Borrowing Energy

James Drewe
Jul 23
3 min read

When someone or something connects to you, you have the possibility of 'borrowing' their energy.

This works on various levels of subtlety, but is probably most easily described if we take the example of someone gently pushing you.

A push, as in the picture above, represents energy being transferred from the white-shirted person to the blue-shirted person, in this case, probably on a horizontal line.

When pushed, you have a choice:

1) Do you allow the energy of that push to meet its target (in this case probably the point on your spine that is level with the arms of the person pushing)?

2) Do you redirect that energy to where YOU want it to go?

If the latter, then how do you do it?

Borrowing energy

Doing the latter is known as 'borrowing' the energy (some would say 'receiving' the energy, and is a skill that can be developed.

This skill depends largely upon your ability to relax and settle your own energy (known as 'Song').

If you look at the energy of the push as the flow of water, by opening up the pipelines down to your feet, you can redirect the water from the pusher’s intended outlet, i.e. the middle of your back, to a different outlet, your feet.

This will help to ground you and not only negate the push, but will also allow you to gather the energy of the person pushing which you can then use - perhaps to return their push.

If I understand it correctly, this isn't unlike an electrical charge trying to ground itself by passing through the body, something that you don't want to happen with an actual electrical charge (thus the rubber boots). In the case of electricity, it is seeking to return its electrons to the ground, so that it can return to equilibrium by discharging negative energy.

In the case of the push, we actually want the energy-shock of the push to be grounded via the feet, and in order to do this, you have to be very relaxed at the precise moment of impact during a push.

Developing the skill

You'll need someone to help you.

Your starting posture is with one foot ahead of the other, with legs straight, although not locked.

Your partner puts their hands on either your upper arms, chest, or shoulders, and pushes you directly backwards, VERY gently, possibly even with only 2 fingers touching you.

You should keep your legs relatively straight (not locked), avoid bending your knees, and as your partner gently pushes, you need to look for the feeling of your rear foot being pressed into the ground by the gentle push.

It will be tempting to want to move your weight backwards on to your rear foot; you should avoid this.

Your aim is to absorb their push, relaxing your body, particularly at the point on which they are pushing, and feel as though their push is passing downwards through your body to your feet.

If you let the push cause you to lean backwards, or even lift you at all, this will not work, and will mean that you've actually allowed the energy of the push to have control of its own path, LIFTING you rather than travelling downwards through your body.

Improving the skill

And that's it.

This needs to be practised a lot, so that you develop the skill of instantly allowing the person's push to pass downwards to your rear leg.

It will feel as though you are resisting, when in fact you are simply not allowing yourself to be moved backwards.

James Drewe teaches Tai Chi and Qigong in both London and in Kent and online.Details of weekly classes both live and online can be found on the website, and there are classes for 2-person Tai Chi on one Saturday a month.There is also learn both tai chi & qigong through a monthly subscription, and there are many free videos on YouTube.