Tai Chi Chuan - Stop the Struggle!

Tai Chi Chuan – Stop the Struggle!

I was amused recently when an elderly student of mine thought that I was so very very clever to figure her out.  But in fact I had not figured her out. 

She was being extremely resistant in our weekly private class.  She wanted a class, but she didn’t want to practice or to work in class.  She wanted to sit down.  I kept trying very hard to motivate her to get up and do the work.  It was a frustrating battle. 

But I changed. 

What did I do?  I gave up the struggle.  If she wanted to sit down for most our class, then I heartily encouraged her to sit down.  No more struggle.  She reinterpreted this to mean that I had miraculously realized that she didn’t want anyone telling her what to do.  This was news to me.  Particularly so since that is mostly what a tai chi teacher does.  I am hoping this phase will pass, but in the mean time, whatever she wants, she gets. And I’m all the happier for it.

This has gotten me to think about what a teacher told me regarding push hands:  “Never struggle.”

This may sound either easy to do, or pointless.  It is neither.  How did you just react?

For me, when faced with a push hands opponent that is not playing by the rules and is tossing me here and there, mostly what I do is fight it off, try this, try that, try ANYTHING to win the game and stop this push from happening.  I can often see what they are doing wrong.  I can see what I am doing wrong.  But I can’t manage to find a solution based on principles: No effort, no force, and no resistance.

From the remove of this keyboard, it’s easy to say the first thing to do is NOT STRUGGLE.  And that usually means getting shoved around.  Which feels like losing the game.  Which feels demeaning.  Am I really this bad at push hands?

But in fact, that teacher was right.  Never struggle.   And it has often been said that if you get pushed, just get pushed.  That is, getting pushed and remaining relaxed is far better than getting pushed and getting harder.

My push hands buddy and I have been playing with those awful pushes.  But the exercise here is to just take 25 or more of those pushes and NOT FIGHT WITH THEM.   Stop the struggle!

What does that feel like?  To just be abused and mangled?

And even if I don’t find the answer to the problem of these pushes, a solution based on tai chi principles, I can say that I will NEVER find the solution as long as I am involved in struggling with the push itself.  Letting them happen will reveal far more than struggling with them. 

I’m converted – just feel them for what they are.  Just fully experience this experience.  It is not normally what we want.  But to feel it again and again and again is starting to feel good.  Yes, FUN!  I have some faith that the real solution will present itself.  I don’t even have to look for it.  In fact, I’d suggest that you DON’T look for a solution.  Because at some point the solution will appear – you will see it.  And you don’t have to struggle to get there.

What about struggle outside of tai chi?

Dialogue from The Closer:

Mr. Beavis: “Go Away!!!”

Brenda Lee Johnson (in a strong Southern accent): “I can’t go away Mr. Beavis!!!   There are some things in life that you can’t send packin’, that you have to face up to! 

And right NOW!

that THING!

for YOU!

is ME!”

It seems to me there are struggles and there are struggles.  Some struggles are in the realm of manageable.  They are worth the effort.  Because you can see the lay of the land in front of you.  You have a shot at having some success.  There are options worth taking or exploring.  (Brenda above decides to push the envelope and press forward – it was the only ploy at her disposal and this being TV, it worked!)

Then there are struggles where you don’t have a chance, at least not now, not from where you sit.  In cases like this, it may be best to let life take its course and not tie yourself in knots believing that you should be able to change this dilemma, that you should be able to find a positive outcome.  It simply isn’t true. 

The deck may be stacked against you.  It may be best to give up entirely.  At least you won’t be adding strain to a difficult situation.  The terms of engagement may not be your terms.  This is NOT fun!

And knowing the difference is a true life skill.  Two options:  To let life take its course, or engage with the problem pointing directly at you.  That is the question!

Tai Chi Chuan – The 18 Therapies

Tai Chi Chuan – The 18 Therapies

Maggie Newman introduced the 18 Therapies to us many years ago and insisted we do them in class for the longest time.  I recall that some of us were not happy with this set of exercises.

Today, I adore them.

They are simple.  They are not tai chi.  They give you a gentle stretch.

So what’s the big deal?

I like that because they are simple, you can use them to practice tai chi qualities, qualities that are hard to embody in the tai chi form.  While doing the 18 therapies you can focus on internal interconnections, the cellular movement, the ground, the air, your connection through the feet, the top of your head, the dangling of the spine, the weight on your tailbone and chinbone, the sense of being open and full on the inside, the smoothness of movement, the non-doing, the relaxation, the awareness of the room, the tan t’ien, the simultaneous awareness of the feet hands top of your head, having no thoughts, being present.

But there is more:  There is the task of finding the most efficient, simple, easeful movement possible.  To have the movement DO YOU, to let them open and close, to let them fulfill their own reason for being, to allow them to emerge.  To get out of the way.

No excess, no insufficiency.

There is nothing to really gain from these exercises with the exception of an optimal and tangible use of the body as an organism in space.  You don’t get stronger or have greater stretch.   Yet you do “get” a fuller use of your body in the simplest gesture.

They are boring.  You have to make them as meaningful as the elemental play of bone and muscle and ligament and tendon as possible.

It’s a good use of time because you don’t have to get anything.  You just have to be as fully engaged as you can be without that thought of gain.

We learned these exercises long after we were taught tai chi.  They seemed so pointless.  If you don’t “get”, why do?  If they don’t add to your success profile or your achievement list, what’s the point?  No one is going to applaud you for your brilliance in the 18 Therapies.

But that IS the point!  Here you don’t DO, you are NON-DOING.  And in this way you get much much more. 

True, there are other exercises that would embody all of this, and perhaps move your tai chi skill up the ladder of success.  But dismantling that tendency is the biggest challenge of all.  Giving into the 18 Therapies, and not using them for your personal advancement.

It’s like breathing.  Is that an achievement?  A success?

It’s just breathing.  It keeps you alive and that is plenty!

Tai Chi Chuan - Frenetic - Calm - Death

Tai Chi Chuan – Frenetic – Calm – Death

I bet that last word got your attention. 

Let me begin by sharing with you a comment from an interested beginner that grabbed MY attention.  This wannabe told me that tai chi seemed too Zen-like and calm and she really liked being “frenetic”.  When she visits the countryside, it is too boring.

Most of us might associate the countryside with getting away from it all.  Most of us might see New York City as a place for excitement with too much to do and possibly full of crime.

Tai chi has little to do with where you are.  It is how you inhabit the environment.  So whether the environment is slow and unrushed, or the environment is lively or even jolting, your tai chi will help you out.

In tai chi, you reflect the environment.  It would be ridiculous to charge around the countryside as if catching the next bus (which is always determined to slip out of your hands as you approach it.)  It would also be ridiculous to languidly cross a busy New York City street as if “calm” meant being some sort of Zombie.

We don’t slow down in tai chi in order to go slow.   We slow down for the sake of being aware.  So in the countryside, you may need to watch out for loose rocks under foot, ticks, snakes, the odd car here and there, animals and so forth.  In a city like New York, you need to watch out for bikes, cars, taxis, trucks, busses, and of course other people, especially those with Smart Phones!

This brings me to death.   Apparently one way to die is to get hit by a bus.  Of course some commit suicide in this manner, but others simply don’t see it coming.  On one level, despite the tragedy, it is almost comical to think you can’t see a bus coming.  Like, what does it take to wake us up to danger?  Would it be a useful to view the street before you cross it?  Has anyone else noticed pedestrians hypnotized by their Smart Phones as they walk the streets of New York?

A friend told me of a sad tale where this very fit woman (an avid jogger) in her early 60’s was accidently plowed down by someone on a bicycle who didn’t see her.  And she didn’t see him.  He knocked her flat onto the asphalt and she died on the spot.  From fit and vital to dead in a matter of seconds. 

I include this amusing but not amusing article, on ways to die.  It may be a bit of overkill (I couldn’t resist that pun) to include it at this point, but much of these can be avoided by awareness, by paying attention.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/05/opinion/what-to-be-afraid-of.html?ref=international&_r=0

Awareness is an environment-friendly skill set.  The environment becomes you.  You are it and it is you.  You don’t take it for granted.  You now see that bike or bus barreling at you.

So it is a mistake to think in tai chi you are learning “to be slow”.  It’s a martial art and ultimately it can help you not only be fast, but fast and accurate.  To learn this, it helps to slow down and observe more closely.

With slowness, you are learning to be aware of the “insides” and the “outsides” of who you are.  You learn to relax, to be open, to be interconnected, grounded, aware, pliable, structurally sound, responsive, alert, integrated in your movement, connected to the environment.

I might add that slowing down during pivotal times in your life cycle will also create satisfaction, a better experience, greater ease and perhaps less suffering. 

Going slow at times will let you savor what you are experiencing and learn from it.

It will add quality to your living.

It may add years of living to your life.

Is it grand to say this is priceless?

Finding the Right Balance - New York Times article

Finding the Right Balance

By Alex Hutchinson

New York Times, June 6, 2015

WE all fall down. But while a tumble for a toddler is a learning experience, and a stumble for an adult is usually just embarrassing, for older people it can be a serious, even fatal, incident.

In 2010, 13 million Americans reported being injured in a fall, often caused by simple trips on the sidewalk or on the stairs at home. For the over 65s, the figures are worse: One in three in this age group falls every year, resulting in some 250,000 hip fractures and more than 25,000 deaths, usually from traumatic brain injuries. The health care cost of treating these falls is estimated to be $34 billion a year.

But if falling is such a common hazard, especially for older people, does that mean falls are inevitable? Is there nothing we can do about it — like improving our sense of balance?

Part of the challenge is that balancing is trickier than you think. Most of us are lucky enough that we rarely have to think consciously about it. But try standing on one leg for 30 seconds, the way you might have to if a police officer suspected you’d been drinking and driving. Then close your eyes, and see how much harder it gets. That’s part of a sideline balance test if you’re a football or hockey player and a trainer or doctor wants to assess whether you’ve suffered a concussion.

I discovered my own wobbliness a few years ago, while working on a magazine article about high-altitude hiking. Researchers had shown that the number of balance errors you make while holding a few simple 20-second poses — standing on one foot with your eyes closed, for example — can signal the onset of altitude illness. I tried the tests and found that, in the rarefied air of my Toronto office (elevation: 249 feet), I was as unsteady as a Himalayan hiker with mountain sickness.

As someone who exercises most days, I found this unsettling: What was missing from my regimen?

We’ve come to view fitness as a collection of discrete traits — muscular strength, aerobic endurance, flexibility and so on — that can be isolated, measured and tinkered with independently. The pitfall of that approach is obvious: What is strength or endurance worth without the balance and stability to use them in the real world?

Simply staying upright is, in some ways, a full-body exercise. You have fluid-filled “organs of balance” in your inner ear that monitor the position and rotation of your head; and there are sensors known as proprioceptors in muscles and tendons throughout your body that detect subtle stretches and deformations. Your feet alone contain 11 small stretch-sensing muscles: No matter how many calf raises you do in the gym, your balance won’t be stable unless your brain is attuned to the signals from these sensors. Even wearing socks interferes with this subtle feedback and worsens your balance.

Walking is trickier still, since each step is essentially a controlled fall. Last year, researchers from Ohio State University showed that they could predict with accuracy where a walker’s foot would land by looking only at the trajectory of the upper body during the previous stride. What seems like a simple act, in other words, is actually a complex and near-instantaneous calculation that enables you to place your foot in exactly the right spot to prevent a faceplant.

The current approach to this challenge is to add an additional box to check off: balance training. United States health guidelines already suggest balance training for older adults at risk of falls, and European countries like Austria, Ireland and Denmark recommend it for all older adults.

A step in the right direction, you might say, but it still presents balance as an isolated practice. The evidence is that a more integrated approach has greater benefits.

For an older adult who wants to continue living independently, it’s clear that the ability to rise from a chair and walk across the room, which requires the coordination of muscle strength, balance and aerobic activity, is more important than any individual element of fitness. And it’s not just a physical challenge. One key warning that you’re at higher risk of falling is if you tend to stop walking when you talk — a sign that the cognitive demands of staying on your feet are overloading your brain.

An emerging body of research suggests that exercising in a way that taxes your coordination, agility and balance — a suite of abilities known as “gross motor skills” — rewires your brain in ways that are fundamentally different from straightforward aerobic activity or strength training. By improving these physical attributes, you also enhance cognitive performance.

One such study, published in 2011 by neuroscientists from Jacobs University Bremen in Germany, involved a yearlong trial of 44 older adults that compared the effects of walking three times a week with what they called “coordination training”: a series of exercises using stability boards, balls, jump ropes and other equipment, and including elements like “reaction to moving objects/persons.”

Superficially, the two regimens were equally good: Compared to a control group that did stretching and relaxation exercises, both groups boosted their performance to a similar degree on cognitive tests, including measures of perceptual speed and executive control. (Other studies have produced similar findings using a range of coordination and balance exercises like obstacle courses, tossing balls into baskets and learning to juggle.)

But what’s interesting is that the cognitive gains occur in different ways depending on the mode of exercise. While aerobic exercise and strength training trigger brain chemicals that enhance neuron growth and survival, balance and coordination call on higher-level cognitive processes that seem to increase the number of synapses connecting the neurons.

That, in turn, suggests another reason simple balance exercises alone won’t achieve what we want. It is novelty and unpredictability, rather than repetition, that are essential to keep your brain engaged. A recent study by researchers in Denmark, Finland and Germany compared a group of 15 endurance-trained athletes, like runners and cross-country skiers, with a group of skill-trained dancers, gymnasts and figure skaters. The researchers captured data to assess their subjects’ “motor cortex plasticity,” a measure of the brain’s ability to change its wiring in response to new stimuli.

Both types of athletes have highly trained calf muscles, but endurance athletes use them repetitiously, in a way that the brain consigns to autopilot. Sure enough, plasticity in the area of the brain that controls calf muscles was no different between endurance athletes and nonathletes. In contrast, the dancers, gymnasts and skaters, for whom autopilot is not an option, showed dramatically higher plasticity: Their neurons were primed to keep learning new motor tasks.

A striking feature of the balance and coordination exercises used in these cognitive studies is that they sound a lot like games. Whether you’re dancing or playing tennis, the unpredictability of your partner’s actions means that no two workouts are the same. Perhaps the enjoyment we get from a good game isn’t just a nice bonus: It’s an indicator that we’re fully engaged, mind and body, in the activity. You could call that achieving good balance.

Alex Hutchinson is a runner and author who writes the Sweat Science blog for Runner’s World magazine.