The Tenth Principle of Tai Chi Chuan: Seek Tranquility in The Movement
While the Ninth Principle of Tai Chi Chuan is one of the Principles that seems easiest to understand and apply, the Tenth is likely the one that causes the most confusion. In my e-book The 10 Principles of Tai Chi Chuan for Beginners, that I give away with my video Beginning Tai Chi Exercises, I give a brief description of the Ninth Principle that’s geared toward beginners.
Seek tranquility in the movement:
With Tai Chi Chuan, the movement is peaceful and tranquil. While performing the movements the mind is alert but peaceful. When practicing, the slower the movement the better the results. This is because when the movements are slow and deliberate you will find it easier to breathe deeply. This will help your energy sink to the dan tian, and has a soothing effect on the body and the mind.
Often relayed as “Seek stillness in the movement”, this Principle probably has the widest range of interpretations and is a major cause for confusion in newer students, not to mention those with more experience. It seems to be an oxymoron. How can there be stillness within movement? I imagine this has more to do with improper translation than in the statement itself, although Eastern and Western ideas can sometimes conflict with one another, resulting in misunderstandings and confusion as well.
What I can do here is give you my interpretation on as basic a level as possible. The real key to understanding any of the 10 Principles lies within the practice of tai chi chuan itself (taijiquan). By working with each principle one at a time, testing each for yourself, and coming to your own understanding, you will slowly be able to incorporate them into your practice and your life.
As time passes, you will likely find your own interpretations and understanding changing. A particular interpretation for a Principle my serve you well for years, and one day you’ll discover something that turns it upside down. Don’t spend too much time searching for interpretations; find one that makes some kind of sense to you and work with it until you come to an understanding from the inside out.
As I’ve said before, tai chi is really all about awareness of your body. As with breath, it’s important not to focus too much on what you’re doing. Simply think about the Principle and set it in the back of your mind as you practice. Your subconscious mind is much better at finding patterns and meanings than your conscious mind.
Allow your mind to be calm. Just as you should use only as much muscle as needed to move when playing tai chi, you should only use only as much focus as you need. Paradoxically I’ve found the easiest way to develop this skill is to focus with everything you’ve got on one aspect for a little while and then let it go. In this way you first begin to understand this one thing, while other things may almost completely fall apart due the lack of focusing on them. Later, once you’ve brought your focus back to other subtleties, you’ll find this one area has improved while causing improvement in other areas too.
One day you’ll come to realize something you never expected. Something you tucked into the “back of your mind” a month ago, a year ago, or maybe even several years in the past. I know this is still happening to me, and I expect it will for many years to come.
Your thoughts, experiences?
John
Click on "Express yourself" below to leave your comment. (Comments are great!)
The “Sphere: Related Content” button looks for similar stories on the internet. “Tell a Friend” lets you bookmark this post or email it to a friend without having to leave the page. “Share and Enjoy” let’s you bookmark this post on lots of different sites or even print it out. I want you to tell others about this site so share away… please!
Express yourself, click here to leave a comment (3 comments, add yours)
Be notified of new comments for this post via RSS
3 People have left comments on this post
Feb 2, 2010 - 06:02:36Great post,
I have been studying Tai Chi for about 10 years. I practice regularly, Every time I do my form I feel something new.
Thanks for sharing your article, I am going to share your article on my next post.
Larry,
Thanks for the encouragement. The depth of tai chi is truly amazing. Feel free to use the full article on your site with a link back here somewhere on the page.
John
1 Trackback(s)