Introduction: 

What are the 3 P’ s of Tai chi?

• Practice
• Persistence
• Perseverance

Let us look at each of these P’s separately.

The first being, Practice.

It is important to practice doing the forms. There are a few basic requirements that needs to start before practicing forms per se. They are Nei Gung and Qi Gong. Each of these breathing techniques and practices bring about so much strength and vitality to your inner organs, doing forms after that becomes simple.

Meditation in motion

Tai Chi on lake

Meditation in motion means a flowing non hurried way of doing the forms. Relentless practice is the key & the only way to doing the forms gracefully is more and more of practice.

The second P:

Persistence is an offshoot of attitude, shall we say; Reason is, if your attitude becomes a little lukewarm, then the motivation to doing takes a backseat. No matter what, never say die attitude will egg you on to keep going at your practice or sadana.

The third P:

The dictionary defines Perseverance as, “persistence in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success” which is almost the corollary of the second P! Regardless of the situation you find yourself in, constant practice makes you stay committed to the activity.

Summary

Tai Chi is a gift to the world from China…the land of many zen masters and Tao masters. Even the medical fraternity has acknowledged that regular practice of Tai Chi brings in more harmony, balance in one’s gait, especially in the elderly and prevents falls and imbalance in their AOL(activities of daily living).

What is peak of tranquility?

The Oxford dictionary defines ‘tranquility’ as the state of being calm.Therefore being tranquil or being in a tranquility state means being in a state of peace and quiet.

If tranquility means being calm, then, the peak of being calm is the ultimate state of bliss. How does one achieve the peak? By being balanced. Then the relevant question is:  what is balance ?

Balance is the ultimate

Tai Chi is the ancient Chinese martial art practice or exercise. Doing Tai Chi regularly can bring tremendous health benefits such as improved circulation and movements of the fluids inside the body.

In addition, regular practice of Tai chi helps older adults improve their balance and reduce the risk of falling especially in the bathrooms and other places.

Tai Chi on lake

Tai chi for balance & health

Practice of Tai chi movements ought to be slow and flowing, feeling the chi in your body. After practicing Tai chi for a while, I felt exhilarated and strangely reconciled to everything. This is a great feeling that everyone must experience by hands on training. No amount of words will be sufficient to describe this feeling.

Another word is equanimity:

Equanimity is another word which according to Oxford dictionary is “calmness and composure, especially in a difficult situation.”  Although, all these words bring about some esoteric feeling, it is very much possible to feel this aspect.

By doing slowly and deliberately, these flowing movements improve your natural balance & stability. Also it does protect you against falls mainly because, you learn to shift your body weight between various stances on the left and right side of your body.

Tai Chi and Meditation

Tai Chi supports your meditation giving you so much focus and clarity in your thinking. This beautiful quote from the Enlightened Master, Osho sums up this remarkable practice from China.

“The meditator becomes centered in himself and slowly starts to accept everything as it is…Tathagata…beyond all coming and going. He reconciles to himself and accepts himself as he is, no longer complaining about anything. Who to complain to and what to complain? Once you accept yourself as you are, you have arrived…Looking at everything as it is-without projecting any of your own thoughts on it is my understanding of tathagata……..unless you uncondition yourself, unburden yourself from social conditioning, it is impossible….you need to become a child again- a clean slate or tabla rasa…that is when you achieve the peak of tranquility!”

If you want to learn Tai Chi, there are many beautiful sites available the most important being The Energy Arts. Check out their site and enroll for an online course and enjoy.

If you have any comments, kindly post them here. Thank you for your time.

Take care.

 

Looking at everything as it is-without projecting any of your own thoughts on it is my understanding of tathagata……..unless you uncondition yourself, unburden yourself from social conditioning, it is impossible….you need to become a child again- a clean slate or tabula rasa…

Looking at everything as it is-without projecting any of your own thoughts on it is my understanding of tathagata……..unless you uncondition yourself, unburden yourself from social conditioning, it is impossible….you need to become a child again- a clean slate or tabula rasa…

Awareness is mindfulness

What is awareness?

Awareness is the ability to watch your thoughts and action as it is happening. Just by being aware you can enter the world of meditation. Actually, watchfulness and witnessing are the tools that help one increase their awareness. Summing up, If you are doing something mechanically or habitually you miss the point!

Zen Masters

That is why the zen masters say that every act is a celebration. They have devised many  ceremonies for simple day to day activities like drinking tea and washing clothes. Actually, one does not have to do something tremendously significant all the time!

As a matter of fact, even simple day to day chores that one does needs this watchfulness and care which would make it very meaningful! Just simple acts of day to day life needs to be celebrated. That is meditation!

Tea Ceremonies

In the world of Zen, masters have devised simple tea ceremonies that are beautiful to watch! They are very slow deliberate movements such as lifting the cup, holding and smelling before sipping. Watching them is so beautiful, so poetic!

Meditation means dhyan:

Therefore, meditation is not something you do for a while and forget all about it in the remaining part of the day. It is a way of living, a new way to see the world. It is a perspective of being in no hurry, being relaxed and accepting everything that happens around you.

Be in wonder

Normally, you take everything for granted. The morning sunrise, evening sunset, rain, wind…everything! It means you are not seeing anything with fresh eyes.

Look at the children!  For them, everything is new! Everything is exciting! There is a wonder in their eyes, there is something darting in their being! They are always raring to go, investigate, and learn.

Nurture your child!

If you reflect deeply, you too had it in the first place. As you grew up demonstrating your ability to compete, you became more ambitious in the bargain. It lead to more ambition, more work, more everything!

All you need to do now is to drop this “more”! Become less, less of greed, less of wanting and more of acceptance, tolerance and relaxation.

Grow in Meditation

Meditation is the seed, when sowed with proper care, grows as a tender plant.  You need to water the plant with love, care, and dedication to make it grow into a delicate plant.  Once dhyan starts growing in you, a beacon of light shows you the way ahead.

Yoga Dhyan Center:

It is a place where you could do meditation, yoga and Tai chi.  Alertness, awareness mindfulness are enough to start the  meditation. Once awareness and mindfulness takes root in you, you will slowly grow in meditation.