Yin-Yang-Yoga

Tag: taichi

  • If You’re Bored, You’re Boring

    One of the best things about both Tai Chi and Yoga is that no matter how long you Practice, no matter how skillful you are with the postures or movements or principles, you never truly outgrow the Basics.

    This is precisely what attracted me to these disciplines.

    There is no Finish Line.

    My Tai Chi practice as of late has been simplified to just the first few moves of the Sun 41 set. The more attention we pay to the Internal aspects, the less need we find for dozens of postures.

    This is not a knock on things like Sirsasana (Headstand) or lightly flowing through a Tai Chi set.

    The same attention to detail, the mindfulness and Presence, can be exercised in these ways too. It’s just that our achievement-oriented Minds often believe that progress is only measured by accomplishing a more difficult posture or learning the next sequence of forms.

    I am fond of suggesting that if you’re bored, then you’re boring.

    If you’ve run out of things to discover in Tadasana or the commencement form in Tai Chi, then you’ve probably actually stopped paying enough attention.

    I’m not sure if it’s Restlessness or Entitlement-Culture, but many of us, myself included, are so busy striving and believing that we are ready for The Next Big Thing that we miss the Beauty of more simple achievements.

  • TaiChi Is A Little Spooky

    It has been said that before Knowledge there was Truth.

    It would seem that some of the wisdom expounded in the Tao Te Ching might exemplify this notion.

    One of the peculiarities discovered by physicists only about a century ago, is the phenomenon known as Entanglement.

    The laws of Quantum Mechanics seem to suggest that particles can be linked in pairs (or groups) in such a way that the state of one inherently implies the opposite state in the other.

    Consider a pair of electrons.

    Upon measurement, an electron particle is found to have a clockwise spin. That measurement, the determination that Particle A has a clockwise spin, allows us to predict, correctly, that Particle B will have a counter-clockwise spin.

    It’s as if the particles are able to communicate, or interact, almost instantaneously, even across great distances. Albert Einstein himself, who was rather perturbed by the idea that particles could have this apparent ability to affect one another, described it as “Spooky Action at a Distance.”

    This phenomenon has sparked much discussion, debate, and experimentation that is still ongoing to this day. Modern Science is trying to make sense of what seems to be physical proof of a notion seemingly understood thousands of years ago.

    Out of the Void (Wuji), we arrive at polarity, or Taiji (TaiChi). Where there is Yin, we can be assured of Yang. To find one is to imply the other.

    Modern Science has allowed us to demonstrate, observe, and verify, down to the smallest scales imaginable, that this notion of TaiChi is in play.

    What the Ancients understood as being The Way, Science is grappling with Today.

    Our Knowledge is catching up to Truth!

  • Back to Basics

    The Thinker in me loves splitting all the hairs it can. The Details often reveal distinct characteristics and qualities of Things.

    In a sea of different styles of Yoga and TaiChi it is helpful to remember that all of these experiences have common ground.

    Literally thousands of variations on the numerous yogAsana and yet the Actions which create these postures and movements are all bound by the laws of Physics.

    Mechanically speaking, we make use of relatively few types of Action.

    There are so many ways to stand on one leg, but every single one of them requires us to stand on one leg.

    Acknowledging this coherence can help us simplify our Practice so that we don’t lose sight of what’s really going on.

    Even the most complex pose is merely a matter of mastering a few key Actions…
    and Practice!

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