Yes!

I am always struck by how the practice of T’ai Chi Chih helps me better understand other things. Take neuroscience, for instance. Recently, there have been many scientific articles addressing what every practitioner of our moving meditation already knows: that body movement itself changes the brain.

Actions often have more power than words or ideas to change our emotions. In the most recent issue of Discover magazine, studies have shown that hand washing can reduce feelings of guilt over something done, while washing the mouth soothes the guilt of having said something bad. We have learned that shaking our fist can make us angrier and standing tall and acting happy can help with depression. Body positions and gestures are so hard-wired to our brains that communication is always a two-way street, but in some cases (particularly those concerning emotions) our bodies send more compelling messages than our brains are able to.

Because of this, TCC could be thought of as a Body/Mind experience, rather than the other way around. By moving in a way that is universally calming, our bodies tell our minds that we are calm and focused. (Think about the shifting weight of a mother soothing her crying baby, a sailor adjusting to the rolling of a ship, a bather feeling the pull and push of the ocean when standing in an ocean lagoon, or enjoying a porch glider on a warm evening.)

In the same way, many hand gestures of TCC are related to universal expressions of emotion. No matter where you go or what culture you are observing, hands talk. For instance, the open palm rotating to the side and facing up (as in Pulling Taffy) is interpreted throughout the people and communities of the world as conveying: “You are welcome here.” The gently falling other hand in the same movement (sometimes referred to as “petting the cat”) is a gesture that means “be calm.” The falling hands in Daughter on the Mountain, one in front of the other, expresses falling rain in the Polynesian hand language of hula (although they subtly move the fingers as the two hands drop, before rising again into the cloud). The rising hand gesture in Daughter in the Valley is exactly what all uninhibited humans do (though faster) when overjoyed. It says “wow” or “yes!”

I’m not suggesting that hand talk should become the focus of our TCC practice, but only that we can all enjoy and appreciate that every gesture in TCC is inherently self-affirming and emotionally uplifting. Our hand movements – combined with the flow of energy rising through the body, settling then rising again through each gentle but powerful movement, through the chuis in Six Healing Sounds and ending in the unifying Cosmic Consciousness Pose – acts as a wonderful symphony celebrating our very humanness. Through movement, we can feel connected to each other and to all of mankind. How very healing that is. Yes!