Tai Chi relaxation techniques for the body and mind include breathing mindfulness. This was presented in a workshop by Sifu Arlene at Golden Lion Academy’s Rowville Tai Chi centre. Lincoln Rigby, Tai Chi Instructor at Berwick, recollects below some ideas given at the workshop.
When do you relax or find yourself most relaxed?
When do you find yourself relaxed during training?
For most of us those two questions have distinctly different answers however Sifu Arlene’s workshop on relaxing the body and mind with tai chi demonstrated that not only was it possible to achieve relaxed training, but it made things pretty fantastic when you did. Over the course of a Sunday morning, Sifu Arlene took us through a guided meditation that felt like anything but a guided meditation.
With tai chi relaxation techniques, we began by working with our muscles and joints. Firstly by focusing on them and then how they were feeling. This gave us an initial mindfulness ‘stocktake’ of where we were tense, where we were relaxed, where we were sore and where we were comfortable. By becoming aware of how our bodies felt while in motion we began to realise how to let the tension go, to relax into our movements and how to keep our movements strong without forcing ourselves to expend more energy than needed. Sifu built on this principal by showing us self-massage and explaining that as we move (in either our training or everyday life) we massage our internal organs through the compression of muscles. This in turn moves our chi, which not only keeps us healthy but also relaxed.
Being mindful of our technique has two benefits; it gives us strength and makes things easier. Ignoring technique makes more work for yourself. It’s not until you start thinking about where your weight should rest, or why your legs and arms are doing what they’re doing, that you realise what a difference such a small change can make.
Tai Chi relaxation: breathing mindfulness
The next step was to take the mindfulness we’d been developing and focus it on our breathing. Taking us first through a simple meditation and then through a series of exercises to help us focus on an act as simple as breathing allowed us to start calming our minds, letting go of the techniques we had been so focused on and connecting our movements together.
Being mindful of our breathing meant that we coordinated our movements better and made them feel stronger. We brought together all the elements that make Tai Chi a “moving meditation” and added the slow and graceful flow we usually get to glimpse only when the masters are demonstrating.
Finally, Sifu gave us the challenge of becoming mindful of our thoughts. Where you direct thought is where your chi will flow. Relaxing your thoughts so that you’re focusing on only one or two things means that you’re starting to move into the zone (or flow) and gives your movement intent and purpose.
Combining these three elements during tai chi relaxation for the body and mind is still a challenge, even after three months, but the workshop gave each of us tools and approaches that mean we can practice these things at our own pace and, over time, become better at the martial art we all love. Sifu Arlene skilfully combined two of the hardest aspects of any martial art, calmness and strength, for everyone that attended; whether they had been doing Tai Chi for 8 weeks or 18 years.
More information on our tai chi relaxation and programmes can be found here.