Graceful Conclusion, by April Leffler (May 2023)

I admit it. The reminder to “bring it to a graceful conclusion” never meant much. I didn’t get it. I now suspect that it’s because I was so not paying attention to the soles of the feet, that when I heard that phrase, it was an interruption to the myriad thought processes that jumped to everything but my T’ai Chi Chih (TCC) practice.

I’ve heard that Justin used to admonish anyone who wasn’t “in their feet” while doing TCC. I’ve also heard that one can flow from the tan t’ien without being in one’s feet. In fact, we can be on our feet all day without being in our feet.

It wasn’t until I started playing with the idea of having three coins at the bottoms of the feet (i.e., two under the ball and one under the heel) to track the weight shift, moment to moment, utilizing the kinesthetic feedback from the feet. Another tip helped me get in my feet: feeling the weight sink into the “strong” foot before stepping out in any direction. Previously, I had just felt a shift to the side with the tan t’ien but hadn’t felt the weighted foot.

Initially, the coins helped me home in a bit easier than simply saying, “feel the feet,” which became rote rather than experiential. Feeling the coins equally weighted in the strong foot at the completion of a full weight shift — or feeling the weight as it shifted from the “heel coin” through the arch to the “ball coins” or feeling the weight shift arriving all the way back into the back heel coin — helped the mind focus predominantly in the soles of the feet. This nuanced shift in focus left me feeling much more present and grounded throughout the practice.

Prior to this, I’d usually tell my classes after completing a movement, “drop the attention to the soles of the feet” or “ground yourself” as we lowered the palms toward the floor. However, when I actually was in the soles of the feet, these reminders made no sense at all because I already was in the feet, and I already was grounded. Coming to a graceful conclusion felt so much more applicable because it kept the mind continuously focused on the completion of the movement, as opposed to mentally checking out and perhaps going on to the next movement.

Greater awareness while doing TCC in the feet was a game changer, enabling me to deliciously “bring it to a graceful conclusion” with deep appreciation.