The Ten Principles in Practice

 In yesterday's post I alluded to the Ten Principle of Taiji that guide my practice.  As a whole they are a "content" to be explored and experienced in ones practice without any expectation of reaching a time when you have mastered them and no longer need them.  It is also true that ones practice of tai chi chuan can be beneficial and progressive without ever thinking about or using the 10 Principles.  I do both, in that, I sometimes I will pick a principle to focus on to feel how it enhances my experience and other times I just feel the flow of the forms without any application of principles.

The Principles can be applied to ones daily practice individually to observe the affect, but in reality it is impossible to practice one principle without all 10 being present in your form.  For example, you may imbue your practice with the principle of "Continuous without Interruption" feeling the energy flow from the phase of gathering to expression and then to gathering again.  While observing this flow of energy you would also note that the "Upper and Lower Body are Combined and Connected.  You would also note the existence of a balance of "Empty and Full".  The four Body Alignment principles would need to be applied and ultimately the three Mind/Body principles would come into play.  Choose any other principle to start with and you can make the same case that all principles come into play.

I had the thought here to ask why Yin/Yang are not stated as a Principle.  The reason being that all principles, and their expression, contain both Yin and Yang.  In fact, during the Yin phase of a movement there is also an element of Yang. I will address this in full in a future post.

 

 

A metaphor for Movement Practice protocols as Containers

 

 

 

The Flytrap "Container" Metaphor

The Venus Flytrap is the Container that lures you in to taste the sweet fruits within.  Once inside the Flytrap shuts and there is no escape.  Therefore, you must hold on to the door with one hand and with a foot in the door to prevents the door from closing.  Once you have sampled the fruit you can pull yourself out and begin searching for another container.

The Container is the "Method" or "Technique" that you are exploring for personal development.  Examples of containers may be "The Feldenkrais Method", "The Alexander Technique", "The Trager Method", "Myofascial Integration", "CrossFit Training", "Martial Arts", "Yoga", "Spiritual Practice" and many, many more.  The contents of a Container are the gems of truth, knowledge or the practice that promises results of personal development such as fitness, enlightenment, happiness, health etc.  

Don't mistake the container for the contents.  Use the contents while they challenge you to become more aware then move on to a new container.  It may take a lifetime to experience all of the contents of a container, but you can  use contents from different containers at the same time.  You may discover a huge overlap of contents contained in most containers.  

How do you know when you need to move on from a content or a container?  When the task is easy and you are comfortable it is time to move on; retain what you learned and even revisit those contents for the joy they bring, but don't mistake comfort with fulfillment.

All containers are better than all other containers. The one true container is the one you are trapped in or so you tell yourself. 

 Tai chi is one such container that you can spend a lifetime practicing without exhausting the opportunities for deepening ones awareness and enhancing growth towards central equilibrium.  My practice stays true to the 10 principles as interpreted by Yang Family Style Tai Chi but does not stop me from exploring other movement modalities to enhance my self movement practice.