 Many people refer to Tai Chi as "moving meditation". It is a combination of martial arts and inner awareness. Tai Chi has also been considered "a string of pearls". Similar to a grain of sand entering an oyster, the oyster's inner stillness is interrupted. This is an irritation, mild or extreme, and the oyster moves slowly around the grain of sand, working with it instead of against it and gradually forms a beautiful pearl. Each movement in Tai Chi stands for a single pearl. Over time, a string of pearls is developed as we work through the issues and irritations in our lives in order to resolve, learn from, and move on.
However, in the Eastern world, the foods are traditionally not divided. If you want food, you get whole, natural foods anywhere. If you want medicine, you can go to a traditional Chinese pharmacy and come out with a small bag of herbs. Food is medicine. It is not separated. The same goes for Eastern exercises. The workouts are a combination of movements, awareness and focus, and breathing that work the entire mind, body, and soul. This is very important because all add up to make up one whole YOU. Nothing can be separated or ignored. Balance of mind, body, and spirit is very crucial for if one is neglected or there is imbalance, eventually, everything is thrown off.
Many people who try Tai Chi for the first time are amazed at the workout that they do get and how much sweating they have done. Some people, however, cannot focus and breathe properly in the beginning and still do not understand the purpose of Tai Chi. This is why practice and patience is very crucial. (Editor's Note: Take the breath test to see if your are breathing correctly: http://www.breathing.com/tests.htm)  When doing Tai Chi, you're working from the inside out. Focusing on the Dan Tien, two inches below your navel, during the entire workout not only teaches you to slow down your mind (to relax) but also teaches you to do your workouts properly. Focusing allows you to make sure the energy and right body parts are doing the work and not the work coming from some place else. How many times have you felt strain or pain in your neck when trying to do situps or crunches? That is because the work came from the neck and not the abdominals. The art and practicing of focusing on what you are doing in Tai Chi also teaches you to focus on the here and now in everything that you do. This is very beneficial and crucial for focusing on your work produces quality results and focusing on your play and your personal endeavors also produces quality relaxation and enjoyment.The one thing I wish to for you to understand about Tai Chi, if nothing else that you've read so far makes any sense, is that Tai Chi is the "path of least resistance". Like a fish making a small movement with its body, no help from arms and legs, can propel through the water with the greatest of ease, Tai Chi teaches us to do the same. Using internal focus and energy from the right areas (legs, waist, and Dan Tien), the internal does the work while the external movement of arms and legs just follow. Less energy is wasted when the external is de-emphasized; therefore, allowing more energy coming from the right areas to do the work. The same principal is most evident in one swimmer flailing arms, legs, hands, and feet creating a huge water show and yet still not getting anywhere. Then you have another swimmer who quietly and gracefully seems to glide through the water, making it look so easy. The difference is where the energy is coming from. Tai Chi is the movement of energy with the least amount of effort. Tai Chi Helps to Relieve Stress Tai Chi has become very popular because of our increasing stress level. It helps to balance a hectic everyday pace by allowing you to move slowly and learning to breathe properly. Tai Chi also balances by giving the body the physical movement that it needs and allowing the mind to rest after a day of racing and multi-tasking. Working from the inside out and not just focusing on the external (the outside of the body), Tai Chi calms the central nervous system, slows the mind, and allows for proper deep breathing. This is a great self-improvement program which will help you better function in all your endeavors. Tai Chi requires you to perform moves slowly. By focusing on the “dan tien”, which is the spot two inches below your belly button, your mind learns to think of one thing at a time instead of racing and you learn to work from the core. Working the core (your abs, lower back, and legs) strong. By keeping the core strong and healthy, the smaller areas of your body such as the joints, ligaments, knees, neck, etc. don’t have to do the work and there is less chance for injury. Slow movements, proper breathing, and working from the core also delivers healing and circulation into all areas of your body particularly the joints. Joints don’t get a lot of blood and circulation, therefore Tai Chi is excellent for those who have arthritis or need a low impact workout. “Qi” is life energy. When there is too much stress and not enough physical activity, your qi is reduced. In other words, your life energy dies. As you know, this lowers your motivation, reduces your awareness and thinking, and so on. Tai Chi helps to increase your qi. Once again, Tai Chi requires you to perform moves slowly. Focusing on the breath, relaxing your mind by bringing your thoughts to the dan tien, and moving in slow patterns allows you to let go of negativity and worries. Sometimes people find it difficult to do Tai Chi properly for they are worried about how they look and how they compare to others. Perhaps they aren’t able to focus but thinking of other things. Tai Chi teaches you to be in the present. Being in t the present means bringing your thoughts to what your body is doing. This is called balance. Many people begin to realize that there is no way they can do Tai Chi properly without releasing these concerns. So they must let these things go in order to perform the easy movements and experience balance in their mental and physical health. This allows them to see that there is a different way of living life and will transfer into all areas of their lives. Western exercises focus on the external-stronger abs, bigger chest, smaller waist, etc. While participating in aerobics, running, or lifting weights you’re usually listening to pounding music, watching t.v. (particularly the news which is stressful and not relaxing), and talking to a friend. Now there is nothing wrong with this and these types of exercises complete a well-balanced fitness routine. A well-balanced fitness routine should include cardiovascular exercises, strength or resistance training, and flexibility/relaxation exercises. However, Western exercises alone do not allow the time to focus, slow down the mind, stretch the joints, and to breathe properly. Many times as we are performing Western exercises, our focus is not on the right body parts but on the television and the music. Add Tai Chi to your workout routine and you will be able to work the smaller parts, the areas that we use constantly but often neglect such as the breath, mind, abs, lower back, joints, and ligaments. Then you will find that Tai Chi helps to balance out your life and helps to relieve stress. — Feature and workshop index by Lena Hunt Mabra, Kansas City Correspondent. WORLDWIDE WORKSHOP INDEX
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