There is no doubt that practising Tai Chi and Qigong is very beneficial for the mind as well as the body. The deep, regular breathing calms the thinking down and allows us space for insight and intuition to arise from deep within our super consciousness. 

This super consciousness is a part of us that most people are unaware of. From a Tai Chi perspective, it is the part of us that is always connected to the Dao. The Dao is the natural way of the universe. The Dao is represented by the Chinese character 道, which can mean way, path, road, doctrine or principle. Daoism teaches that we live in a totally interconnected world. We co-create every moment in our lives with the other living beings around us (including our pets and those summer bugs that choose to feed on us!). The primary goal of Daoism in life is to align oneself with the Dao. The Dao cannot be understood as a concept, it can only be seen through the experience of one’s everyday living.

Daoism has some key principles which can help us to be more in alignment with the flow of life:

Non-attachment: This means freeing the mind from dividing and separating between good and bad, right and wrong, fair and unfair. It means letting go of the desire to maintain a positive headspace and to understand that the mind dances through Yin and Yang in the same way as all of nature. 

Acceptance: Non-attachment leads us into a place of acceptance. One of the wisest Eastern sayings is, “See how we cause ourselves to suffer by resisting what is.” When we can accept where we are, then we are able to move through the experience and into wisdom out the other side. When we resist, we get stuck in a place that never feels good. When this happens, it is our desire to maintain positive life experiences that leads us inevitably into becoming stuck in negative life experiences. Let go of the desire, go with the flow, and life becomes an adventure of diverse and curious experiences and the positive life experiences come along for the ride.

Breathing: Control your breath and you control your mind. Ancient Daoists understood that there is an intrinsic link between breath and mind. They discovered that we have different breathing patterns that match our emotions. The latest research suggests that we actually change our breathing pattern a few microseconds before we manifest an emotion. The breath leads to the emotion, not the other way around! Understand this and you will understand how to move through emotion. It is actually impossible for you to manifest anger, fear or anxiety while maintaining Tai Chi breathing. That’s why we feel so calm when we practise our Shibashi.

Smiling: This means allowing Shen (spirit/joy for life) to flow before we choose our next step. Try smiling before you move through any day to day change in your life. Smile before you get into your car, smile before getting out, smile before you start practice and again at the end. When we smile, we connect with our Shen and this opens up our minds to possibilities.

We practise these principles in our Tai Chi and Qigong. We let go of thoughts, stress and tension. We acknowledge discomfort and this acceptance facilitates letting go. We breathe in a slow, deep way. With practice we start to feel the flow of Qi and with it the flow of Shen. This is why our practice makes us feel so good. It doesn’t matter how I feel before a class, I always feel better afterwards. Tai Chi is a “slow burn.” The longer you do it, the deeper the benefits. If you are willing to play the long game with your practice, there is no limit to the benefits you can experience.

These principles underpin our practice and over time bring us great benefits. Imagine bringing those principles into every area of your life. Surely then, over time and with persistent practice, every area of your life would benefit? This has certainly been my experience. Tai Chi is at the core of how I live my life. What I seek to achieve in Tai Chi; softness, relaxation, flow, joy, grace…, I seek in all of my life. Daoism teaches that if you want to understand anything, study its opposite. So it has been through watching with curiosity my hardness, tension, resistance, sadness and ugliness that has led me on the most wonderful journey of discovery. This is not a path for the fainthearted. It takes courage and humility to face yourself in this way. Courage and humility can only be rediscovered by studying our fear and arrogance. Yet again, a challenging thing to undertake, but the rewards are beyond your imagining.

Over the next few blogs, I am going to share with you some of my understanding of the Tai Chi Mind and its transformative power. Fortunately the Daoists have been studying the mind for more than 4,000 years and have gained a deep understand of its nature and power. Daoism teaches that “simple is deep; complex is shallow.” This means if you want to experience life fully and deeply, it is through applying simple principles that it is achieved. These principles are so simple, any child can understand them. For now, I suggest you watch your breathing with curiosity. When you catch yourself feeling upset, see if you can notice how you are breathing. Then consciously slow your breathing to Shibashi pace and watch everything start to calm down. Being conscious of how we are breathing is not only for our Shibashi, but for all of our lives.