High to Low/Essential Element – 7/20/20

I have been sharing lately about my thoughts about how energy moves from areas of high concentration to areas of less concentration. When doing the form, we put most of the weight on one leg or the other making it energetically more concentrated. Or we allow the partner to give us energy by compressing our body through being pushed. You then set your body up so that the high concentrated area will give to the area of less concentration. You give back to the partner. Yang to yin, yin to yang.

The body/mind is always trying to find balance. It happens naturally. Take happiness and sadness as an example. Sadness can be devastating if it builds up. Sadness drains the body of energy. Mother nature then kicks in to put more energy back into the body/mind and it does this by crying! Think about this for a moment. When you cry, there are several little releases of breath (lower belly contracts several times in a row) and that is followed by a large inhale. See if you can act out crying, really do it. The result is that you take in more energy than let it out because sadness drains energy and you need to fill up the deficiency.

The opposite is true of happiness. It is hard to imagine being too happy, but the body can be overwhelmed by happiness and one then needs to let some of the excess drain. This is done by laughing! Act out laughing. Notice how you exhale much more than inhale. Nature finds balance.

Tai Chi is all about aligning oneself with nature to find balance. When the partner pushes me, I start out yin, low energy. He pushes, moving from full to empty. He started with a full cup which he emptied into me. I start out empty and allow his energy to fill me up. He is now empty and I am full so I can give back to him. If I am full to start with, his extra energy will over flow me, and if he is empty to start with he won’t have anything extra to give me. So simple.

It is the same with all aspects of our life. If we are so full of ourselves, we won’t be able to accept anything, like advice or suggestions, from others. Stay open and receptive and you will be filled by others so you can then return the favor. Yin to yang, yang to yin.

Imagine your lungs have dropped into your hips (Kua). Breathe in and out using your lungs in their new position. Gather and Release. Take your time and really experience this.