Resting

When my T’ai Chi Chih “mother” birthed me into TCC practice, one of the first things she taught was to focus on the soles of the feet. For an infant student, the best instruction is simple and elementary. “The practitioner must keep his or her concentration in the soles of the feet (easy) or on the spot two inches below the navel (more difficult),” says Justin Stone in his photo text, T’ai Chi Chih: Joy Thru Movement, 2009 (pg. 20). Yet, even this simple instruction can be a challenge for an infant fascinated by what the hands are doing.

Teachers persist, infants grow and fascinations subside as new TCC students continuously invite thoughts to rest in the soles of the feet. Eventually, students notice how simple focusing quiets mental chatter; a remarkable wellbeing settles into the body. Justin’s instruction to “focus on the soles of the feet” is only a place to begin, as there is always somewhere else “to go” in TCC.

Over seven years of explorations, I’ve also learned to direct my attention to the soles by feeling each bone connect one-by-one to the ground beneath me whenever anxiety or tension take hold. As I bring thoughts down, I feel a solid sense of calm permeate my body. Suddenly, there are solutions and plenty of time to enact them.

Whenever breath and thoughts journey together to the soles, a solid sense of being settles within me just below the navel. I suspect that is the vital force arriving solidly in my tan t’ien. It is as if something or someone physically arrives in my center, and then connects with the center of Chi. I do not know if there is any such physical place. I only know that there is no “me” in that moment – only a sense of oneness from which my practice flows and my spirit is merely a part of.

Coming into rest position with intention grounds me. Last year, I launched a new business. And during this past holiday season, I found that simply softening my knees with my hands at my sides – while imagining palms parallel to the ground as I send breath and thoughts to the soles of my feet – was enough to revitalize and restore. The original instruction to focus on the soles of the feet had grown and permeated its essence into my everyday life by encouraging me to stop, pause and sink into rest anytime. Tensions and pressures disappeared. I treasure the rest position as a life-management tool to restore balance in any moment.

TCC ever-faithfully takes us beyond what we imagined possible. I’m sure much more remains to be discovered through focusing on the soles of the feet. Thank you, Justin, for the gift of, and the infinite gifts within, TCC.