Tai Chi Chuan – Connections

 Tai Chi Chuan – Connections

It’s really important to connect to something outside of you.  Tai Chi training is very much about connecting to something outside of you. 

We follow each other.  We follow our partners in push hands.  We are connecting to heaven and earth and air during the form.  Hey, if you feel like it, connect your form to the universe!

All of that internal work amounts to little if we can’t let it engage with the outer world.  It is one HUGE listening exercise.  My teacher, Maggie Newman, often has us just listen to the sounds as they pass through.  This is a very profound way of being in the world.  We don’t shut it out.  We let it in.  We get close to it.  We connect.  It is a part of us.  Sound is a good place to start because we are wired to be one with sound.

As a martial art, this is an obvious choice.  How else could you defend yourself without connecting with the outer world?

Tai chi takes this a step further.  “Shadow boxing”.  We are so fused with the attacker that there is no real separation between you and the opponent.   He/She is not a “that.”  He/She along with me becomes an “us.”  Opponent + Me = 1.  Not 2.

It’s a healthy perspective to view the other – regardless of how you feel about them – as an “us.”  The important part is not where you separate; the important part is where you merge.  Focus on the connection.  That way, the places that don’t easily connect can be more readily addressed.  No one loses their center, gets tense or feels defensive.

Yes, this may not be possible at all times with all people.  But it’s a good place to start.  It will help you keep your balance, your ground, your internal space.

Have you connected to someone or something outside of yourself today?