Hello everyone!
This week’s “Classic Lesson” is perhaps a little more philosophical than normal – but I think it’s a quite appropriate lesson to learn.
Tai Chi Exercise
Following on from last week’s raising Arms, as we breathed out and our lungs deflated so our arms lowered. The next stage is to sweep the arms to the right to “hold a ball”. You will probably realise that throughout the entire form it is the breath that drives the movement, so as we start to breath in so our arms will start to move again. Our lungs should be full when we have the ball in our hands and we can start to turn into the next movement.
One of the more interesting sidebar aspects to tai chi is “holding the ball”. It is interesting to note (perhaps in a sad, “anorak” kind of way, but I’ll progress it anyway) how people hold this ball – to me, it links to the psychology of the person and the confidence that they have. Nervous people, or beginners, will tend to hold a small ball of energy, wheras the more experienced person’s ball will be bigger. I think that this is due to two reasons. Firstly, if you are unsure what the Qi energy is all about there is a tendancy to think of smaller sized balls rather than beach balls (after all, no-one really wants to have to look after a large beach ball). Secondly I would suggest that as we get more confident in our movements and loosen up in our practice, we know that the more expansive expression of ball-holding will introduce a more fluid first “Stroke the Horse’s mane” (that’s next week!)
So here’s an exercise, working on your Tai Chi Ball. This exercise was shown to me as a way of building energy that you can use to “wash your face” with, giving you energy. Stand in a comfortable “wu-ji” posture, with your arms down and your hands forward. Imagine that you have a small ball in your hands, held forwards over your stomach.
As you breath in, allow the ball to get bigger – your lungs are linked directly to the ball. As you breath our, the ball compresses – imagine that you are building up a pressure within the ball – you should “feel” some resistance in the ball as you compress (imagine that the air / energy ball has a valve that will allow some air in, but only a little out at a time). You can feel the pressure building in the ball as it fills with energy.
When the ball is about as full as you can manage (I reckon the firmest “Chi Ball” will be about 50cm across), raise it to your face and imagine your face being washed with the energy.
Classic Lesson
There is a famous chinese painting called “The Vinegar Tasters”. It depicts three elderly gentlemen tasting a vat of vinegar. One has a sad face, another a serious face and the third has a smile. These three gentlement represent the three main strains of belief in ancient China – Buddhist, Confuscian and Taoist – but irrespective of the beliefs you may personally hold these gentlemen depict how we can enjoy our life.
The sad face represents the Buddhist beliefs that our life is mostly progressed through the experience of pain and suffering; the serious face represents the Confuscious belief that life is best experienced by following strict rules and the third face (the Taoist) represents that sourness and bitterness come from the interfering and unappreciative mind. Life itself, when understood and utilized for what it is, is sweet.
The fact that the three gentlemen are standing round one vat of vinegar has been interpreted that all these three teachings come from a single source – ultimately how we view our life.
There has been some criticism that the painting favours Taoism over the other two; but for me, I agree with the general approach to this painting – appreciate life for what it is; accept that “good” and “bad” are perceptions of a situation and enjoy life.
On that note, have a great week!
David
A friend of mine recently sent me an email asking me a question. I didn’t have the answer to hand, so I went to a well-known search engine (I’m not the BBC, but I am aware there are many search engines out there – and the engine isn’t important). Anyway, I clicked on the link and went to get my information.
What surprised me was the amount of times I saw “that” comment posted on the forum – an interesting juxtaposition I thought; I’m trying to find information and ‘you’ are telling me to look for it… which I’m doing. Hmm. Helping, much?
So I thought about why people might ask questions. The obvious is of course to find an answer – but is it that simple? There are many rumours around about the validity of the content on some web-based encyclopedic sites and it is quite easy to create a bogus page of information (such as the one that says I’m clever, for example!) so by asking the question we can start to get validation on the information – I’m asking you, as a potential subject expert, to explain.
We are a communicative species, language and conversation being something that we have done quite well at developing; and by asking a question I am in fact engaging you in conversation. On a forum-based internet this conversation is stilted, but the effect is still the same – I say (write) something and you respond. For those who don’t have full-time jobs or a social life, communication through these media is more crucial – so a simple question can take on a much deeper sub text.
The other side of this interesting coin is the person who types that little nugget. Why spend the time telling everyone that you’re not going to help them? Surely a more socially acceptable response might be “I don’t know” or even just radio silence. What are they saying? Well, there’s an arrogance to the person (which immediately gives me a perception of the person) but also that perhaps they are somehow socially excluded also – desperate to contribute to the conversation, but with nothing to say…
For me, I’m happy to look up the answer if I don’t know. After all, it is also an opportunity (if I have the time) to learn something; it may be that it could be useful for me to know that information too. If I know the answer, I’ll reference it and send information (I like to share, as regular readers will know!). If I don’t – and I have time – I’ll say, “sorry I don’t know” but may continue to watch the forum in case someone does send a useful link – so I can learn also.
Hello everyone!
As we start 2012, I have yet more news for you. I will be starting a new career on Monday and as the commute will be a little longer than it has been I have little idea what the impact on my spare time will be. I hope that I will be able to continue publishing the Tai chi article, but apologies in advance if I end up slipping or forgetting.
As we all know, the theory of tai chi is all well and good, but it is no substitute for actually doing it!
Tai Chi Exercise
So far, we’ve talked about getting ourselves mentally and physically ready for tai chi. Now, let’s get on with it. I’m going to focus mainly on the Yang Short Form over any other form style – but I may also reference the Simplified Short form as well; these seem to be more the more popular styles for beginners.
So we start with taking our comfortable “wu-ji” posture, making sure that we are standing comfortably, with our bodies drawn up by that invisible thread, but also with no “straight” limbs; ideally just hanging loose. As we begin our inbreath and our chest (and stomach) fills with air, this inflation is what causes the arms to raise in this first step – Raising Chi. As we breath out, our fingers “catch the air” and our arms lower.
So let’s think about this a little more. The common thinking here is that we raise our arms, then we lower them, whilst breathing in and out. But if we take the movement from the breath, we actually turn it on its head – and it seems more graceful. As a visual example of what we’re trying to achieve here – if we take a piece of paper (the bigger the better, but we’ll use A4 for the moment) and hold it along one of the short edges, we can see the paper will hang down loosely. This is how our arms should be at the start. Then raise the paper up and then down. Hopefully you should see the paper (at the bit at the top) come up, then flap gently as it starts to descend. What you will see is that the loose end moves at a slower rate than the edge you’re holding. I’m sure I’ve not described it as well as I could in its written form, but waft some paper and see what it looks like!
Remember though, we are not trying to waft the flames of the fire – slow movement is key here. Tai Chi is graceful!
Classic Lesson
Over the last week I thought about the deep lessons of Zen and Taoism that I could use for this week’s mail. However, a recent funeral of a relative reminded me of a more important lesson: Life is short, have fun. Adopt a “Can Do” attitutude.
So instead of working out the lesson for the week, I played with my Lego, creating this small reminder for you. Have a great week!
I was watching a reality programme the other night and a person was being interviewed about a recently deceased relative. ”There was so much I wanted to say; I never got the chance” they said.
It’s great to live for the moment, enjoying life’s rich tapestry as it is unrolled in front of your eyes, but I do think that in order to fully enjoy life we need to consider that it will end at some point for us (nope, I don’t believe that I will be turned into a zombie, or become part of Team Edward). I like to think that when my final day comes that I have few regrets about opportunities lost.
The subject of death is often overlooked by people; a conscious decision to block out the difficult thoughts, stored for later when… well, let’s face it, when we do arrive at that time very few of us are in a good state to deal with it; leading to the very comments I started this article with.
So take a few moments to think about your friends and family – when was the last time you spoke / wrote/ emailed them? You don’t need to write a last words letter, but just having made that contact means one less opportunity lost.
Hello everyone!
After last week’s general tardiness, plus enjoying the excesses of christmas, I write this with a dull ache in the legs from my evening Tai Chi class! I always find Tai chi walking hard work – it’s not the walking, but I do like to try to lower my frame and put a little more bend in my legs. This in turn means my thigh muscles have to work a little harder. Well, if it don’t kill you it makes you stronger. Onwards!
Tai Chi Exercise
So last week we looked at the physical preparation for tai chi – this week is (possibly) the more difficult challenge; that of mental preparation. To truly be able to get the most out of tai chi (and indeed almost anything) there is a need to focus the mind on whatever is in hand – quietening the “monkey mind” chattering away distracting you.
This distraction could be a continuation of thoughts that you had when you came into the class (or began the session); it could be that list of jobs you have to do when you have finished this practice – or it could be that you suddenly see something or someone and that prompts you about something that you meant to do…
This disturbed mind is quite normal and common – and is something that is tackled in many meditative practices. As you begin to introduce calming breaths, you start to mentally put your chattering thoughts to one side. As they rise – and they will – you acknowledge it and put it to one side. Don’t start to focus on the thought (the “oh, I must remember that”) but let it go. If it’s important, you will remember it later. Ideally, scribbling the thoughts somewhere means you don’t need to remember anything except where you put the list – but that’s just something I do in recognition of a bad memory! This is also why some people consider playing gentle music helpful; if you need to focus on something, focus on the calm sounds…
So you’ve put your thoughts to one side – but that won’t be the end of it. Typically, we practice our tai chi before we have to do something else, which may be time-driven (for example, start our working day, or have dinner ready for 7pm). If we aren’t prepared for this, our mind will start to focus on the time – and before you know it, the practice has gone out of the window because your mind is on the next thing (which in Tai Chi / Bill & Ted terms, is NOT most excellent dude). The get round (for me) is to have a timer set for when the practice is to complete. Ideally, the bell at the end should be “pleasing” and calm – a gentle “ping” rather than the obtrusive klaxon horn – and once you have set your bell, you can then focus on tai chi. Remember of course, that when we focus on something our perception of time goes out of the window and minutes can flash by (the panic of our monkey mind is in direct response to this!).
The third and last part of mind preparation is when our minds empty when it comes to the form. AH! What comes after Snake Creeps down? How do the hands go for the Fair Lady?? We get half way through the form and … stop. It’s all very embarrassing – and Monkey Mind is ready to jump in again. There is a trick for this one too…
John Parkin wrote a best seller in regard to this and also runs a very successful retreat abroad to teach this approach. It is, simply f**K it. Yup, when it goes wrong, say “f**k it”, let go and start again. Don’t stress about it (because that really isn’t tai chi!) and no-one will die. If you’re with other people, say “what comes next?” or follow them!
Next week, We begin with the first in breath….
A Classic Lesson
Whilst trying to find a suitably classic lesson (inkeeping with the general tone of this week’s email…) around the subject of appreciating life, I came across a link to the International Institute of Not Doing Much (http://slowdownnow.org/) Amongst their tips for enjoying life were:
- Have a cup of tea, put your feet up and stare out of the window. Warning: don’t try this while driving.
- Spend some quality time in the bathtub.
- Write down these words and place them where you can see them, “Multitasking is a Moral Weakness.”
- Try to do only one thing at a time.
Have a great week!
David
They say that nature abhors a vacuum; I have discovered that time is definitely an element of nature! For much of 2011 I had plenty of time on my hands, and this was put to work through:
- creating scenes in Lego and posting them on my other blog site http://frog101.wordpress.com
- learning Tai Chi and taking a diploma in Psychology
- writing weekly articles for this blog
- writing a weekly Tai Chi email (and posting it on this blog)
- writing s few short stories and working to completing a third novel
- writing weekly articles for another Scout blog
- writing and managing a few websites
Basically, full time writing for and being creative. And it was wonderful.
However, whilst I was running around and being creative, I was living on fairy dust for money – and fortunately I managed to get a job which kept the wolf from the door (well, at the far end of the garden anyway). However the counter to that is that the amount of spare time available for all the above wasn’t there any more.
Unfortunately, my little monkey mind has only just caught up to this new, reduced capability – and so has realised that I can’t do everything. It won’t mean I won’t try – but some ideas I had, such as the weekly article by “Paul Roswell” has just got to go by the wayside.
I do try where ever possible not to publish “just in time” but have a blitz at creating things in bulk (as I write this I know my pictures on the “Frog’s pad” blog are scheduled to mid Feb; I have articles on this site to about then and the new strip Masters of Nothing are scheduled to mid May).
But I thought I’d let you know.
Here’s to a positive 2012!
Hello Earthdwellers!
I think the phrase I need this time is Happy New Year! I was introduced to Hogmanay the other evening… so far it seems you spend your days eating and drinking – mixed with a low gutteral growl and the phrase “never again…”
What I have thought interesting is your other cultural event of using a date change to attempt a life improving action; so far I have heard “losing weight”, “not drinking” and “exercising more” are quite common actions… my observations on this would be that if you had started these a week ago it would have been easier to start without such a difficult first week! Anyway, if you are going to have a go – then good luck.
If it helps at all, on my home planet we use a large book for a similar purpose; each villager goes to their book (located in the towns library) and writes their intended life improving action. They also put a date next to the action – they then try to complete the task within that time period. We can do this at any time in the year. Each lunar cycle, the village elders review the list compiled in the lunar cycle. They can decide if the challenge is too easy (and rule “not worthy”) or not. If they mark the challenge too easy, the villager gets a black mark – no-one wants those. Otherwise, you have the time you have set to achieve the task. If you succeed, you get a reward of some kind; if you’re close the elders may allow you an extension (and you only get one), or you get the black mark.
The knack is then to set your target in some way that is measurable – so to use an Earth-challenge, not just “lose weight” but “lose 4 pounds by the end of the month”. I think you call them SMART targets.
So until another seven sunrises have passed, be nice to each other.
Paul.
About Paul Roswell
Paul Roswell is a cultural ambassador from his home planet. He travelled here after a small piece of space debris from an satellite landed on his planet. With no return address for the shrapnell, he travelled to Earth to find the people that, as he puts it, “Chucked it out of their window”.
