Tai Chi Chuan and Commitment to....

Tai Chi Chuan and Commitment to….

I always tell students that in order to be in a tai chi class, you have to commit yourself to attending as many classes as possible and avoid missing them.  This seems to be a difficult thing to do, especially in New York City with so many options on the table.  Like, if you don’t know what tai chi is and what it has to offer, then not attending a class here or there doesn’t seem like a big deal.  My counter statement is that aside from the linear progression of learning a new posture, you are learning a multi-layered exercise and that I can’t hit all of the notes in every class.  Tai chi is harmony, as in music.  Not just a linear melody.

But what is it, after all, that you are committing to?  A tai chi buddy of mine reminded me of something rather deep.  That tai chi is about letting go and that much of life is about letting go.  There is more to tai chi than that, but this is a huge lesson that comes out of the oblique experience of coming to class every week and of course practicing between lessons.

I often ask students to change.  That is, to change HOW they approach class and practice.  Tai chi focuses on change which is a cousin to letting go.  Years ago, for whatever reason, I would practice and mentally criticize myself in the process.  I would end the form angry and discouraged.  Ultimately I realized that this is NOT an option.  Perfection comes to few and if I wanted to practice, I needed to accept whatever and wherever I am in my development.  This is why I don’t really judge the progress of others – we are all working towards something.

But the BIG COMMITMENT that a tai chi student is involved in, and this takes years to appreciate, is that tai chi offers a new way of approaching life.  It is a way of interacting with ourselves and others in a way that is deeply contradictory to much of the way we have been trained to live.  This, too, permeates class. 

Many try tai chi and leave.  I suspect this is because, at least in part, that the level of commitment to change, let go, allow, be present, not be invasive, use the ground, trust your structure and find true relaxation is a rather large commitment.  It takes time.  You don’t really know this on day one. Or day 100.  You have to trust that SOMETHING will make sense and create the joy that also comes from tai chi practice.

One well known teacher tells us that we measure our progress in decades.  Tai chi is a slow moving train.  It’s not a pill.  It’s a lot of work, but work that is fun to embrace.