Trust me... Its Tai Chi...

Trusting Energy.

When I first mentioned that term to students this week I got a LOT of blank stares. What the heck is that; and more importantly, how can it help my Tai Chi?

A personal journey...
While working with my teacher this past weekend, I shared a personal struggle I have been having related to increased sensitivities. It seems that as I train and meditate more effectively my heart is opening up, becoming more sensitive to other people's physical and emotional pain and suffering. I explained that this was causing me to feel their pain and suffering as my own, leaving me drained. What he shared with me lifted a very heavy load off my heart. He asked me why I was trying to do "God's Work?" Why did I not trust that God would do what was necessary to help each person through their personal challenges.

I realized that I was falling back into an old pattern of behavior that I have carried with me for as long as I can remember. I am a "fixer". When someone brings me a problem, (especially the people closes to me; friends, family and students) my deepest desire is to see it fixed for him or her; even if that means bearing the burden myself. Dr. Chen explained that it is not my responsibility to take on "God's role" and fix things. My task is to light the path, each person must decide for themselves when they are ready to walk that path and find their own way.

The levels of Trust in Tai Chi...
As I meditated on how I could share this newfound wisdom with my students I realized that there are many levels of trust within Tai Chi & Qigong training; each having its place in our journey towards better health, spiritual vitality and freedom.

Physical Trust - "No Pain...No Pain..."
I have seen so many examples of how people pushing past their pain have made things worse on themselves; increased pain, restricted range of motion, reduced quality of life and depression just to name a few. It has been my experience that there is a better way. It takes more time but is a very effective tool for healing. Yup, you guessed it, Trusting Energy.

When you have pain (chronic or acute) if you consistently push past the pain, effectively ignoring your body's clear signals to stop, you are enforcing an environment of mis-trust within your body. As an example, lets assume a shoulder injury. If I cannot reach overhead with my shoulder without pain, and yet consistently do it anyway, my body will react in order to defend itself. It will introduce more pain sooner in my range of motion and possibly more stiffness to further restrict my range. After all, my body is trying to heal itself and needs time and space to do it. With pain and tension present, the flow of energy and the healing processes are severely restricted or in severe cases, can be halted completely.

In our Tai Chi classes we teach people how to cultivate an environment of trust within the body that helps open up their natural, healing energy. We encourage our students to never move into pain during training. Their goal is to find that place in their restricted range of motion where tension begins but BEFORE pain hits. They then work to relax their body, breathe deeply and smile towards their challenged areas. Visualization is also an important tool in this process as we use this to "mentally ask" the body for more range of motion, when IT is ready. Basically we are saying to our body, "I recognize and respect the limits you are asking for and am willing to work within those limits while you heal, however, I would like you to know that I want my range of motion back when you are ready to return it to me." This respect builds a bond of trust within the body and allows the healing process to take place. Because of the varying challenges faced by our students, the question of "how long will this take" cannot be effectively answered in general terms. Many factors come into play, not the least of which is patience.

Trusting Energy for developing strength...
People often have trouble understanding how Tai Chi can effectively develop deep, core strength. I realized this week how much Trusting Energy comes into play. We use a Qigong exercise called Cloud Step to help develop core strength and balance. It involves moving from a 50/50 Tai Chi stance fully over to one side while raising the knee on the empty side; then shifting back to center and then over to the other side for the same knee lift movement. We encourage our students to stay within their strength limits but very often I see someone trying so hard that they are shaking, loose in their stance as they try hard to stand on one leg. This poses several problems from potentially exacerbating any existing pain to creating stress or strain on the muscles, ligaments, tendons and joints as well as being very frustrating to the spirit. Adding an element of trust into your training can help relieve all of this.

When your body becomes shaky during a movement (IE: standing on one leg) it means your muscles are weak and fighting for control of the situation you are putting them in, unsure of which "muscle team" is best suited for the job. If you bring your leg to a more manageable height where you find yourself to be steady; (even touching the floor if necessary), you muscles are then clearer as to which ones are to be used for this particular effort. This creates an environment whereby your body can trust your request and send in the right team. When the right team of muscles is doing the job, other muscles can relax and the team gets stronger as a result. If you follow this concept for ALL your strength training, you will find that you get a much more effective workout and will be less fatigued when done. This relaxed, trusting environment also aids in the development of effective muscle memory because the body becomes very clear as to which team to "send into the game" during a requested movement.

Trusting your body memory and spirit...
Many of our students are progressing quite well in their chosen Tai Chi form(s). Even still, at times I see a sense of self-doubt and confusion surface. For new students, everything is new and therefore confusing but for more experienced students there comes a level of comfort with what they know of the Tai Chi forms. As they venture deeper into the forms they inevitably stumble (as we all do) and become less confident. When they see a peer student doing something a little different or even if they are a little ahead or behind the flow of the group training, they doubt their own training and body memory causing anxious moments and tension within themselves. There comes a time in our training when letting go and trusting our body memory is the only way to progress in our training.

Tai Chi...No beginning...No end...
When I earned my first Black Belt in Martial Arts my very wise teacher looked this confident (even arrogant) young teenager straight in the eyes and said "Congratulations. Now that you have the BASICS out of the way we can really start your training". To say the least I felt deflated, however over the years, I learned to understand and respect what he was trying to tell me. For me, that was the beginning of a lifelong journey filled with wonderful experiences and explorations of the arts I love so much. Thank you teacher, your thoughtful, loving comment still serves me well to this day.

So now, some 25 years later, I am going to try it...

Dear Student,
Once you have learned your chosen Tai Chi forms, and can perform them comfortably, without thinking about it, while holding a smiling heart, you have officially earned your Tai Chi Black Belt.
Only then can your journey truly begin...Trust me, it is worth it!