Tonus Awareness as a Movement Practice

 See earlier post for general info about tonus and its role in taiji.

                                Tonus Awareness as a Movement Practice

 Any movement pattern  could be used to bring ones Attention to the tonus present during the  movement.  In taiji most, if not all movement, is around or relative to a  central axis of rotation with the objective of maintaining central  equilibrium (balance of forces acting on the axis of rotation).

 A simple example could be the circling of the torso while standing in the Wuji position, feet shoulder width or less.  The head top inscribes a circle around the inside of an inverted cone with the base between the feet, extending upward and outward.  The circles should not be large enough to bring the body out of balance requiring a noticeable contraction of the muscular system to remain standing or a loss of balance requiring a step.  But, with the Attention focused on the immediately affected myofascia supporting homeostasis, slight changes in tonus can be detected.  With practice the sensation becomes more noticeable and the ability to make larger circles increases.

An advanced form in the 8 brocades does this with the heels together and toes of each foot pointing out at 45% diagonals. With practice there is a sensation of moving as if in a stable vortex that holds the body in central equilibrium. 

The purpose of this practice is not the skill of doing it, but the awareness of the action of the tonus in maintaining central equilibrium.  Bringing this awareness to ones taiji practice can accentuate the objectives of the 10 principles during the practice of all taiji forms.

 

 

Qi Through Awareness

Qi Through Awareness

It would be more correct to say that an awareness of Qi is the Qi.  See other post with mention of Attention to create (in)tension and Attention to release tension.  Attention is what is done, Awareness is what is felt.

Qi is both the nourishing energy and the transport of that energy throughout the body.  The respiratory/circulatory system is the most simple example as oxygen is absorbed in the lungs, transported in the blood through the circulatory system and then absorbed at the cellular level to create ATP energy to feed the cells.  The removal of waste (carbon dioxide) is the complimentary yin (expiration) to the yang (inspiration) of the respiratory/circulatory systems.

An Awareness practice:  The vertical shake has been referenced previously in the posts.  There are a number of references in Movement/Awareness practices of versions of Vertical Shake that I won’t go into here,  See Ido Portal on the Vertical Shake for an overview.  This practice uses the vertical shake to create vibration at the critical points to fully release any blockage. 

Beginning with the feet, or specifically in taiji lingo, the bubbling well points, near the center of the foot or ball of the foot, use a light bounce to activate the area.  This light bounce will be used throughout this process; first to bring awareness to the area and then to reduce the bounce to a virtual vibration.

Off locking the knee as part of the bounce can raise the vibration up the legs.  Feel the shaking of the thighs as  the connective tissue hangs loosely from the supporting structure of the bones, muscles, tendons and ligaments..   Relax the waist with a slight hip girdle drop as part of the light bounce and again feel this as a vibration, at the sacrum, of the lower body from the waist down through the feet at the bubbling well points.

Release the chest at the sternum as the light bounce moves up the body to include the torso.  The shoulder girdle will respond to this bounce as the girdle hangs off of the spine.  Picture a bamboo pole suspended across your shoulders like a yoke with weights hanging from each end.  Accentuate this bounce to shake the hands, wrist and forearms at the elbow.  Picture a raggedy Ann doll being shaken with arms hanging loose.  Again feel the shaking of the connective tissue.  Remember the tensegral nature of the bodies structural components and the adage that when one thing moves, everything moves.

Finally bring your Attention to the crown of the head.  Imagine the top of your head expanding upward through an inverted cone, coming to a pinnacle that the head and entire torso hangs from.  The connective tissue containing the skull, the myofascial tissue of the face and jaw drop away from the crown of the head.

Alexander Technique describes the intoning of the Whispered (or silent) Ah as it releases tension in the throat and neck.  Touching the tip of your tongue to the roof of your mouth feel the vibration from the silent Ah resonating outward, upward and downward to the tips of all extremities.  If you don’t feel the vibration throughout your body, visualize what it might feel like until you do feel it.

An awareness (attention of, in and on) of this state of released fascial tension following a session of vertical shake, may be as close to the awareness of Qi flowing through our body, as one will ever feel.  It is a state of awareness from which taiji can be experienced that truly embodies the intent of the 10 Principles. 

It is also the state one seeks when practicing taiji as a stillness practice (Wuji), a movement practice (Forms, either single or sequential) and a push hands practice (the receptive nature of the body in release is what makes listening energy possible)

Goal versus Process

 

Goal versus Process

That is a very boring topic heading, but it gets interesting (to me) as you delve into it.  My attention was caught by a YouTube video that referred to the “Growth Mindset” which presented information about how children lost motivation to do things they once enjoyed, when they were given rewards for their efforts and then had those rewards removed.  Simple enough and makes sense, but it brought to mind a lot of others thoughts I have had that are similar.

Just letting my mind do a brainstorming of similar aspects related to being in the moment and not needing an external goal to motivate towards an altered state of consciousness, awareness or action.

Thich Nhat Hanh may be considered the father of Mindfulness Meditation.  His book “The Miracle of Mindfulness” lays out his philosophy of “Interbeing”  which emphasizes “finding peace in every moment” rather than striving to reach an outer goal.

Baba Ram Dass popularized being in the moment with his book “Be Here Now.”

Eckhart Tolle led a movement with The Power of Now.

Process Goals versus End Goals was basic to Tony Robbins motivation methods.

Zazen:  Philip Kapleau in “The Three Pilars of Zen” relates the answer to the question, “Why sit it in Zazen”.  Zazen simply means zen meditation.  The answer to the question is that “one sits in Zazen inorder to sit in Zazen”.  To sit for an expected purpose is a contradiction in itself.

 

All of those references are just the tip of the iceberg for this topic and don’t really relate to the reward/motivation dysfunction, but it is where my mind went with the topic and this is my blog, so that is where I will go.

How does being in the “Now” relate to why I do taiji?  There are numerous reports on taiji that reference the health benefits.  A typical one states that tai chi is good for falls prevention for the elderly.  Another explains how Taiji is a martial art effective in combat with an opponent.  The generation of an energy component called Qi or life force is taken for granted as being integral to the purpose of taiji (or Qigong) practice.

All of the above may be true, but misses the point that taiji is the practice of “Awareness” which says everything about its value in making life meaningful.  Victor Frankl’s classic “Man’s Search for Meaning” puts forth the tenet that finding meaning in one’s life is what makes it sustainable.  Awareness is what “Meaning”” is made of.  How one becomes aware has endless manifestations and as such awareness becomes undefinable; yet you know it when you see it, or feel it or become aware of it.

So it all comes down to having a “Practice” that enhances our awareness and through a sustained application of that practice one experiences a change or growth towards greater meaning.  Perhaps a better heading for this post should be “The Search for Meaning Through Awareness”.  Again, that might only be meaningful to me.

In a recent post titled “The Power of Gaze” I presented “gaze” as a tool towards increasing the development of “Awareness” through exercises that emphasize the impact that gaze has on maintaining central equilibrium during movement.  Much of what follows is a repeat of that information, but with focus on how gaze is instrumental to taiji movement in line with the 10 Principles and also how this practice relates to increased awareness and thus enhanced health.

I quoted F.M. Alexander in the recent post where Alexander said, “Anyone can do what I have done, if only, they would do what I did”.  What he did was change the way he used his body through consistent meticulous observation, over a long period of time, to correct a dysfunction he had with public speaking.  Realizing that the process he undertook was a universally applicable one that when practiced would enhance the efficient “Use of the Body” and could eliminate dysfunctions, he developed the Alexander Technique which has been used by innumerable people with success. 

I am applying F.M. Alexanders process to my practice of taiji.  For 25 years I have practiced and taught the sequential choreographed sets of “Forms” seeking to perfect them according to the 10 Principles set out by Yang ChengFu and applied throughout taiji regardless of the style. See a previous post for a discussion of these 10 principles.

See GM Yang Jun's thorough description of the 10 Principles.

I am now expanding my practice to attempt to enhance the psychosomatic and kinesthetic  awareness of these principles.  I have no idea what to do and taiji literature has little to suggest that this is even a realistic goal.  I am staying within the bounds of taiji movement, as I understand it, but stepping out side the box with the practice. 

I will present on example of how I am applying this practice and will use future posts to expand on this with additional practices. 

Standing in central equilibrium applying song in the horse stance as best I can, I turn just my gaze to one side, just enough so that my peripheral vision comes to rest.  As my view comes into focus my torso will rotate, without any effort in my part, just enough to align with the direction of my vision.  I note that this turn comes primarily, if not completely from a turn of the waist in the lumbar portion of my spine.  Once focused in this new position, I turn my gaze again .n the same direction to a new spot and allow my waist (torso) to turn again.  Shortly I reach the extent of my waist’s ability to turn.  Additional turning must then come from the shoulders turning which results in the thoracic portion of my spine rotating.  Again a limit is reached and I need to turn my head (neck) around the cervical portion of my spine.  Reaching the full rotation of my torso with spiral rotation of the spine I hold for a second or two and then release my eyes back towards the original forward position in central equilibrium. No effort is use to turn my torso to the front.  The spiral tension’s release is enough to result in a free swing to the front and then beyond.  Letting this happen without muscular effort results in a swinging action that takes several turns, pendulum like, to come to rest. 

I practice this several times on each side as often as I can on a daily basis.  With practice, I am improving how I do this, increasing the amount of rotation and the ease with which I do it.  The turning of the gaze (eyes) becomes almost a continuous smooth turn with the gaze leading the movement.  Speed is not an objective, so I slow it down to be sure it does not become movement without awareness.

It is difficult to relate this practice directly to one or more of the principles.  In a way it requires the application of all 10 principles throughout.  This is also true of applying the principles to ones taiji practice.  Clearly central equilibrium is maintained; the action of continuous without interruption is evident; the transition from empty to full is clear; the use of Intent and the balance of inner and outer energy is applied; and finally the stillness within movement and movement within stillness seems to pervade the movement. 

What do I hope to gain from this practice?  Well, in the spirit of being in the Now and keeping end goals at bay, I am only hoping that the practice adds clarity to my understanding of the 10 principles. Over time I hope that I carry this practice into my taiji movements so that gaze becomes the initiator of movement.  While gaze is not mentioned directly in the 10 Principles, it is one of the essential 5 Directives of all taiji practice.

This practice also aligns with my health practice belief that keeping the spine supple, innervated and nourished is central to overall health.  The aging of connective tissue is unavoidable, but the negative affects can be delays and/or minimized. I would like to think that this practice is one step in the right direction. 

In the spirit of Meaning through Awareness I will continue this practice without any specific outcome or reward to justify the effort.  I will just be a child at play.

 

The Power of Gaze

 

The Power of Gaze

Paraphrased quote from F.M. Alexander, who created the powerful movement awareness protocol that transformed his life and the life of untold numbers of others through a painstaking process of self observation to reveal how the improper “use of the self” can cause debilitating blockage and dysfunction. 

“Everyone could do what I did, if only they would do what I did”

The above quote could be applied to any accomplishment (innate abilities aside) The point being that innumerable small steps and efforts are necessary to successfully undertake a difficult journey.  I will leave it to your imagination to find examples meaningful to you.

Becoming “aware” is a broad palette of many templates.  Narrowing and broadening ones visual focus is one such template.  Consider the role of vision or “gaze” as it initiates and defines movement.  Later, I will give a functional definition of gaze and its role in awareness and movement, but first I want to relate this topic to the opening quote.  I am seeking to answer the question as to whether one can become more aware of movement through exercises that challenge the use of gaze to initiate movement, especially as occurs in the practice of taiji.  And then, of course, whether the use of gaze is beneficial or even essential to maintaining the body in “central equilibrium” during movement.

What is this awareness that I speak of?  Any of the following are aspects of an understanding of awareness; kinesthesis, proprioception, contemplative practices, somatics, or consciousness itself are all involved with the subject of awareness.  What changes might take place with long term practice of gaze related exercises in initiating and controlling movement.  It is difficult to measure awareness as the observing subject is also the object of observation. 

Paraphrased quote by F.M. Alexander: “Our Faulty Sense of Perception results in our feeling that a dysfunctional posture is normal” 

 

Gaze is the stimulation of the visual cortex in the brain.  But, to be understood and functional we need to add intention and attention to expand on the context.  Attention is an observation in the present, while intention is an expectation for the future.  Intent can also be synonymous with “meaning” or “purpose”. 

Ones visual focus is controlled by the retina which is shaped by the contraction of eye muscles.  As vision is focused more closely during reading or use of a computer the muscles contract and when looking out into the distance the muscles relax.  Hence one reason for the relaxing feeling of being out in nature and looking into the distance.  What comes first; the focus of the vision or the level of contraction of the muscle around the eye?

The application of gaze to taiji has endless implications.  If I wait until I elucidate all of them, this post will never get posted.  Instead I offer just one of the many I have tried and continue to experiment with.

Standing in Wuji with a song gaze into the distance I begin by first refocusing my gaze to the left (or right) just a bit until there is a refocus on the object in my vision.  Then staying song I allow my waist to turn until I am again song around this new central equilibrium.  Then turn my gaze a bit more to the left and wait for waist turn to bring me into equilibrium.  Staying in a song horse stance and sinking instead of turning the hips results in coming to a maximum amount of waist turn to the left.  Then gazing left I allow my shoulders (mid-line of torso) to turn until again in equilibrium.  When maximum shoulder/torso turn is reached, I allow my head to turn continuing until I have reached the absolute maximum rotation to the left.  After a brief hold I release the gaze without any control so that the head, torso and waist turns without effort back to the original wuji position.  If done without any muscular control the torso will swing past the original wuji position, back and forth pendulum like, until settling in the wuji position.  Then I repeat the process to the right. Several repetitions to the left and right will complete this practice.

 (thinking anatomically the waist turn is a rotation of the lumbar spine, the torso turn is the thoracic spine and the head turn is the cervical spine.  This rotation at the spine is a gathering of spiral energy which is led by the gaze and then released by the gaze.)

The above process can be applied during form practice, but takes a good deal of practice to stay true to the intent.  A better starting point is to apply this gaze practice to a qigong form such as Shi Ba Shi.  I have been doing it while doing my favorite qigong sequence which my first teacher called “Longevity”, but my not be known by many in the Yang Family Tai Chi circle.  Perhaps a single form practice of cloud hands, first stationary and then with footwork would work well.  I will try it and add my results to this post at a later time.

The object of the above is not to become aware of using “gaze” extensively during taiji performance, but only to observe the impact that gaze has on the internal energy aspects of taijichuan.  (“Movement begins with intent (internal gaze) which moves the Qi through stillness within movement; the Qi directs the movement towards to desired goal through a gathering of energy followed by a release to the end point.” This is a very rough draft of how this takes place in taiji.  Feel free to restate it more accurately and/or eloquently and let me know.)

While too much focus on gaze during taiji practice  would be a distraction, too little attention to gaze will deprive the practitioner of the full value of internal energy.  This is what makes the taiji journey a lifetime endeavor rather than a short term goal.