Relaxation cannot be achieved by any kind of effort.
(Alan Watts)
What is effort?
Effort is the process that
occurs when resistance is found.
It is the act of forcing.
Unless there is resistance and conflict, effort cannot exist.
Consider the way in which water flows - it is unimpeded. Effortless.
It is not 'trying'.
In tai chi there is no
trying; you do or you do not.
Later, you learn to just 'be'.
Effort and tao
Taoism
teaches people to move with the flow, to avoid 'going against the grain'.
The
natural order of things offers a harmony of
balancing that a person can attune to and benefit.
Tai chi does not require self discipline.
If you want to train it, you will.
'Forcing yourself' is a contradiction in terms - who is doing the
forcing?
Allowing
Do not do anything, just consider...
Sound enters your ears without effort.
Vision enters your eyes without effort.
Breath enters your nose without effort.
Tai chi is designed to augment the
natural operation of the body.
We do not need to 'do' in tai chi, as doing can often entail forcing.
Instead, we
allow... we complement the natural processes and work with them.
Relaxation
How does a person
relax?
Relaxation is what happens when you cease to force, when doing ends, when
the body and mind are left alone to settle.
Effort and tai chi
The body has its own way of
moving.
Tai chi aims to never conflict with how the body wants to move.
By maintain naturalness at all times, the movements feel comfortable and
easy.
Nothing is ever forced.
There is no effort involved at all.
Page created 15 September 2003