When I read this article I felt like the author had pulled the words right out of my head.

Students at Barrie Tai Chi & Qigong will recognize a lot of this information because we have been over these concepts many times, enjoy!

By Tim Parsons

Origins of the article
This article is based on a number of talks given to students who have started to study the second stage of our t’ai chi syllabus, which focuses more upon the internal aspects of t’ai chi chuan. Students at this stage have typically been studying for about eighteen months, have completed the yang style short form, and have begun the process of coordinating and softening the body and developing internal awareness to the extent where they are more able to relate to internal instruction.

Tai chi can be challenging
Many people drop out during the first term or first year of practice as the level of commitment and the deep changes that t’ai chi initiates become apparent. Studying t’ai chi can be challenging on many different levels, and we need a sincere reason to continue, be that the wish to improve a health issue, an awareness that things could somehow be better or we could be happier, or simply a deep fascination. 

Relaxation and barriers to letting go
We have already met many of the barriers to our progress during this time, internal as well as external: those internal voices of ego that tell us I’m no good at this, it’s pointless (yes, that is ego also) or that ask Why am I wasting my time on this silly stuff? Learning the personal strategies our minds employ to prevent the challenge of change is an important aspect of our own development. Our minds can be very, very clever and the strategies for self-deception deeply subtle. Yet a part of you – and it’s a very deep part which may not be fully conscious or articulated – has recognised the value of t’ai chi. That’s why you’re still here.

We need to let the structure of our body gently ‘repattern’, to let go of the unhelpful tensions and ways of moving, and to develop a more natural, relaxed way of being. This is why there is such a strong emphasis on ‘relaxation’ in the beginners’ form.

In my experience of teaching, the desire to learn form quickly – to do push hands and execute martial applications as soon as possible – is actually counterproductive in the long run. If we do this we can simply lay a new pattern of tension over the existing unhelpful habits and spend a lifetime doing more and more, and never letting go, never beginning the process of internal transformation. It’s OK to let go. We have to learn to be happy to accept failures and to ‘invest in loss’ in order to learn and grow as human beings. Again, this process runs so counter to the messages we receive from society that we may be unable to take this difficult path.

The entire article can be viewed here

Excerpt pulled form TaijiEuropa and used for educational purposes only.