There are so many activities that we do where we spend our time focusing on the limbs. Tai chi and qigong are but two examples out of hundreds. The external movements are so ‘visual’, so ‘in your face’; they catch the eye, and we often spend a lot of time emulating them… I certainly did for the first 20 years or more whilst starting to learn tai chi and qigong.
Gradually though, you start to realise that the movements of the arms have no power unless the core of your body is the initiator. You then realise that the leg which is stepping should behave in exactly the same way – it is driven by the centre of the body.
Nowadays I find it strange that, when I was first learning in the 70s and 80s, no one ever explained this; but maybe I just didn’t hear it… or perhaps they simply didn’t know!
I’m reminded of the Buddhist (or is it Daoist, or Zen, or something I once read by Alan Watts?) idea that the visibility of an object is relative to the spaces in and around it. The spaces are of equal importance. In other words, the spaces are quiet places – they are hiding. It’s the object that’s ‘in your face’.
So with tai chi and qigong, the centre might be a hive of activity, but it is quiet and not showing itself; it is hiding. Without it though, there’s nothing worth seeing.
___________________________________________________ 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.
CONTACT: http://www.taiji.co.uk https://www.qigonghealth.co.uk Email: taijiandqigong@gmail.com Phone: 07836-710281 ___________________________________________________
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