Creating range of motion and flexibility with Tai Chi

This week was a culmination of the past few weeks work. We had focused on Trusting Energy, proper alignment and posture, relaxing and smiling from the heart, clearing out mental and physical clutter and being in the moment. All of which led into this week's focus of creating range of motion and flexibility within Tai Chi Training.

One Tai Chi Step at a time...
I think the most difficult thing new students face is the acceptance that Tai Chi is a different way of training the body. Especially in the Western "civilized" World people have been taught that faster is better; no pain no gain, push past pain to get results, even things such as "Pain is weakness leaving the body". I have come to know that this mind set is nothing but GARBAGE. A detriment to the way our bodies were designed to operate. Sure, if you are a professional athlete, pushing the limits of your body is part of the job. Have you ever wondered why athletes are making so much money? One of the main reasons is because their "athletic life expectancy" is typically 10, 15 or 20 years at best. Many of which have the "career ending injury" that cut their earning potential short. For the rest of us, trying to push our bodies to these extremes is not only unwise, it is unhealthy. In Tai Chi, we train hard but we train smart. Carefully maintaining posture, alignment, relaxation (important for strength development), deep breathing and mental clarity. Our process has been scientifically proven to be very effective but it does take time and a certain level of commitment to the process.

Stretching the Tai Chi Way...
I have mentioned before how creating a trust within the body is important to effective training. Well it is even more important when working on your range of motion and flexibility. There is a hierarchical structure to our bodies that starts at the skin, fascia, muscle, then tendon, ligament and joint. In order to open a joint, the connecting ligaments must have room to stretch. For the ligaments to stretch, the tendons and adjoining muscles must relax which in turn will allow the surrounding fascia to stretch as well. This harmonized dance of connective tissues is why Tai Chi takes so much concentration to perform effectively. Here is an example, from my training. For many years I had trained to jump, move quickly on my feet (plyometrics) using tools like running, jumping rope and other drills; all of which created extremely tight achillies tendons and adjoining calf muscles. Cramps and spasms were a norm in my routine. Something I dealt with as part of the training. "Comes with the territory" I heard from instructors and told myself. Then I met Dr. Chen who was NOT surprised at how tight I was, especially considering the training I had been through. He showed me that forced stretching would not do any good (it had not for years in my body anyway) and that I needed to move smaller and softer, creating a trust in the body that would allow it to relax and stretch based on the natural process. Over time, I noticed that my steps became longer and more relaxed, naturally. As I became stronger, I was able to gently challenge my flexibility through a patient, attentive process we call Tai Chi. Even with all the forced stretching, bouncing, machines, pain and strain, I am MUCH more relaxed and flexible now than I even have been.

Tai Chi Back Step...A great place to start.
Most of us have tight calves so lets start there. Using the Tai Chi Back Step, place your foot empty to the back. First touch the toes, sink at the supporting knee and rest the back heel empty to the floor. There should be no weight on the back foot at all. If you can not get it to the floor in a relaxed way then you have stepped beyond your available flexibility. Shorten your step until that back foot can relax completely to the floor with all your weight to the front foot in good posture. Now slowly shift weight to a 50/50 stance and begin the process over to the other side. Remember to keep your steps small enough to maintain an empty step back. Meaning, once your back foot is fully to the floor you should be able to pick it right back up without shifting weight.

Deep Breathing...Part of our training.
Long ago, Oyster Divers would amaze people at their ability to stay under water for very long periods of time. They had trained their bodies to increase their lung capacity and become more efficient at managing their oxygen consumption. This is yet another example of how well our bodies respond to consistent demands placed upon them. It further shows that if you want to increase your lung capacity, improve your oxygen exchange, all you have to do is relax, practice consistently and be patient, it will come.

The training process I am proposing and sharing with you does take a lot of patience and consistent practice but the rewards are a more relaxed, health body that is stronger, faster and more flexible than ever before. All this without PAIN!

Stress, frustration and tension in Tai Chi training…

Last Sunday, during my Tai Chi training, I found myself in an old familiar place that I thought I had left behind. About 2/3rds of the way through my form, I noticed myself being frustrated, tense, unfocused and even tired. I see this everyday in my students but I had not experienced these feelings in my own training in quite some time. It turns out I was so intent on a new training focus (Dr. Chen had given me the week before) that I lost sight of my foundational Tai Chi principals. As soon as I noticed myself in this state, I almost laughed out loud, and with that I felt my body release the tension, allowing me to finish the form, relaxed, focused and smiling. I was still working on the training point but I had a completely different attitude towards it.

Heading into the week I felt my focus was to bring attention to Smiling Energy and how it can help release tension during training. As the week progressed, through the wonderful feedback from my students, our focus turned deeper into perspectives and how we interpret that information.

I INSULT YOU!!!
If I look at you with full intent and yell these words you will most likely look at me with confusion and probably call for the rubber truck to take me away. However, if I choose my words more carefully, reaching for your sensitivities, you may very well get your feelings hurt and even try to hurt me as a result. The difference between these two scenarios is simply perspective. As humans, we tend to attach feelings and meaning to things like insults, allowing them to generate deep, visceral responses in our physical bodies. Elevated heart rate and blood pressure, increased tension, anger and even aggression can all be triggered by our interpretations or perspective. Think about road rage and how we tend to project our own issues on someone that cuts us off. They may have truly not seen us in that lane and yet we attack first and ask questions later.

When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change…
Dr. Wayne Dyer, one of my favorite teachers, spoke these words in one of his many, wonderful PBS Specials. As I travel down my chosen path, I see many opportunities to select different perspectives; I can take things in a negative way or bring forth a positive response to any situation. This is not a simple matter of being “optimistic” it has to do with what we choose to accept for ourselves. What do we attach to? How we respond to our daily interactions is truly, completely up to us. NO ONE has the power to affect our world unless we let him or her do it. Certainly you can look back to earlier in the week at the horrors faced at Virginia Tech and say those poor people did not have a choice. This is true, but the people left behind have a choice as to how they deal with this tragedy. It can turn to hatred and anger towards the gunman and his family; it can spiral hatred out to his entire home country or even anyone that looks like he did. And unfortunately, it will for some people.

Tai Chi only LOOKS easy…
When you begin Tai Chi training, most likely, you will find yourself at times frustrated, annoyed and tense over your apparent lack of coordination, concentration, balance and strength. Tai Chi looks so very simple and yet it is extremely challenging. I have trained (very hard) in 16 different challenging martial arts and can honestly say that traditional Tai Chi training has by far been the most difficult, demanding and rewarding training I have ever encountered.

So how do you adjust your perspective to be productive for your own training? As always, it starts with simple awareness. Before you can change anything you have to be aware it exists within yourself. If you cannot recognize tension in your shoulders you will be at a complete loss as to how to relieve it. The same is true of any physical, mental or spiritual blockages you may have during training. This week we looked at trying to recognize our own challenges and smiling about it. We did not try to fix them, we just tried to recognize and “feel” them. One of the principals of Tai Chi involves Listening, which allows us to still our minds and feel our bodies. As we become more comfortable with the Tai Chi form movements we can allow ourselves to delve deeper into this skill of listening and grow from its lessons. Our perspective on what we “hear” (once we are listening) will determine if we can truly grow from the information. If we find ourselves to be tense and get annoyed, then the tension will become more deeply seated, effectively blocking our energy flow. If you recognize that awareness is the first step to change then maybe you can embrace the fact that you found something to work on further and take the information in a positive way.

Stepwise progression…
1) Recognize an imbalance in your body (tension, coordination, balance, strength, concentration)
2) Identify the path to change
3) Smile and embrace the path for yourself
4) Find a strong sense of contentment, accomplishment and happiness along the way

As a teacher, I can only show you the door, it is completely your choice to open it or simply walk away. Those choices can make our lives rich and rewarding or daunting and mundane.

Hey, I feel a bit like Bob Barker! ;-)

Tai Chi can help you clean out your garage!

Last weekend I found myself staring at a room full of clutter in our house (related to a previous business idea) and felt a strong desire to clean it up. I call this state of mind an official “CONNIPTION”. This frenzied effort at stress relief involved first creating space in our garage for the items we wanted to move out and prepare for garage sale. Fast-forward two days and two plus trashcans full later to Sunday night; we all noticed a big difference in energy we felt around that particular room in our home. For two years we (and our guests) have passed this room trying to ignore the clutter, not realizing what a drain of energy this had been on us; until it was gone!

Its only human…

As I mentioned this story to students during the week, literally everyone nodded in agreement, recognizing that wonderful feeling (energy) associated with a newly uncluttered area in their homes. I started meditating on the concept of clutter as it relates to the human experience and of course, to Tai Chi.

The way I see it, there are four layers of clutter in our human world; environmental, physical, mental and spiritual. I would like to break down what our students and I shared about this important point during the week.

Environmental Clutter

This involves your physical space. It can be stress felt about global “clutter” issues (pollution, deforestation, endangered species…), home, office or car, wherever you focus your attention and time. In Chinese Culture, they take the concept of environmental clutter so seriously that there is an entire practice devoted to this called Feng Shui.

Everyone I spoke with this week (over 200 people) each has a countertop, drawer, table, room or even and entire home (your secret is safe with me) they feel is very cluttered. More importantly, I could see that it drained their energy just to talk about it. We each try to justify our reasons for this behavior and quite honestly they are all excuses and irrelevant. The fact is that this cluttering behavior is a very real and very human tendency. No one seems to be immune, but just like in Tai Chi training, becoming aware of the drained energy feeling can set you on a path to change.

Physical Clutter

Lets move into Tai Chi training and look at how the concept of “cluttering” can affect our training. Think of each muscle as a piece of unattended mail on your desk. Now think of your first attempt at Tai Chi movement as if you were looking for the lost electric bill in that mess of unattended mail. Each muscle (letter) having a purpose but you find yourself unsure as to what you are supposed to do with them all. This predicament can create deep feelings of frustration, confusion, disappointment, even anger, in short, draining energy. Over time, as you relax and trust more, the muscles take their coordinated places within the movement and you begin to flow in harmony with your body, relaxed and calm. The energizing feeling in that moment is very rewarding, much like clearing off that letter ridden desktop.

Mental Clutter

Using the same cluttering metaphor of letters and a desktop, think about the mental anguish you feel when you are looking for something important and cannot find it. You know it is here where you left it but…GRRR - WHERE IS IT!!!

How about when you are practicing your Tai Chi forms? Are you feeling the same types of frustrations? Did he say left hand or right foot? Where is my weight supposed to be again? Oh sure, NOW he wants me to breathe too!

Allowing your mental clutter to distract you from the physical movements is normal in early training but the goal is to slowly let go of all that “mental noise” and allow the movements to find their way in a calm and peaceful mental environment. The body must settle into a certain level of comfort with the form in order to achieve any success at this level of training.

DISCLAIMER: Well here is a loaded gun. I am going to speak from my heart but please do not take this as the way I feel everyone is or should be. These are just my observations, fully open to discussion.

Spiritual Clutter

I have spent many years searching for a brand of truth that speaks to my heart and soul. In my explorations I have seen many people lost in the clutter of hypocrisy, self-doubt and conflicting messages wrapped around organized religion. I recently had someone tell me they were worried about their ability to pray effectively because arthritis had crippled their ability to hold their hands “properly” for prayer. I smiled and shared with this lovely lady that prayer / meditation / speaking to God (whatever you want to label it) comes from the heart and not from a specific location (church, temple, mosque or synagogue), position (kneeling, standing, seated), or from specific hand gestures to be effective. This perspective seemed to ease her mind, but it got me to thinking about the “spiritual clutter” that prevents us from being true to our selves for fear of being wrong or even worse damned. Every religion I have ever studied has some version of “The Golden Rule” – “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” – yet many religions today deeply believe that if you do not worship their God, in their specific way you are on the outside looking in. Well, everyone cannot be wrong and right at the same time; how about THAT for spiritual clutter. Personally, I feel that if you come from a place of honesty, integrity and with unconditional love, whichever “God” is watching will be pleased.

Tai Chi Spirit vs Spirituality

When I speak of spirit during Tai Chi training, I am merely speaking to the openness of our hearts. When we train the physical body to be strong, relaxed and “uncluttered”, our minds will follow with a calm, refreshing clarity. With these elements in place, the spirit is free to be open, compassionate, empathetic and full of unconditional love…Smiling Energy in its purest form.

Tai Chi is NOT exercise…

This entry is quite a bit longer than usual, thank you for staying focused. People are under the misinformation that Tai Chi is just another exercise routine / gimmick / training system and in some cases they are right. It seems almost every week I hear of some new “Style” of Tai Chi. Including metamorphosis concepts like YoChi (Yoga and Tai Chi combined). Sounds more like a health food snack to me. As is discussed in this blog entry, traditional Tai Chi training, as we share with our students, involves MUCH more than just physical work. After all, how can you practice a flowing form of exercise in a room full of clutter.

Suggestions for practice:
There are 12 fundamental principals that govern Tai Chi training. (From grounding energy to strong posture, relaxed breath and a smiling heart) Trying to detail principals within your form practice makes things very cluttered so I always suggest my students use Qigong work for their focused principal practice, picking just one to focus on at a time. This will allow you to draw focused concentration into that selected principal within a limited movement set. For example, if you choose to focus on Circular Breath, then pick Qigong movements that will help you enhance that focus such as Crane Spreads its Wings, Gathering Breath or Repulse the Monkey all of which spread the arms out in some manner allowing for full expansion of the lungs.

As far as the other clutter in your life, you know what to do but are you willing to let go and do it?

Now is the time for Tai Chi...

Ready? Set! Now!

No wait. Now.

OK, here it comes... Now!

NOW. Its all we have really, and Now... its gone. Here it is... there it goes.

NOW's elusive nature is at once fleeting and timeless.
Human nature seems to have us longing for what we do not have. Always looking to solve the ever-present imbalance in our lives. Like water seeking its own level we are in a constant state of uneasy searching for our natural balance. Why? What’s in it for us? As I meditated on this concept and worked with my students this week I realized a few things that I want to share with you today.

Our true nature...
I tend to look back through time to seek an understanding of who we are today; a kind of anthropological review of past behaviors and tendencies. For example: Men tend to be good trackers, they can hit moving targets, make quick decisions (although not necessarily good ones) and they have aggressive, even dominating behaviors; in short - hunters. Women tend to be detail oriented, make careful, considered decisions with a strong memory for recalling events and items (Men hate this by the way); in short - Gatherers. I know this seems a little "Men are from Mars" like but I do have a point to make with it.

Going back to never seeming happy with where we are in the "NOW", I think this is an innate tendency that helps us to evolve, mature and be fruitful. Imagine what your world would have been like if upon graduation from High School you stopped wanting to be anything but what you were at that moment. Never wanting more for yourself, never wondering what was next. It goes against our nature to stand still and be content. Doesn't it?

Double-edged swords...
When we lived with dinosaurs, our nature, a pure survival instinct, drove us to be smarter, stronger, faster; ever pushing forward. "Like the old joke states - " I don't have to out run the bear, I just have to out run you".
When we constantly push ourselves to "keep up with the Jones' " are we sacrificing "the now" in the process? I think back to the adage "Stop and smell the roses" or "money does not buy happiness" and I realized more clearly this week the depths of these universal truths.

Out with the old, in with the new...
When I get a new student in class I often see deep-rooted tendencies to want things in a hurry, not having the patience available for the slow, meticulous processes that we call Tai Chi & Qigong training. I have seen it literally drive students from the classroom before they even had a chance to understand what was going on. Her are some actual comments we have heard from potential students:

"That is WAY too slow for me"

“I could never learn to be that still and relaxed"

"I don't have any balance"

"I could never remember this"

Really! Some of these naysayers stayed with it and now are some of our best students. They chose to push past their fears and grow from the challenges they faced in this training environment. It truly warms my heart to see them now.

What about Now?
I am usually reading two or three books concurrently and this week, read a passage in my "Book of the Week" selection Wherever you go. There you are.
by Jon Kabat-Zinn that truly struck a chord with me. He quotes Gary Snyder from The Practice of the Wild; in essence stating that we tend to move through our daily, mundane life of dishes, laundry, house cleaning, cooking, fixing cars, longing for the time to be present for ourselves; desiring to be lost in a book or meditation, hiking in the forest, practicing Tai Chi or even watching TV. When in reality, the beauty in our lives lies in every waking moment. If we learn to appreciate each of our daily, mundane tasks as an opportunity to be fully present, we can learn to appreciate the true nature of living in the now. In Tai Chi training, I am always encouraging students to listen to their bodies in the now and not worry about the net movement until it is happening. I try to live my life by the same rule but reading that passage brought to light some areas where I can certainly improve my effort.

Some exercises for being in "the now"...
Use the Dan Tien Breathing technique (abdominal breathing) to bring your awareness into the present moment. It is easier to do this lying down but anywhere is fine. Focus on expanding you lower abdomen when you inhale and using those muscles to help you exhale more fully. Keep your breath relaxed, fluid and deep.

Tai Chi Walking is a great way to become fully present. Listen to every step in a
very slow and careful manner. Trying to be fully present in each muscles, weight shift and subtle movement.

Early Morning Meditation - Set your alarm 15 to 20 minutes early (it won't hurt much ;-)) sit in a comfy chair and just try to be. Do not try to "meditate" just be. Listen to your breath, smile from the heart, and just be. If you feel the need, set an alarm so that you do not have to worry about the time. Try this for 5 minutes and increase the time as you feel you need the challenge.

Live each moment, one at a time, be fully present and awake, smile from the heart and dance like no one is watching.

Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery and today is a gift.

I wish you well on your path to being fully present in your day.