Stability…then Flexibility

Tai chi and Chair Yoga offer us the opportunity to learn about ourselves in the three dimensions of Jing, Chi (qi) and Shen, also known as the three treasures.   Jing puts us in touch with our physical body through the “form,” or the movement of our physical body.  Often our bodies are not ready for the difficult or more complex moves of yoga.  Nonetheless, through desire we commit to each step with intention to move forward, always moving forward—slowly and intently—to grow stronger until we hold our arms up a little longer and we pull ourselves up to our feet from a sitting position—15 times!  Wow!  What an achievement!!

Life is a purposeful process.  Once comfortable and confident that I can sit up straight, maintain a good posture, stack my bones, and hold my body stable, I can now concentrate better on deeper breathing, visualizing the energy entering my body—earth energy through the sole of my feet, to my knees, back of my thighs, up my back, over my head to my fingers.  The process of guiding the energy through my body does not happen overnight.  However, it doesn’t mean the energy is not moving through my body.  For example, whether or not I think about breathing, I am still breathing, and oxygen is still entering my body.  Most of the time I am unconscious of or unaware that I am breathing—I just breathe. 

Moving energy through my body means visualizing and moving with intention, pulling energy to areas of my body that need the most vital energy, especially through my meridians to feed specific organs, or to an injured or painful part of my body that needs healing.  Learning to do any new treatment or activity takes practice.  After all by nature, its divinity and creation, I am given the opportunity to live this life the best way I know how, and for as long as I am able to, and learning to energize and heal my body makes great sense.

I like to use the analogy of a lemon. Imagine you are holding a nice large yellow lemon in your hand. Feel it’s smoothness. Smell it. Now begin to peel the lemon then bite into it. Just writing this description triggers my taste glands and my mouth begins to water. I would also bet that most of you reading this have the same reaction. And that is my point–the strength of our thoughts and brains! We activate our salivary glands by our thoughts and imagination. It is not a talent privy to only certain people. We all have that “talent” and “ability”–to move energy through our body, and some of us are “gifted” to use this ability to “heal” ourselves and others. Think of it as a “brain or thought muscle.” For example, we all have leg muscles. Runners have stronger and more developed leg muscles because they work on it. Nonrunners’ leg muscles are not as developed.

Likewise, meditation–sitting, standing, moving–strengthens our thoughts (like strengthening our muscles) to help create calmness, clarity, focus which is translated to and activated in our body.

Energy pulled through my body includes “emotions” that I allow to run through my body.  I choose the emotional energy that I run through my body—good and bad.  It is my choice to replace negative emotions with positive emotions that benefit my physical well-being because it is my responsibility to not only take care of this body, but to also direct it to live and fulfill my purpose—the why to what I do.

We have addressed the jing, the physical form; the chi (qi) which is the energy; and now I move to the third treasure, the shen.  Shen is like the life force, and hence the humblest of the treasures. This means I reconcile the what and who I am (through learning stability) to the why—and the shen in all its humility directs me to service (to do, give, share)—the best me there is, whatever it means to me (flexibility in my actions).

Stability holds me in place (grows roots) as I develop the strength and wisdom to be balanced, to eventually have greater flexibility and direction—physically, mentally, and spiritually.