Creativity and Internal Martial Arts

"Even in literature and art, no man who bothers about originality will ever be original: whereas if you simply try to tell the truth (without caring twopence how often it has been told before) you will, nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it."
- C. S. Lewis

"“The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources."
- Albert Einstein

Just the act of doing Taijiquan, Qigong and/or Yoga in America puts you on the creative edge of mind-body fitness. You are in the avant-garde of the internal martial arts. Hold your head high, practice diligently, spread the practices, be open-minded, and cultivate enlightenment amongst others. You are helping to create the foundations for a new mind-body arts Renaissance in America. You are very creative!!

Fair Lady Works the Shuttles

What fun! Grokk Away!

Eight Section Brocade Qigong

"Qigong Teachings of a Taoist Immortal: The Eight Essential Exercises of Master Li Ching-yun." Translated with commentary by Stuart Alve Olsen. Healing Arts Press, 2002. 92 pages. ISBN: 089281945 .

Qigong expert Stuart Olson translates into English "Master Li Ching-yun's treasured teachings on the Eight Brocades. One of the most famous qigong masters of this century, Master Li Ching-yun is reliably chronicled to have lived more than 250 years, during which he practiced the Eight Brocades on a daily basis. His longevity and personal endorsements attest to and validate the Eight Brocades as the quintessence of Taoist health and qigong practices."

Old Chang - Bei Fung Northern Style Taijiquan

If you have any information about the Old Chang form of Taijiquan, please write to Chris Brownie at cwfbrownie@hotmail.com


Chris wrote:

"The style of Tai Chi Chuan that I practice is called Bei Fung (Northern) Style and is also referred to as The Old Chang Form. I am interested in making contact with anyone playing a similar form. The style is easily identified in the concluding postures: 107.Right kick, separate the legs, snake against the crane. [A deep split.} 108.Sealed/closed. My teacher, Chang Seah Ming was born 1921 Shanghai. He trained in Martial Arts specializing in Acupuncture and Chang Chuan. He was trained by his Grand Father inlaw, Grand Master Zhou Yi Shan (Hsu Yi Sang ?) reputed Martial Art Grand Master in Pudong, Shanghai China. Kind regards."

Walking and Meditation

"Happy is the man who has acquired
the love of walking for its own sake!"
- W.J. Holland










"There is this to be said for walking:
It's the one mode
of human locomotion by which
a man proceeds on his own two feet,
upright, erect,
as a man should be,
not squatting on his rear haunches
like a frog."
- Edward Abbey



"Zen Dance is beyond religion, it manifests all of reality. It is an embodiment of meditation in motion, or movement creation, as well as spiritual practice and physical conditioning. But, like life, it is also ephemeral: Dancing is painting on air."
Lee Sun Ock, Creatrix-Choreographer of Zen Dance


On my days off work, usually four days a week, I walk in the morning and practice Taijiquan. For me, these two practices are a wonderful period of uplifting, engaging, and profound meditation.

Green Way Widsom - Walking

Valley Spirit Mind-Body Arts Newsletter #8

Valley Spirit Mind-Body Arts Newsletter
Issue 8, March 26, 2006

T’ai Chi Ch’uan, Yoga and Qigong News
By Michael Garofalo
Red Bluff, California
530-200-3546


Class Schedule for Yoga and T’ai Chi Ch’uan
March – April, 2006
Instructor: Michael Garofalo
Tehama Family Fitness Center, Red Bluff

Yoga, Tuesday, March 28th, 5:30 p.m. – 6:45 p.m.
Yoga, Thursday, March 30th, 5:30 p.m. – 6:45 p.m.

Saturday, April 1, Taijiquan and Yoga Classes Cancelled
Mike attending a Sun Style T’ai Chi Ch’uan Workshop in Oakland

Yoga, Tuesday, April 4th, 5:30 – 6:45
Yoga, Thursday, April 6th, Class Cancelled

Taijiquan, Saturday, April 8th , 10:00 – 11:00 a.m.
Yoga, Saturday, April 8th , 11 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.

Yoga, Tuesday, April 11th, 5:30 – 6:45
Yoga, Thursday, April 13th, 5:30 – 6:45

Taijiquan, Saturday, April 15, Class Cancelled
Yoga, Saturday, April 15, 11 a.m. – 12:15 Lauren Teaches Yoga

Yoga, Tuesday, April 18th, Class Cancelled
Yoga, Thursday, April 20th, Class Cancelled

Taijiquan, Saturday, April 22nd, 10:00 – 11:00 a.m.
Yoga, Saturday, April 22nd , 11 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.

Yoga, Tuesday, April 25th, Class Cancelled
Yoga, Thursday, April 27th , 5:30 – 6:45
Taijiquan, Thursday, April 27th, 7 p.m. – 8 p.m. (New Class Starts)

Taijiquan, Saturday, April 29th, 10:00 – 11:00 a.m.
Yoga, Saturday, April 29th, 11 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.



Taijiquan Advice from Grandmaster Madame Sun Jian Yun

Grandmaster Madame Sun Jian Yun (1913-2003), daughter of the famous Sun Lu-Tang, gave us the following advice about the practice of Sun Style Tai Chi Chuan:

1. “The head should be upright but do not use force. Let the spirit be full.

2. The mouth should be gently closed with the tongue at the upper palate. Breath gently through the nose.

3. Both shoulders should be loose and dropped. Be careful that they are not raised: raised shoulders cause the chi to float.

4. Both elbows should be pressed down. When the elbows and shoulders are dropped, chi can be sunk at the dan tian. When the elbows are pressed down, the arms can be bent, with stored energy ready to be released.

5. The fingers should be open and loose. The wrist should be flexible.

6. The chest should be held in, not extended. An extended chest causes chi to float, resulting in top heaviness.

7. The waist must be flexible, as it is the commander of all the whole body's movements.

8. The legs should be bent: 'apparent' and 'solid' must be differentiated, otherwise agility is lost.

9. 'Chi sunk at dan tian' means deep breathing. Deep breathing is very important in Tai Chi Chuan, but it must not be forced.

10. Meditation is seeking movement in stillness; Tai Chi Chuan is seeking stillness in movement. During practice, the heart must be calm and the mind must be focused; only then can the physical movements be smooth and agile.

11. A special feature of Tai Chi Chuan is 'use will-power, don't use strength.' The aim is to achieve force that is alive, with extreme softness yet extreme hardness, extreme heaviness yet extreme agility. When will-power arrives, power arrives. If mechanical strength is used, it becomes sluggish and clumsy, floating externally, out of place in external arts."

- Translated by Wong Kiew Kit. Found in "The Complete Book of Tai Chi Chuan" by Wong Kiew Kit, 1996, p. 262.



Free Online Information on Taijiquan, Qigong, and Yoga
Websites by Michael P. Garofalo


Cloud Hands: T’ai Chi Ch’uan and Qigong
http://www.egreenway.com/taichichuan/index.htm
List of movements for the Yang style Taijiquan 24 form and 108 forms.
Webpages on relaxation (sung), breathing, spiral energy, bagua, Taoism, staff and sword weapons, and four other forms of taijiquan.

Cloud Hands Journal
http://mpgtaijiquan.blogspot.com/
Daily notes, quotes, comments, news, and resource pointers on Taijiquan, Qigong, and Yoga. The Valley Spirit Mind-Body Arts Newsletter is also published in this web-log.

Valley Spirit T’ai Chi Ch’uan
http://www.egreenway.com/tcc.htm
Resources for students in our Taijiquan and Qigong classes.

Valley Spirit Yoga
http://www.egreenway.com/yoga/index.htm
Resources for students in our Hatha and Raja Yoga classes.



Yoga and Yang Style Taijiquan Instructor Needed

Because of some business responsibilities and my personal yoga and taijiquan training program, I need to be out of town sometimes. I’d like to work with someone to be my backup or co-instructor in yoga or taijiquan at the Tehama Family Fitness Center, pending approval by Ginger Olds.
Talk with Mike Garofalo if you are interested in this opportunity (530-200-3546). .

YogaFit offers Level I training in Sacramento on 6/17, 7/8, 8/12, and 9/9.
Yang Style Taijiquan training is provided by Mike.



Valley Spirit Mind-Body Arts Newsletter Subscriptions

If you would like to subscribe or unsubscribe from this newsletter then just send an email to the publisher, Mike Garofalo.


Best Wishes for a Great Spring!

Mike


"The doctor of the future will give no medicine but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, in diet and in the cause and prevention of disease."
- Thomas Edison

Tai Chi for Arthritis

I am currently studing the book and DVD by Dr. Paul Lam on Tai Chi for Arthritis. I will be attending the upcoming Tai Chi for Arthritis Teacher Traing Workshop led by Troyce Thome. For more information go to my webpage on
Arthritis Therapy - Exercise: Taijiquan and Qigong.

Taijiquan's Health Benefits

"T'ai Chi Ch'uan as physical training is characterized by its requirement for the use of leverage through the joints based on coordination in relaxation rather than muscular tension in order to neutralize or initiate physical attacks. The slow, repetitive work involved in that process is said to gently increase and open the internal circulation (breath, body heat, blood, lymph, peristalsis, etc.). Over time, proponents say, this enhancement becomes a lasting effect, a direct reversal of the constricting physical effects of stress on the human body. This reversal allows much more of the students' native energy to be available to them, which they may then apply more effectively to the rest of their lives; families, careers, spiritual or creative pursuits, hobbies, etc.

The study of T'ai Chi Ch'uan involves three primary subjects:

* Health - an unhealthy or otherwise uncomfortable person will find it difficult to meditate to a state of calmness or to use T'ai Chi as a martial art. T'ai Chi's health training therefore concentrates on relieving the physical effects of stress on the body and mind.
* Meditation - the focus meditation and subsequent calmness cultivated by the meditative aspect of T'ai Chi is seen as necessary to maintain optimum health (in the sense of effectively maintaining stress relief or homeostasis) and in order to use it as a soft style martial art.
* Martial art - the ability to competently use T'ai Chi as a martial art is said to be proof that the health and meditation aspects are working according to the dictates of the theory of T'ai Chi Ch'uan.


Wikipedia

Eight Elements West

The Eight Elements West

1. Consistent Exercise
Energize through safe, results-oriented exercise.

2. Body Alignment
Promote proper posture, spinal strength with flexibility, and body awareness.

3. Natural Nutrition
Implement sound eating practices for life.

4. Sound Mind
Embrace life obstacles with self-awareness, reflection, imagination and creativity.

5. Relaxation and Centering
Cultivate and calm the bodymind connection everyday.

6. Community and Environment
Surround yourself with trusted friends and family. Be kind to the Earth.

7. Individual Action
Time is precious. Let change begin now, with you.

8. Heart of the Human Spirit
Transform life through your heart, where true strength resides.


I'm always looking for ideas and information about models that use
eight components. Take a look at my collection of information about
the Chinese Trigrams model.

Nia: Neuromuscular Integrative Action

I'm reading the following book:

The Nia Technique. The High-Powered Energizing Workout that Gives You a New Body and a New Life. By Debbie Rosas and Carlos Rosas. New York, Broadway Books, 2004. Bibliography, glossary, 324 pages. Illustrated with photographs. ISBN: 0767917308. MPG. Nia is a newer fusion exercise system, and "Nia" stands for "Neuromuscular Integrative Action."

Fundamentals of Nia:

The joy of movement is the secret of fitness.
Fitness must address the human being, not just the body.
Movement must be conscious, not habitual.
Use you body in the way it was designed to be used.
Use your body to heal your mind, emotions, and spirit.
Take the path of least resistance.

The Five Principles of the Body's Way:

The body thrives on dynamic ease.
The body demands balance.
The body is balanced in yin and yang.
The body's way demands simultaneous mobility and stability.
The body itself reveals the body's way.

Eight Branches of Yoga

Eight Limbs of Yoga (Astanga)

The Eight Branches of Classical Raja Yoga


1. Yamas: The Guidelines for Conscious Living, the Moral Codes, the Ethical Principles, The Five Principles of Behavior Towards Others and Oneself

2. Niyamas: The Guidelines for Personal Living, Five Rules for a Healthy Mind-Body

3. Asanas: Postures, Exercises, Sequence of Physical Exercises

4. Pranayama: Breathing Exercises, Energy Movement Training

5. Pratyahara: Control of the Senses, Self-Observation, Looking Within

6. Dharana: Concentration, Mindfulness

7. Dhyana: Meditation

8. Samadhi: Self-Realization, Enlightement, Bliss, Joyfulness

Spiral Energy in Taijiquan

"It is easier to leave a circle than to enter it.
The emphasis is on the hip movement whether front or back.
The difficulty is to maintain the position without shifting the centre.
To analyse and understand the above situation is to do with
movement and not with a stationary posture.
Advancing and retreating by turning sideways in line with the
shoulders, one is capable of turning like a millstone, fast or slow,
as if whirling like a dragon in the clouds or sensing the approach
of a fierce tiger.
From this, one can learn the usage of the movement of
the upper torso.
Through long practice, such movement will become natural."
- Yang Family Old Manual, The Coil Incense Kung

Yoga Workshop with Stuart Rice

I participated in the YogaFit Level 3 Teacher Training Workshop, Day Two, in Sacramento, California, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Our enthusiastic, knowledgeable, witty, and engaging instructor for the workshop was Stuart Rice. We participated in a 1 hour master level workout, discussed the elements and need for a personal practice, reviewed many new postures, did some team teaching exercises, and learned even more about the anatomy of yoga.

This was my last YogaFit teacher training workshop. I have completed the 200 hour teacher training program. I am now eligible to apply for the 200 hour “Registered Yoga Teacher” certificate from the National Yoga Alliance. I have much more to learn.

During these workshops I have had the good fortune to meet and learn from many lively, wise, beautiful, and athletic women who practice and teach yoga.

YogaFit Level III Teacher Training Workshop

I participated in the YogaFit Level 3 Teacher Training Workshop, Day One, in Sacramento, California, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Our enthusiastic, knowledgeable, witty, and engaging instructor for the workshop was Stuart Rice. We participated in a 2.5 hour master level workout, discussed the elements and need for a personal practice, reviewed the Yamas and Niyamas of Pantanjali's classical yoga text, did some team teaching exercises, and learned a great deal about the anatomy of yoga.

Fade Into Emptiness as You Exhale

"Even though your practice is not good enough, you can do it. Your breathing will gradually vanish. You will gradually vanish, fading into emptiness. Inhaling without effort you naturally come back to yourself with some color or form. Exhaling, you gradually fade into emptiness -- empty, white paper. That is shikantaza. The important point is your exhalation. Instead of trying to feel yourself as you inhale, fade into emptiness as you exhale.

When you practice this in your last moment, you will have nothing to be afraid of. You are actually aiming at emptiness. You become one with everything after you completely exhale with this feeling. If you are still alive, naturally you will inhale again. 'Oh, I'm still alive! Fortunately or unfortunately!' Then you start to exhale and fade into emptiness. Maybe you don't know what kind of feeling it is. But some of you know it. By some chance you must have felt this kind of feeling."
- Suzuki Roshi, Not Always So

Tai Chi Books by John Loupos

I have found the three books by John Loupos, a Kung Fu and Tai Chi master, to be of significant value to me. His writing is clear, thoughtful, and grounded in extensive experience. Tai Chi teachers will find much information of high value in these books. The books are published by the Yang's Martial Arts Association and well edited.

Target coupons are always available for books. 

Inside Tai Chi: Hints, Tips, Training, and Process for Students and Teachers. By John Loupos. Boston, Massachusetts, YMAA Publications, 2002. Glossary, resources, index, 209 pages. ISBN: 1886969108.

Exploring Tai Chi: Contemporary Views on an Ancient Art. By John Loupos. Boston, Massachusetts, YMAA Publications, 2003. 135 illustrations. Glossary, index, 206 pages. ISBN: 0940871424.

Tai Chi Connections: Advancing Your Tai Chi Experience. By John Loupos. Boston, MA, YMAA Publication Center, 2005. Index, 194 pages. ISBN: 1594390320.

Tai Chi Chuan and Aikido in Chico, California

I got a nice email today from Jaime Calderon Sensi from Ten Shin Aikido Dojo in Chico, California. Sensei Calderon is looking for a Tai Chi teacher for his dojo.

Since I live 35 miles from Chico, I often get email from folks there requesting information about Tai Chi Chuan or Qigong teachers in the Chico or Paradise areas. I had a few names and phone numbers of people in the past, but the contact information is no longer valid. Therefore, if tai chi chuan, qigong, bagua or hsingyi teachers in Chico, California, would sent me information about themselves and their classes, I would be pleased to list you in the NorCal Internal Martial Arts Directory which I maintain.

Deshan's White Staff

"A monk asked, "What's the essential meaning of Zen?"
Deshan replied, "You don't have Buddha nature."
The monk said, "What is sudden enlightenment?"
Deshan drew a circle in the ground with his staff.
The monk asked, "What is gradual enlightenment?"
Deshan poked the middle of the empty space three times with his staff."

Deshan would often ask a question and then say,
"If you speak you get three blows with my staff.
If you don't speak you get three blows with my staff."

Old Yantou later said to Linji,
"Deshan usually just relied on a white staff.
If the Buddha came he hit him with his staff.
If an ancestor came he hit him with his staff.
Why did he have so many students?
Before Linji could answer,
Yantou struck the floor with is staff.
Linji then let out a loud shout."

- Zen's Chinese Masters, 2000, p. 208, 199
Translated by Andy Ferguson

Many Zen masters used the staff as a teaching tool, and it was also a symbol of their enlightened wisdom and authority.

Sun Lu Tang's Circle Walking

For those wishing to "walk the circle" in their Ba Gua Zhang (Pa Kua Chang) practice, according to the style used by Grandmaster Sun Lu Tang (1861-1933), they will find information on the form in Robert W. Smith's Pa-Kua: Chinese Boxing for Fitness and Self-Defense, North Atlantic Books, 2003, pp. 113-160.

This weekend, I did some more work on my bagua circle walking area: shoveling, leveling, holes filled with gravel for drainage, and speading gravel over muddy clay.

Song of the White Staff

"Listen, my dear, inquisitive patron!
Do you know who I am?
I am the Yogi, Milarepa,
Who follows the ascetic way;
I am a yogi, great in strength and perseverance,
Who has no limitations.

The staff in my hand
Grew on a huge rock.
It was cut by a sickle and became
A companion of wild stags.

It came from Nepal, in the South;
From it I hung the Mahayana Sutras;
I take it with me to the marketplace;
It was offered to me by a faithful follower.
This is the story of my walking staff.
If you do not understand my meaning,
Listen then with great care:

The stout end, cut from near the root,
Symbolizes being "cut off" from Samsara.
The thin end, cut from near the top,
Symbolizes the "cutting off of all doubts and confusions.
It is two cubits long and represents
The twin qualities of a Buddhist.

Of good quality and pliant, it is like
The original Mind-Essence - good and sound.
The varnish, of a pleasant brown, is like
The great harmony of the "Original Mind Nature."

Straight and supple, it symbolizes
Unmistaken practice and devotion.

The tiny grooves you see, represent
the Perfection of the Bodhi-Path,
The four joints in the cane
Are the For Infinite Wishes,
The three knots symbolize
the Three Bodies of the Buddha.

It never changes color. This represents
The immutable reality of the Root Principle.
Its head, curved and covered, displays
The "beyond-playwords" nature of reality'
Its white glittering appearance shows
The Dharmakaya - immaculate and pure.

The hollows symbolize the void nature of all beings,
The spots are a symbol of the sole Tig Le.
The scattered black marks indicate
that Tibetan yogis and Repas
Have few disturbing thoughts.

This cane most excellent represents
My devotion and practice in compliance with the Dharma.
Its elegance and loveliness displays
My disciples' sincerity and faith.

The iron ferrrule on the tip conveys
The perseverance of yogis in the hermitage.
The handle, wrapped with copper, represents
the mastery and attraction of Dakinis.

The nail attached to the tip displays
The bravery and diligence of yogis;
The hanging brass ring represents
The increase of inner merits.

The ornament of Sha Bran hanging down
Is the flexible understanding of the yogi.
The thong of two twisted ropes represents
The entering of the Two-in-One Path;
The Mother-and-Son thongs intermingling,
The meeting with the Mother of the Three Bodies.

The bone-ornaments hanging on the staff
Mean many travels for the yogi.
The flint and bellow signify
That all he sees and meets
Are the yogi's friends.

The white shell hanging on the staff
Means that I shall turn the Wheel of Dharma.
The rag of leather symbolizes
The yogi's attitude, without fear or shame.

The mirror hanging on the staff
Is the Enlightenment that shines within.
The sharp knife indicates
That the pain of passions will be cut.
The stone-crystal symbolizes
The purifying of defiled habitual thoughts.

The ivory chain hanging on the staff
Is the Chain-of-Regard between Guru and disciple.
The set of bells symbolizes
My widespread reputation;
The woolen cords of read and white,
That my disciples will be numerous.

The handsome staff that now I hold
Is the means and symbol of the conquest over evil beings.
Patron, you ask me for the meaning of this staff;
This proves you have sincerity and faith.
This present meeting witnesses
Our pure wishes in a former life.

For mankind and Devas, conceivers of all symbols,
I have sung this "Song of the White Staff."
Revere then and appreciate its Dharma teaching.
Dear patron, I hope your practice Dharma
And win happiness supreme."

- Milarepa, "The Song of the Staff" from
The Hundred Thousand Songs of Milarepa.
Translated by C. C. Chang, (Shambhala: 1962, 1989), Volume One, p. 190-199

Mind Over Matter - Really?

I often come across idealist statements that express the idea
that "My mind creates the World."

"What is mind? No matter.
What is matter? Never mind."
-George Berkeley

"We are mind and matter, but it’s the mind that matters,
more than matter, as "mind over matter",
whether you mind it or not.
So mind your mind."
-Stonepeace

There is value to minding our mind, observing the processes of our minds, controlling and directing our minds, uplifting our minds, and expanding our minds. I have no doubts about the powers of introspection, self-reflection, meditation, and inner insight in examining the nature of my consciousness.

Neverthe less, I'm of the opinion that my mind really depends on all other minds to give meaning and purpose to our lives, and in the critical importance of intersubjective verification and the value of repeatable public measurement in the sciences. Also, I believe that the bio-chemical activities of cells in my body create the various phenomena of my consciousness, and that my conscious mental life (i.e., thinking, will, choice, acting, etc.) can change the bio-chemical states of my body - creating a feedback loop from both sides of the mind-body equation.

It is both the World (i.e., cells, body, home, work, land, sun, food, etc.) and your own mental states that creates your every-changing mind:

It's our minds that think we create our worlds.
It's our minds that can imagine other worlds.
It's our minds that can believe in falsehoods and the impossible.
It's our minds that tell stories of the past.
Take away all the other minds and your mind won't last for long.
Millions of minds have disappeared into the World.


With respect to mind-body practices (i.e., yoga, taijiquan, qigong, dance) is the idea that mind alone can create extraordinary and magical powers in the body. A number of taiji players speak of special chi powers. For example, a 260 pound strong man attacks you, a 130 pound 60 year old man, with intent to cause you harm; you relax, summon mind intent, direct chi, use your "Taiji Super-Powers," and toss the surprised attacker 10 feet away from you. Or, yogis sometimes speak of gaining special powers, siddhis, that allow the super yogi to hold his breath for days, heal the seriously sick, walk 90 miles in a day, or float above the earth. I believe that nearly all of these tales of special powers are nonsense, poppycock, laughable, fictions of guru/hero worship, or a magician's tricks.

Physics tells us that force/energy is equal to mass multiplied by acceleration. The faster and larger person can generate more force. Techniques of delivering the force - angle, timing, surprise, etc., also effect the impact of the forces. Also, in fighting situations, the muscular strength of the fighter, the toughness of the fighter, the experience of the fighter, the determination of the fighter, the fighters will to hurt another, and the fighters will to over-power and control all effect the outcome. Therefore, if you want "Taiji Super-Powers" you need to practice diligently, spar often, get serious about strength training, get into superior aerobic condtion, really toughen up, work on your balance, improve your speed, and develop a Warrior's Mind.

It is both mind and matter, both yin and yang, both the whole and the parts.

Mind over matter? Occasionally, when there is enough of your matter actively applied by your will to act.

Soft, Supple and Delicate

"Human beings are
soft and supple when alive,
stiff and straight when dead.

The myriad creatures, the grasses and trees are
soft and fragile when alive
dry and withered when dead.

Therefore, it is said:
The rigid person is a disciple of death;
The soft, supple, and delicate are lovers of life.

An army that is inflexible will not conquer;
A tree that is inflexible will snap.

The unyielding and mighty shall be brought low;
The soft, supple, and delicate will be set above."

- Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching, Section 41 (76)
Translated by Victor H. Mair, 1990

Blending with the Snow

"Blending with the wind,
Snow falls;
Blending with the snow,
The wind blows.
By the hearth
I stretch out my legs,
Idling my time away
Confined in this hut.
Counting the days,
I find that February, too,
Has come and gone
Like a dream."
- Ryokan
Dewdrops on a Lotus Leaf: Zen Poems of Ryokan
Translated by John Stevens

Sometimes the best practice is to sit, doing nothing.

Take a Deep Breath

" Energy is the essential stuff for structural integrity and mechanical and chemical processes, while ch'i is the essential stuff for pattern perpetuity and thinking and feeling. While energy metabolism accounts for the vigor of health in the physical sense, ch'i-metabolism accounts for the well being of the person in the psychic sense."
- R. G. H. Siu, Ch'i, p 263


"Breathing control gives man strength, vitality, inspiration, and magic powers."
- Chuang Tzu

People Adore Twisty Paths

"Understanding sparse and sparser still
I travel the great Way,
nothing to fear unless I stray.

The great Way is open and smooth,
but people adore twisty paths:
government in ruins,
fields overgrown
and graineries bare,

they indulge in elegant robes
and sharp swords,
lavish food and drink,
all those trappings of luxury.

It's vainglorious thievery -
not the Way, not the Way at all."

- Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching, Chapter 53

Chang San Feng

"The evidence for the existence of Zhang San Feng is impressive, although some scholars say that he was a myth. Erected on Wudang Mountain are two huge stone tablets honoring him as a Taoist saint, one decreed by the Ming Emperor Seng Zu, and the other by the Ming Emperor Ying Zong. The Imperial History of the Ming Dynasty records that Zhang San Feng was born in 1247, learned Taoism from a Taoist master called Fire Dragon at Nanshan Mountain in Shenxi, cultivated his spiritual development for nine years at Wudang Mountain, was known by the honorific title of "the Saint of Infinite Spiritual Attainment', and was the first patriarch of internal martial arts. The Records of the Great Summit of Eternal Peace Mountain mentions that he studied the yin-yang of the cosmos, observed the source of the longevity of tortoises and cranes, and attained remarkable results. Collections of Clouds and Water describes him as carrying his lute and sword on this back, singing Taoist songs, work in the mountains, and studying the marvelous secrets of the cosmos."
- Wong Kiew Kit, The Complete Book of Tai Chi Chuan, 1996, p. 21

Sun Style Tai Chi Chuan Advice

Grandmaster Madame Sun Jian Yun (1913-2003) gave us the following advice about the practice of Sun Style Tai Chi Chuan:
1. The head should be upright but do not use force. Let the spirit be full.
2. The mouth should be gently closed with the tongue at the upper palate. Breath gently through the nose. (Note: Personally, I prefer to have my mouth loosely open).
3. Both shoulders should be loose and dropped. Be careful that they are not raised: raised shoulders cause the chi to float.
4. Both elbows should be pressed down. When the elbows and shoulders are dropped, chi can be sunk at the dan tian. When the elbows are pressed down, the arms can be bent, with stored energy ready to be released.
5. The fingers should be open and loose. The wrist should be flexible.
6. The chest should be held in, not extended. An extended chest causes chi to float, resulting in top heaviness.
7. The waist must be flexible, as it is the commander of all the whole body's movements.
8. The legs should be bent: 'apparent' and 'solid' must be differentiated, otherwise agility is lost.
9. 'Chi sunk at dan tian' means deep breathing. Deep breathing is very important in Tai Chi Chuan, but it must not be forced.
10. Meditation is seeking movement in stillness; Tai Chi Chuan is seeking stillness in movement. During practice, the heart must be calm and the mind must be focused; only then can the physical movements be smooth and agile.
11. A special feature of Tai Chi Chuan is 'use will-power, don't use strength.' The aim is to achieve force that is alive, with extreme softness yet extreme hardness, extreme heaviness yet extreme agility. When will-power arrives, power arrives. If mechanical strength is used, it becomes sluggish and clumsy, floating externally, out of place in external arts."

- Translated by Wong Kiew Kit. Found in "The Complete Book of Tai Chi Chuan" by Wong Kiew Kit, 1996, p. 262.

School of Hard Knocks

"Hi Mike: I'm writing because I got your name off of the T'ai Chi website for elementary teachers. The reason is that I am the author of a 9 books series called "Margie and the School of Hard Knocks," about a 65 yr. old woman who gets to live her life over from age 3 and go to a special school to learn life's lessons, among which is Qi Gong and T'ai Chi. The importance of it is explained and stressed as a part of daily life. It is stressed so much that the kids at the main school join 6 other schools in China in Level Three for a T'ai Chi exhibition. At the school each year there equals 2 in the outside world. The books are great for all ages; especially children from 8 up. T'ai Chi blends in so beautifully with the rest of what's in my books, I hope you'll take a look at my website: ."
- Margie Gerow

Where the Immortals Dwell

"The focus of most religious Taoism is attaining immortality. This can have various meanings: eternal life, longevity of life, or attainment of superhuman physical abilities. Taoists have sought longevity by a variety of methods, such as:

* Focusing attention on the body through diet, exercises, and mindfulness
* Regulating the breath (ch'i), circulating its power deliberately to all parts of the body
* Harnessing sexual energy, especially by retaining semen and sending its power throughout the body
* Exploring alchemy with the goal of finding the elixir of immortality
* Behaving in a moral way that is in harmony with the Tao
* Searching for the Isles of the Blessed, where the Immortals dwell and may be persuaded to share their secrets of immortality."

- Taoist Beliefs

Master Chang San-Feng's Treatise on T'ai Chi Ch'uan, circa 1300 CE, Part 3

"Avoid deficiency and excess; avoid projections and hollows; avoid severance and splice."
- Stuart Olson

"Do not show any deficiency, neither concavity nor convexity in movement. Do not show disconnected movement."
- Jou, Tsung-Hwa

"No part should be defective, no part should be deficient or excessive, no part should be disconnected."
- Yang, Jwing-Ming

"Let there be no hollows or projections; let there be no stops and starts."
- Barbara Davis

"When performing T'ai Chi, it should be perfect; allow no defect. The form should be smooth with no unevenness, and continuous, allowing no interruptions."
- Liao, Waysun

"Let the postures be without breaks or holes, hollows or projections, or discontinuities and continuities of form."
- Benjamin Lo

" Move in a continuous, even and smooth manner.
Do not overextend the limbs or sully the forms.
Flow like the Great River
Filling all the holes and hallows,
Unbroken, gathered, full, unstoppable;
Seeking the True Level, finding the Golden Mean,
Neither excessive nor deficient in Yin or Yang;
Holding postures as perfect as the Blue Lotus,
Moving steadily between forms like the White Tiger,
Uniting body and will in the Jade Furnace,
Transcending inner and outer, starting and stopping."
- Michael P. Garofalo

The Principles of T'ai Chi Ch'uan is attributed to the
Taoist Master Chang San-Feng, circa 1300 CE.

Look at Your Heart of Life

"Sitting silently, practice meditation;
Continuously and gently regulate your breathing;
One yin and one yang brewing in the internal cauldron.
Nature must be enlightened, life be preserved.
Don't rush, let the fire burn slowly.
Close your eyes and look at your heart of life.
Let tranquillity and spontaneity be the source.
In a hundred days you will see a result.
The beauty is boundless and inexplicable,
All over the body vital energy arises.
Who can know such a marvellous experience?"
- Taoist Master Chang San-Feng, circa 1300 CE
Translated by Wong Kiew Kit, The Complete Book of Tai Chi Chuan, 1996, p. 19.