Transformative Effects Of T'ai Chi Ch'uan
(This is an excerpt from a University Of Metaphysical Sciences course at www.umsonline.org, please feel free to visit the school website)
Within the slow and intentional movements of T'ai Chi Ch'uan is encoded an extremely sophisticated way of transforming the body, mind, and spirit, which is a basic goal of the Taoists who originated this movement meditation. T'ai Chi Ch'uan has been practiced in China for centuries, and recently it has gained even more popularity. Today in China, and all over the world, millions of practitioners use this art to heal and enlighten themselves.
There are many possibilities of healing transformation through practice in T'ai Chi Ch'uan. In T’ai-Chi Ch’uan: Its Effects And Practical Applications (1979), Chen states that on a physical level the movements of T’ai Chi Ch’uan are designed to keep joints lubricated and unrestricted, regulate breathing, promote digestion, lower blood pressure, regulate breathing, promote digestion, lower blood pressure, regulate blood circulation, cleanse toxins, improve the flow and amount of chi, and many other things. In a natural state where one is attuned with the Tao, the physical body is perfected and free from disharmony. T'ai Chi Ch'uan was designed to bring the physical body back into harmony. Obviously it took effort to do this though, and so the Taoists practiced to live unceasingly in accord with the Tao.
In The Essence Of Taiji Gigong (1997), T'ai Chi Ch'uan master Yang Ming says that as one begins to cultivate health in the body through dedicated practice, a new level of mental functioning opens up. This state is realized when a being feels that the mind has become clarified and able to feel and direct chi. Feeling chi takes practice but can be done by anyone. T'ai Chi Ch'uan is designed to open up the chi channels so they can flow smoothly. Once this happens, sensations of movement occur and one begins to experience the presence of chi and how it functions. Teachers of this art say that feeling chi is a necessary pre-requisite for further advancement. Certainly benefits will occur physically even if a practitioner doesn't feel chi, but in order for the mind and spirit to be developed one must be able to feel chi.
Once chi is felt, the next transformation that occurs is a process of learning that the mind can direct the chi. In Chinese this is called yi leading the chi. Yi refers to the intention or concentration of the mind. In The Essence Of Taiji Gigong (1997), Yang Ming states that yi means through conscious intention a being can lead chi to wherever she or he concentrates. By teaching T'ai Chi Ch’uan, the Taoists showed the world how they could connect the mind to the body. The mind is not only in the brain, according to the Taoists, but extends to every part of the body and beyond, in advanced practices. When yi has been cultivated to a high level, a practitioner can gauge the level and flow of chi within their body. If places are stagnant or weak, chi is then directed to that area as one moves through the T'ai Chi Ch'uan form.
Once the chi is there, its natural function is to restore balance to the area. In this way people can learn to heal themselves in their body and mind, and create a dynamic harmony between the two. If people want to take their practice even further than this, T'ai Chi Ch'uan can also enliven them spiritually.
Like Chi Gong, the ultimate goal of T'ai Chi Ch'uan is of a spiritual nature. Yang Ming describes this in The Essence Of Taiji Gigong (1997), "The ultimate goal of Taiji (T'ai Chi) practice is to lead you into the domain of emptiness where your whole being is in the Wuji (Wu Chi) state. When you have reached this goal, the Qi (Chi) in your body and the Qi in nature will unite and become one, and all human desires will gradually disappear." (34) T'ai Chi Ch'uan master named Martin Lee adds to this description in Ride The Tiger To The Mountain: T’ai Chi For Health (1989); “Equally, the exercises of T'ai Chi Ch'uan helped humans reconstruct within themselves the equilibrium of T'ai Chi, a physical state in which yin and yang, emptiness and fullness, perfectly intermingle.” (21)
As stated earlier, Wu Chi is the state of non-differentiation from which the universe sprang. T'ai Chi represents the first split in Wu Chi, which created yin and yang. Within the universe the harmony of yin and yang stays in perfect order. In an unenlightened being the state of yin and yang is not in harmony. However, this state can be transformed by performing the movements of T'ai Chi Ch'uan, which are designed to be a flow of yin and yang movements. When humans constantly live in harmony within themselves, they reflect the perfect harmony within the universe. By reflecting this pattern, a being becomes enlightened, the culmination of practice has been reached, and union with the Tao can never be lost. T'ai Chi Ch'uan has been practiced for centuries and has been refined for a modern world. The Taoists have provided for the world a system that can help enliven life and bring peace within. This happens by realizing that our body, mind, and spirit need to be in harmony to be happy and that this is a state that can be reached if one is willing to practice, cultivate, and allow the transformations to unfold.