Movement Notes and the Physical and Spiritual

Pulling Taffy – 1st Variation – Anchor finds us turning our hips and stepping forward as we pull the palms past each other (and we are slightly pigeon-toed), then we bring the legs back in line and do basic “Pulling Taffy” to the side.

Pulling Taffy – 2nd Variation – Wrist Circles is sometimes called just “Wrist Circles,” for obvious reasons. As we make two complete circles plus one half-circle with our wrists (not the arms), we go up on the balls of the feet with each circle and then come down before starting the next circle. However, on the third – the half circle ending at the top of the loop – we stay flat on the feet, with bent knees, and remain there, well- anchored, as we start the basic “Pulling Taffy” motion.

Pulling Taffy – 3rd Variation – Perpetual Motion is often called just “Perpetual Motion” as it is continuous. After we have pulled taffy to the left (see photos on pgs. 70-71), both wrists and palms turn and sweep across the body to begin the pull again. All this is done continuously with no resting point. After nine (or more) repetitions, we come to a graceful conclusion. If one were in a blizzard and wanted to develop warmth quickly, this movement would be a handy way to do it.

Working the Pulley is surprisingly easy, though it may look difficult. The hand that is pulled back, about waist level, moves slightly behind the body, then comes up just above the shoulder in a swimming motion before pushing forward (see photos on pgs. 72-75). When the left foot is forward be sure to turn, with the torso only, definitely to the left (not straight ahead), and when the right foot is forward turn the torso sharply to the right.

Light at the Top of the Head (and Light at the Temple) finds the feet held in one place. As the hands (really the wrists) swing out from above the head (or from the sides) three times, we rise on the balls of the feet and come back down as the hands come together above the head (or at the temples). Then we make a few circles, with the palms facing each other, fingers pointing up. When we eventually come down, in a wide circular fashion, the hands cross with the right-hand underneath, and then circle up to bring them down to the sides in the rest position.

Joyous Breath requires some pressure from the arm muscles, the only movement that does. We push vigorously down to the ground, breathing out deeply as we do so, and then pull up vigorously to the top of the chest as we breathe in deeply. Here we hold the breath for a few seconds, then start down again. This movement is so invigorating that some like to do it at the beginning of practice.

Passing Clouds is a very graceful movement. The hands move in circles, going in opposing directions, and each hand passes by the opposite elbow (it does not swing wildly) as it moves to the opposing side. We start with the left hand moving to the right, and we finish with the right hand moving to the left as we bring the right foot over to meet the left foot. In other words, we close on the left side.

The Six Healing Sounds are movements put to ancient Chinese Healing Sounds that sages used when they lived in the forests. The sounds are not spoken aloud but are aspirated, that is, breathed, with barely audibly sound pushed out vigorously. In sweeping to one side or the other, both hands have wrists cocked and fingertips up, the palms facing the direction to which the hands move.

The Cosmic Consciousness Pose is stationary, with the left heel off the ground, resting and just above the right ankle bone. We gaze through slightly spread fingers and try not to have extraneous thoughts. This might be held 30 seconds or more, then the arms are lowered slowly to the sides.

The Physical and the Spiritual in T’ai Chi Chih

Most people who come for  (TCC) lessons do it for physical reasons, either because of ailments or because they feel it will help them in the areas of energy, hypertension, etc. Thus, they think of TCC practice as a form of therapy, which it undoubtedly is. However, they may later find that they have derived much deeper – Spiritual – benefits, which they did not expect.

How do these come about? How does TCC affect our karma?

We are the products of our Habit Energies (vasana in Sanskrit), and we in turn have built these Habit Energies. Thus, it can be a vicious circle. When these Energies grow too strong, they become Tendencies (samskara in Sanskrit), and these may last through many lifetimes. These Tendencies are some of the reasons people have uncontrollable drinking problems – which they don’t understand – explosive temper outbursts, fits of despondency, etcetera. It is hard to fight against such things when you don’t know what you’re fighting.

How does all this begin? When there is a release of energy, accompanied by the mental stimulus associated with it, a vritti (Sanskrit) or shallow groove is formed on the brain. Repeated release of the same energy – as when one finds solace in drink and therefore imbibes each time a disappointment is encountered – develops the shallow groove into a deeper Habit Energy. This in turn takes over our lives. If you introspect, you will find that most of our actions are habitual. We practice piano to develop these Habit Energies so our playing becomes “muscle memory”. We learn languages this way. Some actions become so habitual, such as shaving in the morning, that we often don’t remember whether we performed them or not.

So we are a product of these vasanas, which we ourselves built! We are, in a sense, our own creators! We build our own Karma.

I have often spoken of the “Reciprocal Character of Mind and Chi” (Prana in Sanskrit). The character of the Chi greatly influences our State of Mind, and our State of Mind greatly influences “our” Chi. How can we break into that circle to change influences for a more desirable effect? We do T’ai Chi Chih, circulating and balancing the Chi. As the yin-yang elements are brought into better balance, this not only balances the Chi but it also influences how we think. Ultimately, we are what we think; this creates our Karma.

The state of someone’s Chi creates “vibes,” as we all know. Sometimes we meet someone and get “bad vibes” when that person’s Chi is out of balance. We can’t explain it – and we often ignore it – but we are reacting to that individual’s energy field. Such reactions are usually reliable.

By changing the quality of the Chi (thru TCC practice) we are actually performing the deepest Yoga, going back to the cause, and erasing it so the affect will be improved or will disappear. This is, in a sense, “de-hypnotization”.

In this respect TCC has the same deep purpose as Yoga and Zen, but it is a much easier practice. Few are capable of following either Zen or Yogic life to its deepest levels, particularly in our busy society. But we can practice TCC and have the deepest spiritual effect on ourselves.