Thought is the Mind
Breathing (J. Bakula)
When we first start to meditate, we usually begin with a
process of allowing the mind to become more quiet and peaceful. Awareness seems
to grow naturally out of this calmness. As we study T’ai Chi and work on
eliminating extra movement, a similar process ensues. The unnecessary movements
drop away and the essential ones achieve a brilliance and clarity against the
quiet background. This space which is created allows a great joy and openness
to enter. T’ai Chi shares with other sincere meditation practices this ability
to enter a state in which distractions that sometimes keep us from peace and
balance become irrelevant, and from this state, solutions to these distractions
are often more easily found. It is within this context that I offer the following
exposition.
The Standards
After demonstrating the form, Mr. Chow would talk about what
he called “the standards” before beginning the first lesson with a new student.
He would sometimes place a dime on the floor, and then proceed to do the form,
from beginning to end, and end in exactly the same position from which he
started. He contended that this was the result of paying attention to these
standards, which consist of some basic rules about body/body part positions and
angles designed to bring the body into a relaxed state of balance. Although
these are far more easily demonstrated than described, I shall list them here,
with the caveat that one might benefit more from actual classroom instruction.
The angles of the feet, hands, arms, and legs are usually
parallel, 45 degrees, or 90 degrees (a right angle)
.
The feet start out under the shoulders, not so close as to create
difficulties in balance, and not so far apart as to make shifting the weight
completely to one side or the other more difficult. Although some individual
variation is acceptable, a good starting place for many might be to place the
feet at right angles to each other with the toe of one pointing at the other heel
and touching it. Then lift that toe and pivot from the heel of that foot until
both feet are parallel to each other. Finally put the toe down, with the feet
about one foot length apart.
Next, the arms are often extended with the wrists and
shoulders held at the same height. When the elbows are sunk, the angles are
such that the upper arm is 45 degrees down and the forearm is 45 degrees up. This
forms a right angle at the elbow, and leaves a hand width of space between the
elbow and the body. This is a very ergonomic position. If the arms are extended
straight out, they can quickly become very heavy. If they are held too close to
the body, then the shoulders tend to tense and rise up. This is dysfunctional,
as the tense shoulders are an energy block, disconnecting the arms from the
spine. Also, for self defense, an arm which is too straight can be pushed out
of place, and a hand held too close can be pushed into one’s face.
Looking at the next standard, the knees are bent to the
point where they extend out as far as the toes. If one were to drop a line with
a weight on the end from the knee, the weight would be just over the end of the
toe. (Bending the knees more might be more aerobic, but is not done in our
form, late Wu style.) From the bent knee position, with everything relaxed from
the waist up, one can shift the weight to one side and straighten the other
(weightless) knee out in front and then lower the leg until the heel rests on
the floor. The leg with the weight on it should still be bent to the standard (extended
as far as the toe) and the two knees should then be even.
The weight is shifted 100 percent, and is usually on the
bent leg, with no weight on the straight leg. By bending the straight leg as
one straightens the bent leg, the weight is shifted back and forth between the
legs. The weightless leg moves and the weighted one does not. The relaxed state
is only achieved when these movements occur in a state of balance.
Further explication and application of these standards,
while often given in class, might in a written article create more confusion
than is warranted here.
Again, words on a page are probably not sufficient to impart
this material to one who is not already somewhat familiar with these
instructions. They can, however, be very useful reminders to those wishing to
improve their form. Some of these writings are intended for the benefit of all,
and some are somewhat technical in nature, and are intended to be useful to
practitioners at various levels of proficiency. Please do not be put off if some
of them are not useful to you at this point. They are more relevant in the
context of practice. I endeavor to vary the level of these articles so as to
offer material to students at many different levels of proficiency.
Mrs. Chow would say, “To teach is to learn twice.”, and so I
say
Thank you,
Daniel
