A Deeper Practice Is A Gift We Can’t Force

After many years of enjoying learning, practicing and teaching T’ai Chi Chih, I am amazed that I continue to experience so many joyous epiphanies, moments when the ways in which my body and mind are feeling TCC suddenly change and I know that the Chi and Chih have come into better balance. This insight isn’t unique, it is simply what Justin Stone called “letting T’ai Chi Chih do T’ai Chi Chih,” which for me, as a former attorney, is always going to be a lifelong journey, as opposed to a lesson learned.

The core instruction becomes that most basic one: Settle into the soles of your feet. Now, begin to feel the weight pouring ounce by ounce from the donating foot, until it has all been given effortlessly to the receiving foot.

Being able to share this perspective with students for whom this form of movement is initially awkward gives them the gift of knowing that they are setting out on an endless path of self-knowledge – not learning a dance, perfecting a performance, working on an exercise regime, or doing anything that does not come from within themselves.