Practice

 Practice today:  Awaken tonus with torso circles, vertical shake, joint vibration, silent Ah, swing/kicks, spiral gaze,

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 they will only 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.