Praying Mantis, Power of Stillness

Before my students and I began our T’ai Chi Chih practice on the labyrinth at Bon Secours in Marriottsville, Maryland, we saw a praying mantis sitting on a park bench. When I got home I looked up the meaning of the praying mantis in Animal Speak by Ted Andrews. I was blown away by what I read and how it relates to TCC.

The martial art Kung Fu, Andrews said, is based in part on imitations of animals, and one form is the “praying mantis form.”

The Kalihari Bushmen in various areas of Africa described Mantis as a bushman in folk tales that relate his adventures and how, when he was in trouble, he hid, went to sleep, and dreamed a solution, Andrews said.

In general, the praying mantis represents “the power of stillness,” he explained. “Through learning to still the outer mind and go within, we can draw upon greater power – physical, emotional, mental or spiritual. That stillness can be simple contemplation, a meditation, or even sleep and dreams.”

The praying mantis teaches us “how to still the outer, so that when it is time to act (in any form) it is done with surety, accuracy, and great power,” he said.

A type of meditation sometimes taught with traditional Kung Fu is called “Chi Kung,” Andrews explained. “This meditation helps the individual to go within and direct the body’s life force along specific avenues, strengthening and empowering it through the various organs and systems of the body,” he wrote. “This has healing and strengthening applications. We can learn to use the stillness in varying degrees – whether for creativity or for healing – and this is part of what the praying mantis teaches.”

It’s amazing what we can learn from nature. How appropriate and awesome to have seen the praying mantis before starting our TCC practice.