A Short History of Tai Chi
While I was doing grad work at Columbia University in the early 80’s, I was walking by St. John The Devine Cathedral, when I saw a notice for Tai Chi on a gate. I opened the gate and walked up a sidewalk to a door with another sign. When I opened the door, I was greeted by Master Da Liu. He said, “Ah, so you are here,” as if he had expected me, and he motioned for me to join the rest of the class practicing his Yang Style Tai Chi form. I have been practicing and teaching since.
Master Da Liu was in his 80’s, when I started my study with him, but he was as quick and limber as a young man. If anyone of us younger men or women practiced push hands or any other partner practice, you could expect to unexpectedly find yourself flying across the room or to find yourself in some joint control, wondering how that happened and oddly laughing about it.
I thought Tai Chi would be a good cultivation method to develop if it afforded me health as I aged. I also noticed how Master Liu was always relaxed and undisturbed with anything that came his way. He was unassuming and accepting of all kinds of people. It lifted your spirit to be with him. These were also qualities I would like to have.
The history of Tai Chi starts with Chi Gong exercises, which were believed to have originated with the Yellow Emperor about 2500 B.C. These were slow moving meditative exercises for improving the flow of chi, or the animating force that is believed to permeate creation.
Another key element of Tai Chi was Taoism, which began with the Tao Te Ching, a book attributed to Lao Tzu, who is believed to have lived about 500 B.C. The book suggested a better way to live one’s life was to become like a child in the way that a child is flexible and open-minded. If one was flexible and open-minded, you could develop the ability to see all sides of an issue or situation and spontaneously without bias find the best direction for all involved. The book also suggested it was better to not let emotions and desires to become tyrants obscuring your mind with turbulent thoughts and dragging you into actions that were harmful to yourself or others.
Key concepts of Taoism are the Tao, Chi, Yin and Yang. Tao means the Way or Source of creation. It is considered beyond our limited perceptions, but we were born with an innate understanding and intimate connection with creation as a reflection of the universe. Chi is the animating force running through creation. This chi connects all things and an awareness of it can be developed through meditation, Tai Chi, and mindful awareness in daily activities. Yin and Yang are opposing but complimentary forces that combine in different ways to give us everything in the universe. Such forces are light and dark, hot and cold, up and down, push and pull.
About 300 B.C., Chang Tzu developed the Taoist philosophy further to free man from any sort of tyranny, whether it was our own desires or emotions, or it was political, social, or intellectual. He suggested being content with what one had and accepting the human condition. He understood that we are not in control of the universe, but we could better accept our condition if we understood it as part of the natural order. This would allow us to think clearly and make good choices for a better life.
Jumping ahead to Chang San Feng, who lived as a Taoist monk about 1300 A.D., we see the development of Tai Chi as we know it today. This art combined Chi Gong exercises, Taoism, martial arts, and observations of nature. As a compliment to sitting mediation, it was a vehicle to learn principals and patterns that were common to all arts, activities, and nature. The gentle exercise calmed the mind and kept the body healthy. Chang San Fang was also known for his writing, and I believe he best summed up Taoism, when he said, “The best way to get along in life, is to love people.”
Tai Chi is taught as a series of slow, gentle, low-impact movements that integrate the breath, mind, and physical activity to achieve greater awareness and a sense of well-being. Tai Chi and related Chi Kung exercises reduce stress, improve mood, lower blood pressure and heart rate while improving breathing, flexibility, mobility, balance, strength, circulation, posture, concentration, memory, and mental outlook. The Mayo Clinic has done studies that bear this out, and they use Tai Chi as physical therapy. Studies on the benefits of Tai Chi by medical schools and institutes are easily found online.
Preparation:
Calm the mind. Relax the body. If you recognize tension in your body, concentrate on the tension, breathe deep, relax, and think of releasing the tension through the feet and into the floor. All the joints are gently extended. Flex the knees a little. Pull down the tail bone and push forward until you feel the weight sink evenly in the feet. Concentrate on the Tan Tien just in front of the sacrum in the center of the lower abdomen. Breathe deep slow and even. If the mind wanders bring the concentration back to the breathing. Gently lift the back of the head and tuck the chin in. Shoulders are back and down. Develop an open awareness. This means you are aware of your surroundings and not focusing or fixed on any one thing.
The Movements:
Throughout the form shift the weight to one foot and relax the light leg all the way through the hip. The light leg turns on the heel or the toes. As you step or shift the weight back and forth, the hands are coordinated with the feet to create the postures. Movement starts with the feet. The waist is used to direct the energy out through the arms. The upper body is relaxed and centered. Coordinate the deep breathing with the slow even movement. Generally, the practitioner breaths in deep slow and even as one expands or shifts the weight forward. Breathe out slow and even as you contract, or the weight shifts back. None of this should be forced. Breathe comfortably as needed.
Move as if pressing through water. Just as in water, your hands flex as if meeting resistance from the water.
Each posture flows into the next. The beginning of the next posture is the end of the last.
The practitioner concentrates on the flow of energy and weight shifting in the body, the sense of balance, and the deep breathing.
The purpose of the practice is to develop body awareness, a sense of balance, a healthy body, and calm mind. It is best learned if there is no pressure to do each step correctly. This will cause tension and imbalance. It is best to approximate the moves and gradually let that approximation improve naturally over time. Eventually, the movements become spontaneous. Most importantly develop awareness of how your own body is creating the postures. It does not matter how long it takes to learn the form. It is an ongoing process, and the principles can be practiced in everyday life to ease tension and calm the mind. Just as in the form, you can learn to identify tension in your life and redirect it. Whether lying down, sitting, or walking you can breathe deep and move your awareness through the body to clear the mind and relax the body.
Chi Kung follows the same principles, but exercises are performed in a stationary position or with few steps