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No Mockingbirds, No T'ai Chi: Regulating the BodyPost Date:
Nature is full of mimics. Animals adapt appearances and characteristics in order to bolster survival, and only a trained eye can distinguish the Scarlett King Snake (non-poisonous) from the Coral Snake (venomous); and only a trained ear can discern that it is a mockingbird’s song and not the genuine article. Even children first learn through mimicking the behaviors, actions, and sounds around them. It should be no surprise when a parent hears him or herself in the turns of phrase, and responses in his or her own children, which is why engaged parenting needs to be a constant job.
From this perspective, mimicry is a natural process, yet when turning to the act of learning T’ai Chi Chuan, mimicry is problematic since T’ai Chi is meant to be experienced and explored and not just imitated. T’ai Chi is not just a dance that the person follows along; and more pointedly, if it is regarded as just a dance, it is not T’ai Chi that the person is doing, but merely a superficial exercise.
Dr Yang, Jwing-Ming, one of the most respected experts of T’ai Chi Chuan, and a person with whom I have studied, eloquently explains this vital aspect of T’ai Chi:
“If you are not searching for the deep meaning of the art, then you will always stay in the shallow places of Taijiquan. The final goal of practicing Taijiquan is applying the practice into your life. Your life is Taijiquan and Taijiquan is your life.”
To move beyond mimicry and transcend the “shallow places” in order to uncover this “deeper meaning” of T’ai Chi must begin with the body, which may be a contributing factor to the confusion surrounding people’s perception of T’ai Chi as merely a choreographed sequence of movements.
Let me use the classic sequence of authentic T’ai Chi training to help illuminate the difference between body practice and mere imitation and how appropriate training uses the body to press toward this “deeper meaning.” Classic T’ai Chi training discusses five levels of “regulation” as necessary elements of practice:
1. Regulating the Body
2. Regulating the Breath
3. Regulating the Mind
4. Regulating the Chi
5. Regulating the Spirit
These five elements are inter-related and not meant to be seen as measuring sticks of learning. Rather, the concentration upon the proper training of any one aspect bleeds into the other four. The first three—regulating body, breath, and mind—are absolutely fundamental, and the deeper practices of regulating chi and spirit will be forever beyond ones grasp if the first three aren’t mastered.
All T’ai Chi practice needs to start by concentrating upon the body and to “feel” what the body is doing at any given time—the shifts in weight, the flexing of muscles, the expanding and contracting of breath, the overall yin and yang of movement. To perceive these things, though, the “gates” of the body need to be relaxed and open. That is, the knees have a slight natural bend; the hips [called the “kua”] are soft; the waist is relaxed; the chest is soft with the shoulders relaxed down which hollows the sternum slightly [this is called “opening the bow to store the chi”]; the chin is tucked in slightly and parallel with the shoulders; and the top of the head is suspended as if the body is held in place by a string from the ceiling. In this position, the body is aligned and “regulated” and the channels are open to allow the person to better feel the ebb and flow of the weight, movement, circulation, and chi.
With the proper guidance to align the posture—which could be mimicked, I suppose—the concentration turns inward to “feel” what is going on within the body—which cannot be imitated. The attention behind the movements must turn inward and not outward upon the act of following another person doing the postures.
The process of maintaining the awareness of the self is to commit to the root of T’ai Chi Chuan, which is why it is often referred to as “moving meditation.” The act of meditation is not the movement, but the intention and awareness of the movement. Unfortunately, this vital aspect of T’ai Chi is often overlooked by many teachers and practitioners alike. Of course, the person will reap the benefits of feeling better, more relaxed, and calmer just doing the postures, but this is merely the “shallow” places. They are the hints of the treasures of T’ai Chi Chuan yet to be plumbed.
Ultimately, the individual strives to feel the relaxation, softness, balance, center and the root of the body, and how these aspects manifest throughout the postures in order to perceive the unified whole. As the T’ai Chi Classics state:
“The root is at the feet. Movement is generated from the legs, controlled by the waist, and expressed through the fingers. From the feet to the legs to the waist must be integrated, through one unified Qi.”
To achieve this level of constant perception and execution is to do T’ai Chi. It is to search for the “deeper meaning of the art.” Or as the Tao Te Ching states,
“To find the origin,
Trace back the manifestations” (Chapter 52)
Such internal seeking—returning the manifestations to the source—cannot be found through mere mimicry. T’ai Chi practiced in such a deep way restores our original intimacy with all things. Pressing beyond the imitation of the dance is to apply the practice to ones life and to discover the true boundless horizon of living.
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As the T'ai Chi Classics state, ones T'ai Chi should "Flow like a river and be still as a mountain."
