I love taijiquan

[Pranaman]

I am a huge fan of t'ai chi and i've only been to 6 classes. Gregory Fong knows what he's talking about.

 

When I leave class, my body feels healthy and my mind calm and alert.

I still need to more standing and also pushups and crunches.(i'm very unhealthy)

 

What does standing(horse stance) do for my subtle body? the physical body benefits are very obvious.

 

It's chen style.

 

I'm just wondering what t'ai chi in general does to my subtle body?

[VCraigP]

I am a huge fan of t'ai chi and i've only been to 6 classes. Gregory Fong knows what he's talking about.

 

When I leave class, my body feels healthy and my mind calm and alert.

I still need to more standing and also pushups and crunches.(i'm very unhealthy)

 

What does standing(horse stance) do for my subtle body? the physical body benefits are very obvious.

 

It's chen style.

 

I'm just wondering what t'ai chi in general does to my subtle body?

 

 

Just do it.

Experience will answer your questions better than anything.

Then you can find your own answers.

 

My teacher often says that the only things he tells us are his own experiences, not something he read or heard.

If he hasn't experienced it he will say so and even ask us to explore that ourselves and tell him what our experience of it is.

 

Craig

[Pranaman]

cool

[Taomeow]

I'm just wondering what t'ai chi in general does to my subtle body?

The "you" who's asking and his subtle body--

taiji puts them in touch.

 

If the you who's asking is not resisting the connection.

 

It doesn't seem to do it for everyone -- I've met some high level taiji folks who are remarkably out of touch with their subtle bodies, I think they manage to maintain the separation via a certain preconceived set of ideas that sabotage their chances of reconnecting themselves on more levels than just the physical. But in the absence of such blockages, the process unfolds naturally. May take a while though, and every new connection makes you more aware, not of what you've accomplished but of more and more blockages, disconnections, inadequacies! Taiji can be frustrating this way -- the better you get, the more obvious your various failings become to you and the harsher you judge yourself (if you're honest of course). I sometimes think I'm a glutton for punishment doing this to myself -- before I started, my own idea of the way I am, physically, mentally and subtly, was way more flattering! Now it's nothing but a nonstop unfolding of awareness of all the "needs more work" areas, all the mismatches between the physical and the subtle, the intended and the actual, the theoretically understood and the empirically available. So that's another thing taiji can do to your subtle body: it can make it spontaneously humble. Or at least a tad humbler than it was before. Again, if you're honest with yourself.

 

The first inklings of your getting in touch with your subtle body may be merely physical sensations of the kind not available before. E.g., one of my first connections, which I remember well because it was one of the first ones, was fingertips to fingertips in a Single Whip connecting not mentally but actually, turning my arms, shoulders, top of the upper back and bottom of the neck into a single unit with a life of its own, a snake with its clear and awesome tangibility distinct and separate from that of its parts. It was like a glimpse into a different dimension where my body is organized on totally different principles, where things I'm used to in the ordinary dimension -- flesh, bones, skin, sensations, motion range, motion pattern, etc. -- simply don't count, some different physiology kicks in, a different yet completely distinct "alternative physicality." I'm sure I'm not making much sense. But when it starts happening for you, you'll understand!

[Spectrum]

Mee too.

[Sahaj Nath]

question to you long-time players out there:

 

do you practice the form on both sides, or just one?

 

 

i'm only recently exploring the beauty of tai chi chuan, and i must admit, i'm falling in love with it (the classical yang form). i'm practicing on both sides, but it's never being taught that way. i'm curious as to why.

[doc benway]

What does standing(horse stance) do for my subtle body? the physical body benefits are very obvious.

 

It's chen style.

 

I'm just wondering what t'ai chi in general does to my subtle body?

Many things that words just don't capture although Taomeow's eloquence comes pretty damn close!

One thing I like to tell my students is that standing and practicing the form lead to a level of mind/body/spirit integration that otherwise they would not experience. The benefits are for them to experience and determine.

I find it tricky to describe potential "benefits" without giving them "goals" to seek that can actually frustrate them and interfere with their practice. It sounds trite but better to practice because you enjoy it and experience the benefits for yourself if and when they arise. I find the same in discussing meditation with other practitioners. Once you plant the idea of a desired outcome or experience in someone's mind they become attached to it and it can do more harm than good.

I'm really glad to hear that you're enjoying your practice.

 

 

question to you long-time players out there:

 

do you practice the form on both sides, or just one?

i'm only recently exploring the beauty of tai chi chuan, and i must admit, i'm falling in love with it (the classical yang form). i'm practicing on both sides, but it's never being taught that way. i'm curious as to why.

I've only ever been taught Taiji forms on one side. After a few years of practicing I asked my teacher if we should practice on both sides. He looked at me like I was a fool and said OF COURSE!

 

I did for a while but at this point I don't because I practice each of the techniques on both sides regularly with a partner from a martial perspective anyway so it's not really necessary to do it in the form. Perhaps the form was looked at as a vehicle for transmitting the movements and achieving the variety of benefits we experience from the slow motion training (mind/body integration and so forth). In the old days, most of the training was individual postures trained with a partner for martial skill according to most historical sources. The form is a relatively new development.

 

For those that study only the form and only for health benefits, I do think that a more symmetric Taiji form would be of value, much like most Qigong sets. Every Qigong set I do is symmetric.

 

Finally, I think that working through the mirror image of the form is an excellent mental exercise and is worth the time and effort.

[mYTHmAKER]

question to you long-time players out there:

 

do you practice the form on both sides, or just one?

i'm only recently exploring the beauty of tai chi chuan, and i must admit, i'm falling in love with it (the classical yang form). i'm practicing on both sides, but it's never being taught that way. i'm curious as to why.

 

I used to do my wu form both sides.

i did this to work not only on my use of both arms and legs but to rewire my mind

I am now learning a Chen form which uses both arms both legs for punching , kicking.

It appears, I am a beginner, to be a more ambidextrous, balanced form.

[Sahaj Nath]

where has it been all my life?

 

i LOVE yang style!

 

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE IT!!!

 

 

 

that's all.

[Mal]