T’ai Chi: The Balance of the Body and Mind
Yang Yang, Ph. D.
T’ai chi (taiji, taijiquan) was created as a martial art with three main training modalities: solo practice, push hands, and free sparring. Push hands is a partner-training method aimed at cultivating physical and mental balance in which one training partner tries to disturb this balance by disrupting the center of his/her partner. Physical and mental equilibrium become both the goal and the measure of mastery of this method. For centuries, masters of this art have been developing and refining the training curriculum to cultivate a comprehensive balance of body and mind. Drawing ideas, principles, and techniques from Chinese medicine, philosophy, and existing martial arts, they fashioned building blocks to effectively improve all aspects of this dynamic system. Each aspect contributes individually and collectively to the improvement of the whole and to the final outcome: a state of robust balance; that is, the body and mind in energetic equilibrium. To a certain extent, we can say that t’ai chi is all about balance. In this essay, we will discuss some of the elements designed to nurture one physically and mentally.
First, let’s look at some of the elements affecting physical balance and how t’ai chi training can effectively improve them.
Strength and the ability to control force: Strength is one factor affecting balance. Conventional strength training improves strength but does not improve the ability to control the force gained. However, t’ai chi training—which includes building blocks of the traditional curriculum, like standing, sitting, and lying-down meditation—can increase both strength and ability to control force simultaneously. The first published report using our curriculum demonstrated this point. See the result here.
Sleep: Research demonstrates that sleep is a factor affecting balance. To cultivate qi, or vital energy, traditional t’ai chi training believes that sound sleep is essential and utilizes standing, sitting, lying-down meditation, and movement to increase deep relaxation to achieve this goal. A study using our traditional curriculum funded by National Institutes of Health demonstrated the effectiveness of this curriculum. See the result here.
Foot placement and body alignment: In push-hands training, foot placement and body alignment provides the basic foundation for neutralizing a partner's push and for releasing energy toward the other partner. Traditional t’ai chi practice cultivates biomechanically sound foot placement and body alignment through stillness training and balanced dynamic movement.
Second, let’s discuss balance of mind—that is, emotional equilibrium and a sense of well-being, and how tai chi and traditional wisdom can help improve them. The world is ever-changing, and change often brings challenges and stress. The training and study of push hands is a system for learning to neutralize and even take advantage of physical challenges and stresses to equilibrium. On the mental, emotional, spiritual side of things, an effective way for human beings to deal with changes is to understand and align our thoughts and actions with 常, or Chang; this refers to the deep patterns and roles that life presents, and the abiding truths that speak to these patterns, changes, and challenges. Comprehensive alignment with Chang can transform changes and challenges to wisdom and strength. Chinese philosophy, along with universal truths from other cultures, provides a rich source of anchoring perspective. Addressing challenge and stress through the lens of this wisdom can lead to emotional equilibrium, resilience, and happiness. Twenty-four hundred years ago, Lao Zi, a Chinese philosopher, said 知常曰明，不知常，妄作，凶。zhī cháng yuē míng, bù zhī cháng, wàng zuò, xiōng. In this context, the statement can be understood to mean that you will attain enlightenment and enjoy success if you understand life’s abiding truths; otherwise, you will invite danger, stress, even disaster into your life. Below are a few selected abiding truths from our functional meditation.
No selfish desire: 无私欲, wú sī yù. All of us have needs in our lives, and we want to fulfill those needs. However, if all of our thoughts and actions stem from the sole purpose of fulfilling our own desires, at the cost of the suffering of others, our own suffering and pain is inevitable. That is because such self-absorbed thoughts lead us away from extending our innate human kindness outward to others. When we think and act according to our human heartedness, as a coworker, a family member, or a teacher, it leads us toward emotional equilibrium, resilience, and happiness.
No contention: 不与，bù yǔ. Lao Zi states that “the winner does not enter the fight.” He is not here referring to the struggle for justice, liberty, and freedom. (This fight is beyond our current discussion.) The “fight” he is referring to is the contention between different beliefs, cultures, and political orientations. When there is disagreement, most of us believe that we are right and others are wrong, and we want to correct them. This type of contention is doomed from the outset and can waste much precious energy.
Don’t overdo: 无为, wú wéi. Not going beyond what is necessary to successfully accomplish a task is a key concept in Chinese philosophy. When you overdo something, you achieve the opposite of your original goal. For example, a common phrase used in physical training is “no pain, no gain.” Yet when we overdo it, we increase the likelihood of pain and injury. Of course, when we overdo “taking it easy,” we become sedentary and risk our health as well! An important study about the risk of back pain due to physical exercise documented a sweet spot in exercise—not too intense, not too slack—that produces the best results with the least risk of back pain or injury. This study validates this ancient wisdom with empirical data.
Conclusion: In early 2000, our team did several studies using a traditional curriculum that I designed for balance, strength, coordination, sleep, anxiety, immune function, and psychological well-being. The results indicated the effectiveness of the traditional curriculum consisting of standing, sitting, and lying-down meditation in conjunction with t’ai chi and qigong forms. Within two months, older adults (average age 80) in a study of my system measured 10 years younger on tests of balance and strength.I have been refining the curriculum for the past 20 years to improve balance and prevent falls. One silver lining from the pandemic lockdown is that we have had to fully embrace online teaching. This modality of teaching allows us to systematically address the elements affecting the balance of the body and mind. I look forward to working with all of you over the next three months—at the fundamental level on Saturdays and the intermediate/advanced level on Sundays—to enjoy, improve, and benefit from the Art of Balance, starting on October 9 and 10.
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