Breathe...You are Alive...

Breathe...You are Alive...

Besides being the title to a very good book, I love the message of this statement. To me, it implies that if you are not TRULY aware of your breath, are you TRULY living? If we can not appreciate the gentle, pure nature of a slow deep breath, then how can we completely appreciate the more complex stimuli available in life?

Qigong versus Tai Chi breathing...

Qigong (Energy Work) principals are designed to create an environment of deep internal focus and awareness. Allowing the body, mind and spirit to meld together through slow, gentle movement and breathing patterns. These exercises can range from very simple to complex but they are all focused on delving deeper into ourselves. Frequently, in Qigong training, we are taught to connect breath and movement into a seamless flowing rhythm while listening to our internal energy as it weaves its way through our bodies. At higher levels, movement becomes less necessary as we become more aware of our Qi and are able to move it through our bodies without the need for the physical stimulation of flowing gestures.

Traditionally, in Tai Chi, the breath is handled differently. In my training, I have been taught to have a relaxed, gentle breath that is independent of the Tai Chi form movements. Like two leaves flowing down a river, your movement and breath are independent of each other but moving in the same direction. At first, learning the physical movements is choppy, forced and lets just say "less than rhythmic" ;-) As one becomes more comfortable with the physical movements and coordinations, they become more fluid and relaxed in their form practice. Trying to focus on both physical movements and breathing at the same time is a very daunting task. We tend to hold our breath (especially when learning something new) thus creating tension and blockages of energy within the body. I feel this is why the high level teachers I have trained with recommend focusing on the physical movements and simply maintaining a relaxed breath independent of the movements. Trying to "force" the breath and movement connection will only serve to frustrate and complicate your training. Looking into the Dao for inspiration, never force, only allow what is there to be... Appreciate your awareness of breath and movement then let them find each other...

Like the two leaves flowing down the river, eventually, they will end up in the same still water, together, relaxed and smiling.

Happy breathing!

Tai Chi is GROSS! NO Fine... How about BOTH!!

I had fun last week and so decided to continue with the same focus on the physical movement and coordination's of Tai Chi form training. As the week progressed, I found myself drifting more towards the concepts of stability and deeper strength development.

Gross motor skills, fine motor skills which ones do we choose to use?
When you perform aerobics, kick boxing, running or other fast paced physical activity, you are working the gross (or large) muscles groups much more so than the underlying fine motor control groups. Conversely, if you were to undertake any of these activities at a MUCH slower, Tai Chi pace, it would activate your fine motor muscles groups as well as the gross motor control groups; thus providing a more complete effort from all the muscles being used. This is one of the key ways Tai Chi creates such deep, precise strength within the gentle, flowing movements. Honestly, even with all my (25) years of hard martial training, I feel MUCH stronger now than I ever had before I gave all that training up and focused exclusively on Tai Chi and Qigong.

Stability...Stabili-CHI...
In an effort to explore the relationship between fine and gross motor skills development, I asked students to work on Tai Chi Walking. Since this is the first thing we teach every new student, they were all up to the task. I let them move across the floor and only made adjustments when necessary. Then I asked them to move across the floor again but with a clear mental focus towards the front leg. They were to ignore the back leg and resist pushing off to fill their front leg. Instead, they were to focus intently on creating strength to the front leg until such time that the back leg had become empty and relaxed. In addition, as they created strength to their front leg they were to focus on the three points of the front foot, maintain a soft knee and strong, tall posture. Oh yeah and I asked them to have a relaxed breath. You would have thought I asked for the moon, on a platter... I was surprised at how many "light bulbs" went off. Students noticed that they felt more stable, relaxed and stronger as a result of this focused effort. They commented that the proper alignment and deeper concentration made the movements easier. I definitely noticed the increased concentration in their faces. BONUS!!

Layers of Tai Chi training...
This week further enhanced how much the physical world can be affected by simple mental awareness. Using mental focus to affect how your muscles respond can be a powerful tool in creating strength and stability. Dr. Wayne Dyer says "When you change the way you look at things...The things you look at change". Many new students come to Tai Chi expecting another (possibly weird) form of exercise and nothing more. If they stay with it long enough (to allow their perspective to grow) students quickly realize how much greater the gifts of Tai Chi are, beyond simple exercise. These are the students that will stay with Tai Chi, embrace the gifts and awaken their body, mind and spirit to a beautiful new awareness of the world inside themselves. It is for these students that I open my heart fully and share everything that I can to help them find and explore their true nature. In the process I am able to open my heart further and more fully explore MY own true nature.

I love my job...

Over think Tai Chi and you lose the point...

This past weekend was such a "beating" that when I walked into my first class I hadn't a clue what to work on. When I shared my dillema with my students one suggested we work on concentration but I laughed and explained that I could not concentrate long enough to do that... So we just worked on forms training. Detailing the physical movements, mechanically, structurally, just moving through the forms. It was actually quite refreshing! Not having to concentrate on a specific principal and allowing ourselves to be "SimplyAware" of our movements. I found myself feeling more relaxed, less scattered as the week went on...

Mind over matter...
When I was in the military my Drill Instructor would say (as he was torturing us in some way) "Its mind over matter boys... I don't mind and YOU don't matter!" I look back and laugh but back then...WOW. This week my "mind over matter" issue was more "matter over mind"... I let my physical movements take over and gave my mind the week off. My students and I gave ourselves permission to to just work on foot work, hand placement, repetitive, monotonous, redundancy at its best. It was really nice...

I think therefore I get confused...
After such a week of "easy classes" I realized that it is very possible to "over think" your training and get caught up in the mental details. Trying to "think" the forms instead of "feeling" them. We already know that if you think too hard you body will respond with tension, holding of the breath and an over all state of tightness. Looking back on this week, it was time to just let go and feel again. Next week we can go back to the mental game, maybe...

Let Tai Chi training check your alignment...

As I arrived at my first class I was not sure where this week would take us... I have been working to simply open my heart, let the lesson in and run with it; exploring in greater detail with each passing class. Then at the end of the week I sit, ponder, smile and write about my adventures... That is all great and good but it is Monday morning, MOMENTS before my first class and I've got nothing. Then, one of my long term students comes up, we share a hug and she tells me of her trials with sciatic nerve problems. She has been in a LOT of pain, for months now, missing a lot of Tai Chi classes (and life in general) to this painful situation. I begin to speak with her about alignment and she proceeds to tell me that she has been working on that and has noticed that if she is even the least bit our of alignment when she steps or walks she notices the pain increase significantly. BINGO! I found my lesson... Alignment... Thank you.

Many Layers... Much concentration...
Because Tai Chi is much more an ongoing learning process rather than an exercise class, it holds many discoveries within its layers. Physical, mental and spiritual training all come into play, especially when we become challenged. Becoming proficient at the physical training is the tip of the iceberg, it takes a lot of concentration to be able to develop your Tai Chi awareness to higher levels.

Alignment happens at all levels...
There are many levels of alignment in Tai Chi. On the mental level, you can consider that mental clarity is a form of alignment; allowing your thoughts to flow in the same direction instead of being a constant swarm of disconnected confusion. On a spiritual level, an open, loving heart is a form of positive alignment. Think about when you are angry or frustrated, don't you feel "misaligned" and a bit confused or at the very least distracted? Each step on your Tai Chi Journey will delve deeper into one of these layers. To keep things a bit simple, I chose to focus this week on physical alignment because this is a foundational attention that is necessary to help students continue to develop a deeper awareness of their own bodies.

Head, shoulders, knees and hips; knees and hips...
Imagine a connection from your shoulders to your hips that prevents them from twisting away from each other. They stay parallel, connected when you turn, while you move gently through Qigong exercises or the Tai Chi forms. You focus is then on keeping a strong spine and maintaining a strong connection between the hips and shoulders. This may seem restrictive, especially if you are used to driving with the shoulders, however it is a great way to help establish that upper and lower body connection we need for our training. TOTAL BODY UNIT, my teacher always says...Keep your upper and lower body connected and strong.

Twisting the night away...
I can not tell you how many times I have seen people twisting their bodies aggressively, thinking that they are "stretching out". I have even seen one person hold hand weights and twist his body around. YIKES!! For a younger person, the body may be more resilient (although not always) to this type of abuse but as we get older (after 55 years old) the spine slowly becomes more vulnerable to damage. The discs begin to shrink and so the space between the vertebrae begins to decrease leaving the root nerves prone to surprise attacks from "unorganized" twisting motions. As we get stronger through the fundamental connection between the shoulders and hips, we can begin to gently twist and separate but it has to be done with full attention and clarity. ANY dipping of the shoulder when twisting becomes a potential for tweaks, sprains, pain and even worse...

Just Listen and move gently...
Pay close attention when you turn your body, keep your spine in control and you will develop a deep strength that will allow more range of motion in the safest possible way. If you want to twist, make sure your shoulders are parallel and that your are twisting with upward attention to the spine so as to not compress the vertebra during the movements. Deep breathing also helps to stimulate circulation so exhale during the twist in order to further release the mid core area and gently massaging your internal organs in the process.

Tai Chi principals... Pick one and stick with it... for now...

Since World Tai Chi & Qigong Day we have spent a lot of time in class focusing on many different principals. Smiling from the heart, deep relaxed breathing, gaining range of motion, building strength and increasing circulation. With so many things to focus on, it can be very overwhelming at any level of Tai Chi and Qigong training. Even in my own training, I can honestly apply all 12 principals to my Tai Chi form for about 6 to 8 movements before I begin to lose concentration and focus. It has taken me many years to gain an understanding of the principals much less integrate them effortlessly into the forms. Of course, this is MUCH better than I have been able to do in the past but I still have much to learn. I LOVE IT!

This week, I asked students to choose their own principal to focus on during our Qigong warm ups and then again during form training. I asked that they pick ONLY one and stick with it as much as they could to help create a single-minded focus. After the Qigong warm ups, I asked each student what principal they had chosen and whether they had been able to stay focused. I was surprised and pleased to hear that many were very clear (and accurate) about what they needed to focus on for themselves. I did have some students (not many) that chose to "forget" to do the exercise or picked a very simple focus to avoid the effort involved in what they probably know they really need. This is understandable, it takes effort to focus intently and sometimes we just "don't wanna"...

Comfort versus discomfort...
We tend to stray away from the areas of training that make us uncomfortable. If something is frustrating we try to avoid it. If something is physically hard, we try to minimize it and "sneak past it". How much fun is that? I have always said that the areas of training that make us the most uncomfortable reap the greatest rewards if we work to explore and understand them to a deeper level. If your training becomes frustrating, boring or disappointing, recognize that these feelings are defense mechanisms for the difficult work that may lie ahead. Just like you would approach a dangerous curve on a winding roadway, slow down, breath and move forward, one mile marker at a time...

Something to work on...
Before you begin your practice time, select one principal that you feel you really need to explore more deeply. Stick to it through your entire practice, even if you have to keep reminding yourself to do so, keep at it. Intent focus can make some movements more difficult and others will seem effortless; keep at it, relax, breath and most of all SMILE!