Teapotmonk Tai Chi

It is true that there are times when the form feels repetitive, too structured and too defined to enable you to find your won expression, but thats when you need to remember that, when you began tai chi you knew nothing and when you know tai chi you realise you know nothing again. It’s only during the middle bit you get obsessed by thinking you know something. In fact, when you realise this, you recognise that you are but a lone leaf, suspended in the air, waiting for the wind to guide you to a new direction. Then it is fresh, and open to discovery once more.

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I keep hearing about this Tao business and nature and stuff. What’s the deal?

Taoism can be as simple as following your intuition or as complicated as letting go of all artificial rhythms and habits you unconsciously follow. Consequently, people pick and choose bits they can use in a social media post and ignore the more complicated stuff. But at its heart, Taoism is very straightforward, comprising mostly of being quiet and observing stuff. Think of something as simple as watching a sunrise, and the gradual unfolding of light and warmth in both your body and your day.

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THE BREATH SERIES

I READ THAT IN TAI CHI BREATHING CAN BE DONE THROUGH THE ABDOMEN, THE FEET, THE LUNGS OR THE SKIN. WHAT HAPPENED TO THE MOUTH AND NOSE?

I say, put aside any instruction that inhibits you or stagnates your flow. Instead breathe in the world around you, the scent of freshly baked cookies, and breathe out the aroma of a forgotten dream.

Breath 1/4:

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Breath 2/4:

I’m getting lots of conflicting information about when moving forward to breathe one way, when moving back to breathe another, What do you say?

Instead breathe in the rhythm of a distant heartbeat, breathe out the echo of a whispered secret

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WHAT about when opening OR CLOSING arms OR When, sinking OR rising. WHAT THEN?

I say, once again, put aside any instruction that inhibits or stagnates your flow. Instead breathe in the memory of a summer rain, breathe out the anticipation of a winter snow

Breath 3/4:

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This business of breathing in Tai Chi. Why would I need to learn how to breathe when I appear to be doing it already?

Good point. Perhaps you don’t need it at all. But for some people, their breathing is disconnected from their other activities. We think about preparing our muscles for physical exercise, our minds for problem-solving, or having a shower to rid ourselves of dirt, but rarely do we spend any time considering how our breath relates to our daily activities. In tai chi, we think of breath as a metronome, that guides us through the intricate dance of movement and stillness we encounter as each moment unfolds.

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I read that you breathe through your feet IN TAI CHI. What nonsense is this?

Well, don’t think we are arguing that the lungs are actually found just beneath your ankles; it’s more a Taoist thing again. And this, as usual, encourages our minds to play a more active role in our health. So, we imagine breath travelling through the body (think of blood carrying oxygenated cells if you prefer) down to the soles of our feet, where we connect with the earth beneath us. This “connection” with the earth beneath us is a fluid one. And if we “imagine” our feet listening to the rhythm and pulse of life beneath us, gently breathing, we can try to “match”each inhale and exhale, each gentle push and pull to that of the planet.

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THE FLOW SERIES

FLOW 1/4:

IN Tai Chi YOU talk a lot about “flow”. BUT It ALL sounds very elusive to me…

Yeah, it is. As long as we think if it as something separate for ourselves. But when we learn the skills of adaptation, evolution, yielding and rooting, we learn at the same time to adapt and flow, not as an individual, but as a network, interconnected and interdependent

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Tai Chi types talk a lot about paths and signposts. But TAI CHI feels VERY VAGUE, something that has no clear direction to me…

Yeah, it can do this. As long as we think of a destination as something fixed and permanent. But it is not a destination, rather an attitude, a perception, a soft response to what rushes at you so that you see each moment as a constant state of becoming

FLOW 2/4:

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FLOW 3/4:

Tai Chi types talk a lot about “rhythm”. Is tai chi more rock and roll or jazz?

Certainly there is a lot of listening in tai chi. This is sometimes done with the ears, but it could be the feet or a gentle touch, or simply by being quiet when there is noise everywhere. At times it is the breath that we listen for, other times the rhythm of a heartbeat. Ideally it would be the pulse of a distant star

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So is TAI CHI rock and roll, or IS TAI CHI MORE jazz?

Thats a personal interpretation. Personally, I’d say it needs to be fluid, so forget rigidity and inflexible structures, and forget all that Bruce Lee jazz about being like water my friend. Let others play with that analogy. In tai chi think not of water, but smoke, weaving through cracks and crevices, , being carried by the wind.

Defying boundaries.