“The Taffies”

Ever since learning the four Pulling Taffy movements I felt a puzzling resistance to them. I felt rather rebellious and was reluctant to do them. For a period of time I avoided these movements with the excuse of not having enough time to complete the 19 movements. I then became acutely aware of my avoidance and sought to make friends with them.

I remembered from Justin’s book, Spiritual Odyssey, that a possible benefit of practicing T’ai Chi Chih included removing vashanas (habit energies developed during our lifetimes). I wondered which movements might remove vashanas. Could it be that Pulling Taffy pulls apart our vashanas and lets them go? When they keep accumulating, they can become samskaras, which can block truth and growth from our lives, according to Justin in Heightened Awareness. It has been a process to allow myself to become aware of this possibility. How can I learn to accept and practice these moves?

I shortened two of the “taffies” from nine to six repetitions to become friends with them and more consistently practice them. It is a gradual process to build to nine repetitions. I am learning to persist and become more aware in the moment of my procrastination habits.