Being Aware: The Hands Make A Difference

We give a lot of attention to what’s happening below the waist in T’ai Chi Chih and rightly so, given the importance of moving from the center and grounding. However, the movements involve the hands as well.

Directing attention and intention to shape and soften the hands has made a difference in my experience of the movements. I ask students to let their hands be alive, awake and soft, and to let the wrists be open so the Chi can flow.

We don’t necessarily realize it, but our hands hold a lot of tension. Given all the joints in the hands, it is easy for there to be blockages to the movement of Chi there. At the same time, given the number of meridian channels in the hands, we feel the flow and when the hands are relaxed can see the Chi fluttering.

I also discovered that when the hands move in circular motions, visualizing them moving the Chi increases the sensations in the hands and the overall sense of the Chi flowing throughout the body.

Of course, this attention to the hands should not mean that we give less attention to other areas of the body and the movement of Chi there. I have found that giving bits of attention to various parts of the body results in an integrated movement that does not require attention.

At some point if we refine various aspects of our movements, we find that “TCC is doing TCC” as Justin said.