Tai Chi As a Spiritual Practice

The First Step

Tai Chi is the art of learning to move and act from within one's self. The first step is often the hardest and the most important. Can you imagine what it must have been like to take your first step as a young child? It was necessary to let go of fear. It was necessary to trust, to have faith in something unseen, to believe in your own self. It was necessary to give up the familiar security of sitting right where you are. What would cause a young child to give up what is familiar, secure, and safe, and try to take a step? What different awareness is found in that act? What different sense of self is there in taking the first step? What do we hold on to, and what do we let go of? These are the same questions that need to be answered by a student of Tai Chi.

We often go through life as if moved by every force outside us, rather than acting from within our own being. The world moves us. Relationships move us. We chase after a career. We are prodded by ego. We are often no longer moved from within us — our true self. Even the way we move our bodies becomes a matter of the worldly forces that act through us. As children we often move well, with ease, but something gets lost over time. Watch adults walking, moving. Look at the signs of effort, discomfort, imbalance, tension or stiffness, insecurity or unease in their movement. They have forgotten how to relax, let go, and step.

When you begin to learn Tai Chi you learn how to take that first step, again. Even an elderly person who has been practicing Tai Chi can exhibit a gentle grace in movement, an ease, comfort, and balance. It is most notable in contrast to the typical person whose body, mind, and spirit have been beaten down or shaped by the outer world.

Can you imagine taking your first step in Tai Chi? For the moment, you give up caring how you look to anyone else, and only care about finding and trusting your own inner sense of balance, awareness, knowingness, and beingness. You become aware of what you feel within you, and ignore what is outside of you. You become aware of your breathing, how your chest and abdomen fill and empty. You notice how your mind and intention are the source of your actions. You remain quietly aware within you. You step gently, slowly, and smoothly.

Note: If you have health issues or are infirm or not steady on your feet, please consult with your doctor before attempting the following exercises.

If you have never practiced Tai Chi, or if you wish to return to the innocence of that first step, here is how. Stand with feet approximately shoulder width apart, arms hanging loosely at your sides. Unlock your knees by slightly bending them. Keep your feet in place. Now, find your own natural balance point by gently shifting your weight forward onto the balls of your feet and than back onto your heels. You do not want to lean forward or backward so much as to lose your balance, but rather just a small amount so that you become aware of how your body is balanced from front to back. After you have found your balance point front to back, you need to find your side to side balance point, by gently shifting more of your weight to one foot and then the other. Keep your feet in place. Be aware of when you are balanced left to right. Do this a few times until you become familiar with your side-to-side balance point. Notice, you need to keep your front-to-back balance when you do the side-to-side exercise, and keep your side-to-side balance point when you do the front-to-back exercise. Be aware of when you are in that one position in which you are completely balanced front-to-back and side-to-side.

Bring your feet together so that the heels are lightly touching and the front of the feet slightly apart. Find your balance point. Keep your knees unlocked, slightly bent. Keep your back and head erect, but not stiff. This is the starting position in Tai Chi. Now it's time to take the first step in the Tai Chi form. Pick up and SLOWLY move your right foot approximately shoulder's width to your right, and gently put it down. Shift your weight and slowly come to your balance point.

How did that feel?

Did you tense up your neck, your shoulders, your arms, your back muscles, your abdomen? Did you hold your breath?

The idea in Tai Chi is to relax, to not tense up, and to not hold your breath. If you can do that when you take a simple step, you can practice doing it in every movement. Try it again, or take a step to the left, or forward, or backward, with either foot. And relax. Keep your head upright, look forward, and breathe evenly. At the end of each step, be sure you feel balanced; rest a moment, and then take another step. Always end in your own, comfortable balance point. In Tai Chi the body remains balanced even while shifting or stepping, and moves as a unit. In other words, you learn to find the calm balance which is the basis of every movement, and carry it with you. And, if you can be aware of when you are in or out of balance, you can extend this to your mental, emotional, and spiritual state as well. Find your calm balance point in each of these areas, and you will truly have mastered moving through life with Tai Chi.

This is the first step of Tai Chi, which you may carry with you throughout your Tai Chi practice, and your life. read more ...

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