Tai-Chi, in 1-2-3
And the secret fourth ingredient.
By Charles Thackaberry
Tai-chi has a reputation for bringing relaxation and healing to nearly everyone who has tried it. It’s seemingly easy going exercises bring a feeling of well-being within just a few minutes of starting a class. Breathing slows, the movement flows, and the mind, body and energy responds by finding the organs and places where there is stress and imbalance are to transform and nourish itself with fresh new energy. At its heart Tai-chi is based on three simple principles that create these effects.
1. Relax your body: This allows the breathing to deepen, the nerves and blood to flow smoothly, and cells to open and close to bring health.
2. Calm your mind: This gives the every-day mind some rest, it allows the awareness mind to see and listen to what is really wanted or needed, and it allows the imagination and other parts of your amazing mind to emerge and bring about true creativity.
3. Balance your Self: This is the main key to help the body and mind and all other parts of ourselves and others to be treated fairly and with kindness.
Simple as they may sound and healthy as they may be, they will be useless without one other principle!
4. Practice: To practice and use these principles is not that easy. To use them in a class, at home, at work, at play is a very real challenge. Tai-chi is not for the faint-hearted but it is for anyone who wants to bring more good in to this world and who are interested in doing that from the inside out.
