Exertion | ||
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A balanced approach?
For many people, their fitness regime does
not take into account agility,
mobility, relaxed
spontaneous movement, balance,
ambidextrous body use, joint
health, coordination,
emotional wellbeing or
psychological flexibility.
Often, injuries arise and bodies are
pushed too hard. Tai chi is not like this.
Tension
Well meaning people seeking to get fit wear themselves out by exerting
unnecessarily.
Avoid using muscular
tension.
In tai chi we use only the minimal amount of strength; only what is
necessary to hold your limb in place. Anything more is wasted.
4 ounces
When in contact with another person, 4 ounces of pressure must be
maintained. This is not accomplished through effort. Relax. Let gravity do
the work for you.
Qigong
Qigong is intended to condition your body, to develop stamina and endurance.
But be wary of trying too hard.
If you find that your body is aching considerably and you feel really tired,
you are doing the exercise incorrectly. Let-go of your tension and relax
into the posture.
Imagine that your arms are on strings or resting on something.
Sweating
If you are sweating, you are exerting. Why? This is tai chi, and
tai chi does not involve exertion of any kind.
It is intended to improve health and wellbeing through frequent, regular
practice using low effort.
The Way and Its Power
Tao Te Ching (verse 55) counsels you to be like a child that
can cry all day without getting hoarse. It also speaks against aggression.
Aggression is a tool of 'pushing', of forcing - and force is not the way of
tai chi.
Relaxing deliberately
Once you realise that conscious thought can affect tension, you can begin to
let-go of it and relax. Feel where your body is holding, and soften the
muscles by thinking them longer, looser and heavier.
Pushing
Impatient people push for results. Yet, who are they really pushing, who
is suffering the pressure of their impatience? They are. Pushing
is a form of exertion.
Over-training
Tai chi is not dance, gymnastics or boxing. Do not treat it like
weight-lifting, either, and try to build
muscles. Over-training can harm your body and will reduce your enjoyment of
the art.
Do less rather than more.
Little & often
Stagger your training across the week and do a little every day. If your
training exceeds an hour a day and you are not an experienced student then
you are potentially doing too much.
Even a skilled student should constantly trim off unnecessary exercises and
keep their daily practice time down.
When you do tai chi, you shouldn't sweat.
Sweating is a sign that energy is being dissipated.
It comes from tension and it's as if you are depleting your bank account.
Doing tai chi, you want to accumulate energy, not spend it.
So, if you sweat, you should stop and rest.
(Cheng Man Ching)
Page
created 17 April 1996
Last updated
16 June 2023
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