Chinese saying, "When you are ill, get Acupuncture/ Moxibustion, Tui Na and take Herbal Medicine. If you want to stay healthy, sleep enough and eat healthy. If you want to build strength, practice Tai Ji Quan/ Qi Gong." This is what I have observed for myself, Tai Ji Quan has helped me to develop not only physical strength in my body but also mental resilience in the face of challenging situations. Most importantly the patience and humility to approach life and the people I encounter. 




​Photo by Elaine

​When you look at a baby calmly sleeping, you will observe how her/his breath is deep and concentrated in the belly. When we come into the world, we are physically connected to our mothers through the umbilical cord at our navels on our abdomen. About 5 weeks after conception, the umbilical cord begins forming and connects the embryo to the placenta and its mother, to received nutrients, water and oxygen, as well as to excrete waste. This continues on until that moment the cord is cut after birth. At this point in time, the child becomes its own being in itself and must begin its own respiration. When a child is calm, we will see that it breaths deep into the abdomen. However, life happens; stressors occur throughout our childhood into adulthood and we begin to forget that place in the abdomen where we were/are connected to life, if we are unaware. Then, we begin to breathe more superficially, moving the chest in order to receive more air but this does not nourish us in the long-term. In fact, it creates tight muscles and can trigger the sympathetic nervous system into the "fight-or-flight" stress mode. 
 
Many traditions of the world have specific methods of breathing in order to support health or even to attain deep connection to the divine. One of these methods I have found to be very helpful and is almost universal to many traditions is "Diaphragmatic Breathing," "Abdominal Breathing" or as we in the Chinese medical tradition call "Natural Breathing." In the Chinese Qi Gong tradition, the main focus of this breath is the Lower Dan Tian (lower energy centre) in the area below the navel. We breathe deeply into the lower abdomen, allowing it to expand and contract freely as inhalation and exhalation occurs. This increases oxygen intake, increases circulation in the abdominal muscles, provides a massage for the internal organs and calms the entire body-mind, activating the parasympathetic nervous system.

Can you imagine how life would be if we were in a continuous state of calm? How would we make decisions? How would we interact or react to one another? How would we live life? Obviously, it is unrealistic to expect that we can always be in this state, as we do need a certain amount of "stress" to grow and develop physically, mentally and spiritually. But the longer we can stay in this state, the healthier it is for our minds and bodies, as well as for the people/environment around us. The aim of Natural Breathing is for us to return to what we once knew but perhaps forgot. It is innate to us and it just takes practice to remind our bodies-minds of something it already knows. If you keep a practice of 5-minutes daily for a year, your body will remember it for the rest of your life.
 
Personally, I practice this breathing technique almost all the time now for more than 20 years. It did not feel natural at first but with constant practice and patience it has become intuitive. When I am relaxed or stressed, I instinctively practice Natural Breathing. I consciously breathe this way when I get my blood pressure measured (which most times has a normal reading) or when I go to the dentist or when I have to do a test. I practice this way of breathing almost every night before I go to sleep, placing my hands on my abdomen, just focusing on the rising and falling of my breath as well as my abdomen till I fall asleep.  
 
Below is a step-by-step guide to Natural Breath. Happy Breathing! :-)



  Natural Breathing

1. Find a comfortable position in lying, sitting or standing. Place both hands on your lower abdomen by your navel (like in diagram below).
2. Begin by inhaling and exhaling into your abdomen. Observe if the abdomen rises and falls with the breath. If it does not, begin to sink the breath into the abdomen.
3. Imagine your abdomen as a balloon, when you inhale, you are blowing air into the balloon enlarging it, and when you exhale the balloon is shrinking. In the beginning, this may feel forced or unnatural. Be patient and keep practicing, it will become natural when you practice it regularly for some time.
4. Inhale and exhale only through the nostrils, expanding and contracting your abdomen respectively.
5. Begin to slow down the breath, keeping a regular and an equal rhythm of inhalation and exhalation.
6. If you have never done this before, begin by performing 10 breaths at least once a day. After a week of regular practice, begin extending it by increments of 5 and stay with this for another week before increasing the increments.
7. You may practice this as often as you like in a day and even at night.
8. Side-effects include digestive rumblings in the abdomen (stimulation of your natural digestive functions), calmness, relaxation, feeling well and healthy.

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​​Image Baby from esudroff on Pixabay
Image Abdomen from Eduardo RS from Pixabay