Dealing With Problems the Tai Chi Way/Sat Workshop – 6/10/19

I think that one of the worst short-comings of the mind is that we often fail to see the beginnings of really big problems because the forms in which they arise are right before our eyes. In our bodies, as in the environment, we wait until the problem gains momentum and strength before we act to stop it, and by that time, the act of stopping this problem requires so much energy and ingenuity that we tend not to carry through with the possible solution, and therefore hope someone else will do it for us.

How much easier it would have been to deal with the problem when it first appeared. Don’t wait until the problem is already manifested in the body and then try to deal with it. We work with the same idea in internal arts partner play. For example, if a car is parked, headed up, on a steep hill, we could put a small block behind one tire, and letting off the brake, the car would stay. If you put the block a foot or so behind the tire and then let off the brake, the momentum of the rolling car would surely cause the car to jump over the block and continue rolling.

In Tai Chi push hands and self-defense, we reach out and contact the opponent in order to feel and listen to his body and energy. That way we can analyze his amount of internal energy, direction of release and force before it has gained too much power for us to be able to deal with it in a relaxed fashion.

If we daily examine our own body through the use of meditative, inner directed exercise like Tai Chi, Chi Kung, Yoga, we will be placing the block right under our bodies “tires”, so any potential problems will be discovered before they get too strong.

Studio Note:I sold the Studio a few years ago to a yoga instructor. Since most of the Yoga exercises are done lying on the floor, she likes to keep the Studio quite a bit warmer than the Tai Chi classes do. What it means is that the Studio is somewhat stuffy. We have a couple of students who are quite sensitive to strong odors, so please, when attending classes at the Studio refrain from using perfumes or lotions with strong smells. Thank you for thinking of others.

Due to the first Saturday of July being July 4^thweekend, many of our studio push hands participants are going to be out of town or busy, so we are cancelling the workshop for this month. I am planning on August 3^rd. I’ll remind you as the time gets closer.