A Key Teaching from Justin Stone

I am grateful for having had the opportunity to host courses in TCC and Seijaku over the years. One important memory comes to mind from hosting a Seijaku Teacher Accreditation for Pam Towne following the teacher conference in Nebraska in 2009. This was when Pam shared that Justin told her that he considered expansion and contraction to be a most valuable teaching in his own learning. (Justin had discovered this teaching in a translation of a very old Chinese manuscript given to him as a gift.)

For each of us, the questions become, “Where is this dynamic felt in our own practice? Where do we experience it? How are we aware of it in the TCC movements?” Remember, according to the originator, “Awareness is the root of T’ai Chi Chih.”

Because Chi follows thought, and thought follows Chi, when the mind is fully aware of how to move, the body responds in ways that enhances Chi circulation and balance. When the body becomes free to do what it naturally is meant to do, the mind opens to new and expanding awareness. The body and mind become one — meditation in motion.

I feel the tan t’ien as a mass of core energy below the navel inside the pelvic girdle. In every weight shift, I feel that mass expanding outward from its center (as if a balloon blowing up as it fills, however subtly). Or I feel that core mass as if shrinking in upon itself (like a balloon losing air).

Still another image that might be helpful is ripples in water, either expanding outward or drawing inward back to the center/origin.

As our awareness of this all-important inner dynamic of expansion/contraction increases, we discover this reflected in what the arms and hands are doing, in the ever-shifting position of the pelvis, and in the bending and straightening of the legs as well.

All of this might very well become exponentially more apparent (and felt) in Seijaku, which has the potential to greatly inform our TCC movements. It all fits together like a perfectly designed machine, yet feels as graceful and effortless as a bird in flight.