How to practice Tai Chi "Mind."

Taijiquan is a bright pearl in the precious cultural heritage of the ancient oriental civilization, she has absorbed the ancient guidance, the art of breathing and the meridian theory of traditional Chinese medicine, the theory of yin and yang five elements, rooted in the broad and profound Taoist culture, with its profound philosophical heritage, obvious fitness effect has attracted the attention of people from all over the world, and has become a wonderful flower in the world's health and fitness garden.

The style of Taijiquan is to lead the qi with the will, the qi to the strength, the combination of rigidity and softness, fast and slow, with distinctive characteristics and uniqueness. The practice of Tai Chi is an organic combination of coordination, wholeness, coherence and balance of movements, and is the synthesis and unity of mind, internal qi and strength. "Motionless and motionless, static and unstatic", every move and style of Taijiquan is dominated by ideas, attracting internal qi, urging the appearance, and a masterpiece of internal and external harmony.

"Thought" undoubtedly occupies the most core position in the cultivation of Taijiquan, and it can be said that the mind is the soul of Taijiquan. However, the boxing movements are easy to practice, but the thoughts are invisible, so how do you start practicing? In fact, the practice of Taijiquan is to run through the process of integrating the tray frame and push hand of Taijiquan, the author has practiced Taijiquan for many years, every day, quite experienced. This article throws out my own simple opinions, aiming to throw bricks and lead jade, and communicate progress with you.

There is no definite law: the different stages of practicing the mind

Tai Chi practice "Yi", first of all, lies in the calmness of the mind. Tranquility is the foundation of mind practice and the foundation of Tai Chi. Tranquility requires concentration of thoughts, single-mindedness, mental concentration, and elimination of all distractions. Strictly speaking, if you can't calm your mind, it's not Tai Chi. If you practice boxing when your mind is not calm, not only will it not play a role in health care, but it will be harmful to your body. The author has such an experience, when I am upset, I feel dizzy and nauseous, and my body is extremely uncomfortable. Mood disturbance will inevitably affect the operation of internal qi, and the so-called "impetuousness" is not unreasonable. But once the mood is calm, the mind is clear, and there are no distractions, the breath will inevitably be harmonious, which is exactly the principle of "peace of mind". Therefore, when practicing boxing, you should always adjust your mind, so that your mind is as calm as water, and there is no slightest wave. In this way, the mind can be clear and sensitive, and the external reaction and one's own judgment can be accurate.

The pace of modern life is very fast, selfish distractions are inevitable, to get rid of distracting thoughts and external interference, to achieve the "quiet" of Tai Chi, it takes a long time of training. Generally speaking, the method of "one thought for ten thousand thoughts" is used in the practice of Taijiquan, which is also the main method of practicing "Yi" in Taijiquan.

"One thought for ten thousand thoughts" is to replace and sweep away the chaotic thoughts in the mind with one thought in the process of Tai Chi practice. Of course, this idea also has different connotations at different stages of Taijiquan. Because at different stages of boxing, the skills that need to be improved are different, and there are different goals for boxing. For example, in the beginner stage, it is necessary to be proficient in the movements, so that each action starts and turns, and the movements are coherent and mature, and the "one thought" at this stage is the action itself, and there can be no omissions and errors. After you are proficient in the movements, you must work on the body method.

Tai Chi body method has its own rules. The author concludes that it is "sitting on the hips", "loosening the waist", "sinking the shoulders", "falling elbows", "covering the chest", "pulling the back", "vertical items", and "virtual spirit", which can be called the "eight points of body method". "Sitting on the hips", which can also be said to be "buttocks", is to be neutral and impartial. "The tail is in the middle of the head, and the head is hanging lightly", sitting on the crotch can be said to be the basis of all body methods. In order to achieve the tail lube in the center, the tail vertebrae in a natural state, with the cooperation of bending the knees and sinking the hips, lifting the anus and the buttocks, the tail vertebrae are retracted forward, and the root of the tail vertebrae is rolled downward, with the feeling of straight into the ground. If it is too much, it is not enough to protrude the buttocks, and if it is too much, it is to stand up to the hips, which are all taboo for Taijiquan. The remaining seven points have been clearly explained in the classic boxing treatise "Ten Essentials of Taijiquan", and the author will not repeat them here.

At this stage, Tai Chi practice "Yi" needs to always think about the body, each action should be checked with the mind to check whether the body is in place, if the body is wrong, it should be corrected in time in the boxing.

At this stage, we should concentrate our thoughts into every small action, and experience the practice state of "spiraling from the beginning, the force from the soles of the feet, and the joints should run through, and the whole body is a family". At this stage, the mind flows through the body with the internal qi and internal strength, leading the qi with the mind, following the qi, the mind to the qi, the mind to the energy, and gradually reaching the "inner triad" state of "heart and mind, mind and qi, qi and force". At the same time, urging from the inside to the outside, "the abdomen is like the sea and the tide is like a tide, and the transformation and folding lies in the waist." The body should be stable in advance and retreat, and the upper and lower parts should be slightly "through the shape and fingers", after destroying the stiffness and softness, the stiffness of the whole body will gradually dissolve, and the body will produce softness and strength. Gradually achieve the "outer triad" of "hand and foot together, elbow and knee together, shoulder and hip together".

At this stage, the practice of the meaning is the experience, every time you practice Tai Chi, you can feel calm as water, calm, refreshed, and comfortable all over the body. The opening and closing of each action is based on the transformation of will, and the action can be empty and loose and rotate freely.

All laws are one: the basic connotation of practicing intentions

Taijiquan is a type of boxing full of dialectics of yin and yang, and the emphasis on "meaning" is different at different stages of boxing. However, no matter what stage of cultivation, there is also a common content of cultivation.

No matter what stage it is, there is a consistent content in the practice of Taijiquan - relaxation, and it can be said that relaxation is the task of Taijiquan for a lifetime. At any time you practice boxing, you must always have the word "loose" in your heart. Looseness is the prerequisite for the production of Taijiquan internal strength, Taijiquan gives up the practice of muscles in Xingquan, and the whole body is in a relaxed state, which is to promote rigidity and softness, and transform the scattered stiffness of the whole body into the overall flexibility. Soft and strong to the muscles and bones, there is a saying in the martial arts world that "it is better to have tendons than three points thick". Softness comes from internal strength, which is in a state of continuous relaxation, accumulated over time, and produced in softness, just like the same dough, at the beginning the dough is only soft, but over time, it gradually produces a sense of flexibility that continues to pull. The internal strength is formed in the intention of qi, gentle movement, hair in the dantian, running in the bone seams, and then transported from the bone seams to the skin, permeated in the four tips (two hand tips, two foot tips); Return to the dantian, winding back and forth, light and round, gradually produce a kind of soft and heavy, like cotton, like a steel bar inside; The deeper the effort, the higher the quality of the internal strength. The boxing proverb says: "There is a heart for softness, but there is no intention to be strong". Rigidity is based on the accumulation of softness over time, naturally generated, over time to have cotton wrapped in iron, rigidity and softness.

Tai Chi no pine is the most basic and the most important. Relaxation of the whole body is an inevitable condition for the cultivation of Taijiquan, and if it is not loosened, it will not become Taijiquan. To what extent? Loose to the whole body transparent, soft as boneless, loose to the whole body like a three-foot light yarn hanging on the treetops, loose to the arms as if hanging on the shoulders. There is not a trace of turbidity in the whole body, and the body is completely transported by qi, with concentration, and all by will.

The looseness of Taijiquan is not laxity, but a kind of looseness that is permeated with internal qi and led by divine energy, so there must be the internal qi and mind of the dantian in it. There must be a dantian opening and closing in every movement, and it is necessary to "always pay attention to the waist", take the waist as the main driver, and guide the internal qi to the whole body with the mind, until each section.

The training of appearance is not the most important, the movement of appearance is mostly in the muscles, bones, skin and flesh, but the soul of Tai Chi is to exercise people's divine will. If you can't do it when practicing, the whole body is loose and clean, and the inner peace is chaotic and still, then it can't be regarded as a real Tai Chi practice. If there is stiffness and turbidity in the body, the internal qi will not be able to concentrate, there will be complicated thoughts in the heart, and the mind will not be able to lead.

In addition to always putting "looseness" in the first place, Tai Chi practice "Yi" also requires the awareness of technical attack. When practicing boxing, it is necessary to be "invincible as if there is an enemy", and only when you really encounter an enemy can you "be invincible like an enemy". Taijiquan "comes and goes without empty hands", is a high-level internal martial arts, is after countless times of actual combat experience accumulation and refinement, its core soul is the technical attack, every move action has its profound offensive and defensive meaning. When practicing boxing, you must always have an imaginary enemy, fight with yourself, and give full play to the Tai Chi boxing techniques you have mastered, so as to implement the principles of boxing. "Practice boxing ten thousand times, and its meaning is self-seeing", which means that in the case of an imaginary enemy, gradually comprehend the meaning of the technique in boxing. When boxing should be carried out with the intention of the line, with the luck of the body, at the same time, each action must be carried out by the momentum to investigate the meaning of its offensive and defensive actual combat, when the heart is quiet, calm and clean, in order to put far, "short movement, long strength, far away", the degree of operation, not much movement, vain movement, no excesses, no excesses.

In the process of practicing "intention", we should pay attention to avoiding three tendencies: intention, consideration, and persistence. Because the trick of cultivating the mind is "light", and these three tendencies are all manifestations of excessive intentions. The right thing to do is: if you mean it, if you don't want to, don't forget to help. If you are too careful, you will use force. As for how to grasp the relationship between intention and force, we must experience it more. The ancients said: Don't use your heart, don't be unintentional, think about it with your heart, think about it without intention, and do it intentionally or unintentionally, and the scale needs to be understood by the reader himself.

According to the author's many years of experience in practicing boxing, the three stages of Taijiquan training, qi training, and spirit training are gradually, from shallow to deep, from outside to inside, and gradually enter a better state. "Tai Chi is the foundation of entering the Tao", the more you reach the advanced stage of Tai Chi, the more attention is paid to the practice of ideas. After the two stages of cultivation of form and qi, the operation of strength and internal qi has formed a subconscious habit. Although there seem to be no rules, the whole body is in accordance with the rules. Tai Chi can be said to do whatever you want, and it is boxing everywhere.