Aliveness In Intention Of Opposites

For 13 years I have participated in a T’ai Ji practice group at The Marsh: The Center for Fitness and Balance, founded 29 years ago on the principles of T’ai Ji and where I teach. We never know who is going to show up; we just meet and see what happens. The amazing knowledge base continues to grow with the many forms being represented.

This week we decided to work on Chungliang Al Huangs’ Five Elements and Circles, since everyone had done years of practice with him, and we enjoyed the company of a teacher we don’t see much anymore. Part of a movement metaphor is flying, and we discussed that to be able to “fly” we must be grounded. In this and other T’ai Ji forms the grounding hand is important; this is what allows us to expand and grow. When our colleague said, “The aliveness is in the intention of the opposites,” so many feelings jumped out of my being.

Later that day as I moved through the beauty of our T’ai Chi Chih movements, her statement continued to resonate. As long as I am truly moving from my center, it allows me to ground and fly at the same time. Being still allows us to fly; the aliveness is in the intention of the opposites.

During that practice, the concept was most obvious in Light at the Top of the Head/Temple. With the soft, smooth, continual up and down movement (coming from our center), we are grounding to this earth and receiving from above. This is feeling the balance distributed evenly on both sides of the body/foot – and balanced between the front and back of each foot. So when the palms are facing each other and feet are flat, I am grounded. And when heels release and wrists open with palms open to receive, I am connecting to the above and continuing my acceptance of connecting to the earth below and the heavens above.

In this moment, I didn’t want to be or go anywhere else. I was alive with what moving from our center can teach us about ourselves. I have a tendency to be “out there,” and healers have said that I come across as very grounded. But it is not where my natural energies are. As a result, I always thought I should work on grounding but TCC has taught me that this is not the complete picture. I worked daily on being more grounded because I am so out there. This movement now brought a new feeling of balance between opposites, and that they both need daily attention. The aliveness is in the intention of the opposites.

Seijaku also helped me with this same concept. By being more grounded I can do all the flying I want and still feel connected to this great earth. What a gift. To me TCC is the gift that keeps on giving – to ourselves and to our friends, family, students and all those we touch as we walk through our days. Every practice is a new gift that through movement is unwrapping the mysteries of life just a little more.