I also got an email from my Tai Chi teacher, Sifu Lorens, today that said, “marc, where have you been? get back to class soon!” Oh, the guilt. I’ve been a terrible slacker, and haven’t been to class in almost three weeks now. Tomorrow, for sure.
{ 2003 07 30 }
brian | 31-Jul-03 at 12:37 pm | Permalink
from
http://www.digidao.com/czlint2.htm
Q. Due to the demands of work and family, many practitioners of Taiji are limited in the amount of time that they can train each day. What advice do you have for them?
A. Regardless of how busy you may be, you should make the time to practice for at least 20 minutes each day. The most important aspect of your practice is “heart”: even if you don’t have time to practice formal exercises or routines, Taijiquan is in your heart, always. You are always thinking about it, using its’ principles. Everything you do, working, eating, walking, it is all a way to practice Taijiquan. If I have the time and the space, I will practice the entire form: if I don’t, I will practice just a few movements. So, if you are at work, and it is difficult to practice routines, perhaps you can practice by reading documents in the “pile stance”. If you are writing at a desk, don’t use your chair, stand in a low horse stance. When you feel tired in your daily doings, apply the principles of “Feng Song”, and stay loose and relaxed.
Therefore, Taiji must be put in your heart: it must be there with you all of the time, not just when you feel like practicing. When we were growing up farming in the village, there was not enough time to practice due to our work, so, when we worked, we practiced: everywhere, all the time, in any activity. Digging with a shovel, plowing, doing carpentry, lifting: all were done using Taiji body mechanics. In my boyhood, all of that work was done by hand: now much of it is done by tools and machines.
Chen Zhenglei