Aloha All,
February seems like a good month to talk about the heart. This is an aspect of Tai Chi Chuan that is often ignored. In Traditional Chinese Medicine the Shen or spirit is stored in the heart. Some forms of insomnia are caused by the Shen not being able to come to rest in the heart and people end up with an agitated mind. In the beginning we can focus on the exercises and the elements of the form but if our Tai Chi is going to deepen at some point we are going to need to open our heart. We need the inner space to allow the Shen to quiet and for our awareness of both what is going on inside of us and in our environment to develop. Many of you have experienced this directly with Sifu Fong HA. At a conference on the martial arts someone once said to me ” you Tai Chi people are infinitely interested in the inner workings of your own being”. It was meant as a put down, my reply was simply “yes”.
To develop our listening skills the heart needs to be calm and clear with just the right balance of yin and yang. I think February is a great month to devote ourselves to this aspect of our practice.
To sign up for a Tai Chi (Tai Ji) class in Kihei on Maui please call 808-280-3450. Tai Chi Class, including Chi Kung and pushing hands, meets Monday mornings from 7:30 to 9:30 in Kihei on Maui.
May your hearts find just the right balance,
Dani