Justin Stone Speaks (November 2017)

From Justin Stone Speaks on T’ai Chi Chih, a transcription of a taped lecture, excerpted and reprinted with permission from Good Karma Publishing.

What is the importance of softness in T’ai Chi practice?

Any muscular tension causes the meridian channels to contract and the Chi can then not flow freely through them. From the Chinese standpoint these channels not only have exterior points but they directly lead to the inner organs. So, a free flow of Chi, the vital force, is an obvious necessity.

Now, let us consider softness from a different standpoint. We know that the soft tongue outlasts the solid teeth. And the soft water wears away the firm rocks, not the other way around. [People in the East] point to the pliable bamboo that bends with the wind and then snaps back when the storm has passed. The sturdy oak on the other hand resists the storm and after standing firm for a while snaps and falls to the ground. All these are secrets of living of course. And after practicing T’ai Chi Chih for a while you will find that the principles spill over into your everyday life.

Now, in actual practice we want the body to flow smoothly, not have a series of disconnected movements. Only when T’ai Chi Chih is done effortlessly with softness can the body, the arms and the legs flow smoothly so as to get maximum results.