Eight months ago I began a journey of practicing mindfulness every day and we've reached day 256. Yesterday, I talked about having something to aim toward. Today is a new day.
Based on the Daoist philosophy, Tai chi emphasizes the duality in everything. Similar to Aikido, Tai chi incorporates the idea of flowing like water. Water is very fragile and can break form easily, yet it is also able to shape the hard earth with its flow. Like the stream flowing down the mountain, it does not resist the great mountain, instead, it flows down naturally and even helps to shape it over time.
In Tai chi there are soft and hard movements (yin and yang). There is duality in everything, so we cannot have one without the other. Meeting brute force with brute force results in both parties being hurt. However, sometimes it's impossible to directly resist an oncoming force either. The key is balance. Instead, meeting brute force with softness (meet yang with yin) and following its motion while remaining in physical contact can exhaust the force of the attack or can be safely redirect it.
While Aikido focuses on harmonization with the opponent and balance through the external, Tai chi also incorporates a focus on our internal flow of energy. The primary teachings are the understanding of our body's movements, which are all composed of push-pull, up-down movements. Take for example, the raising of our hand. Although our hand goes up, the scapula and muscles on the back go down. This represents the yin-yang nature of the world and also creates an understanding of basic physics principles and helps to see the world in terms of energy and balance in its distribution. When applied in martial arts, proper form and proper body weight distribution can increase your power output by a lot. The same applies in weightlifting. If you have bad form, you sacrifice how much you're able to put out.
Incorporating these ideas into my own life is something I think can benefit my lifestyle. Whether it's how I approach a conflict by looking to neutralize it instead of extinguishing it, maneuvering my body more efficiently to conserve energy and treating it with better care, or balancing out my mentality by not having too much yin or yang in order to remain grounded in reality. The practice of Tai chi is something I can incorporate into my mindfulness practice to gain a better understanding of myself and learn to see the world around me from a different point of view. In gaining a new perspective I can broaden my horizons. To find the right balance.
Peace
"The soft and the pliable will defeat the hard and strong." - Lao TzŭIn the last few days I have been looking into the basic principles of Tai chi, or tàijíquán, which is an ancient Chinese practice of harnessing the power within and finding balance in life through one's breathing and movements. Although I've practiced martial arts before, I've never really found a practiced that focused so much on the internal condition. Since coming to Japan a lot of my thoughts have revolved around creating a solid foundation and looking within to change my life so I thought it was really interesting.
Based on the Daoist philosophy, Tai chi emphasizes the duality in everything. Similar to Aikido, Tai chi incorporates the idea of flowing like water. Water is very fragile and can break form easily, yet it is also able to shape the hard earth with its flow. Like the stream flowing down the mountain, it does not resist the great mountain, instead, it flows down naturally and even helps to shape it over time.
In Tai chi there are soft and hard movements (yin and yang). There is duality in everything, so we cannot have one without the other. Meeting brute force with brute force results in both parties being hurt. However, sometimes it's impossible to directly resist an oncoming force either. The key is balance. Instead, meeting brute force with softness (meet yang with yin) and following its motion while remaining in physical contact can exhaust the force of the attack or can be safely redirect it.
While Aikido focuses on harmonization with the opponent and balance through the external, Tai chi also incorporates a focus on our internal flow of energy. The primary teachings are the understanding of our body's movements, which are all composed of push-pull, up-down movements. Take for example, the raising of our hand. Although our hand goes up, the scapula and muscles on the back go down. This represents the yin-yang nature of the world and also creates an understanding of basic physics principles and helps to see the world in terms of energy and balance in its distribution. When applied in martial arts, proper form and proper body weight distribution can increase your power output by a lot. The same applies in weightlifting. If you have bad form, you sacrifice how much you're able to put out.
Incorporating these ideas into my own life is something I think can benefit my lifestyle. Whether it's how I approach a conflict by looking to neutralize it instead of extinguishing it, maneuvering my body more efficiently to conserve energy and treating it with better care, or balancing out my mentality by not having too much yin or yang in order to remain grounded in reality. The practice of Tai chi is something I can incorporate into my mindfulness practice to gain a better understanding of myself and learn to see the world around me from a different point of view. In gaining a new perspective I can broaden my horizons. To find the right balance.
What do you think?
Peace
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| In a way, living is the act of searching for the right balance. |
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