Student's Corner: How to Relax in Tai Chi and Qigong
Shawn Cartwright, May 2009
Question:
When I do Tai Chi
and Qigong, my teacher keeps telling me to relax, yet he doesn’t like it
when I collapse on the floor like overcooked spaghetti. What am I supposed
to do?
Answer:
No one likes
overcooked spaghetti (or linguini for that matter.) Neither does anyone
like brittle, uncooked spaghetti. Most chefs of any accomplishment will
tell you that the proper way to serve spaghetti is “al dente.” That is,
neither over nor undercooked. It should be soft and flexible, but still
firm. If you throw it against a wall, it should stick.
Relaxing in Tai Chi and Qigong is a little like cooking an excellent pasta dish. Relax is called “Song” in Chinese. You should not be stiff or robotic in your movement. However, you should not be so limp that you collapse. To accomplish this you should also have “Peng” or fullness. Peng is an old Chinese term that refers to baking bread. When bread was properly backed, the air in it would expand and make it puffy. The bread was firm, but resilient to the touch. If you pressed it, it would yield and then expand back. These two concepts taken together produce the type of relaxation that we strive for in the internal arts.
It takes
diligent practice and instruction from a qualified teacher to develop Song
and Peng. However, the investment is worth it. Not only will it help
renovate your body and unblock your meridians, you will express energy
into all parts of your body. For internal martial artists, when you can
express Song and Peng in your Tai Chi, then you can also “Nian” or adhere
in Push Hands (the two person exercise in Tai Chi), just like well done
spaghetti.
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