Tai Chi – The Best Exercise to Make Friends

While Tai Chi can certainly be practiced in solitude, it also contains a special exercise performed in pairs called “pushing hands.”  This routine involves two people, each with unique movements in a circle while interacting with another person at the same time. Tai Chi practitioners use pushing hands to work on their form and improve their overall understanding of Tai Chi. Here are some benefits:

1. Pushing hands promotes a healthier lifestyle because it encourages people to go out and enjoy this natural exercise with friends.  They breathe, stretch, and enjoy the sequence and rhythm of the movements. Afterwards, they feel satisfied and build stronger friendships through mutual help.

2. People who do pushing hands have a positive attitude because they know they will improve and grow every day within the form. As I tell my students, “Even the slightest improvement should be a motivation to continue your Tai Chi.”

3. They are also better team players because they work in pairs and enjoy helping each other to understand the form and movements.

4. Pushing hands promotes moving with careful consideration and sensitivity. With slow and light movements, participants improve their listening power as they tune in to their partners’ movements.

5. This exercise helps improve balance and encourages interaction with others. Someone may have good balance individually, but it can be thrown off when that person is suddenly pushed by someone else.  Pushing hands teaches us to relax in this situation rather than panic. It’s a great way to root our feet to the ground and strengthen our posture in order to keep our balance.

6. People who do pushing hands build trust and form stronger friendships. A person who has mastered this exercise won’t want to be alone all the time or be a couch potato. With time, the partners will practice more and more, thus building trust. 

No wonder Tai Chi is called the “supreme ultimate” exercise (literal translation from Chinese.)

2014 Copyright by Huan's Tai Chi

Tai Chi Improves human body by applying The Law of Use and Disuse

The French scientist Jean-Baptiste de Lamarck (1744-1829) is famous for one of his laws which summarizes his evolutionary thought. It’s called the The Law of Use and Disuse - The parts of an organism's body that are used become more developed; parts that are not used become smaller and may disappear. Charles Darwin (1809-1882) made extensive use of this special Lamarck's law.

I found many things I benefited from Tai Chi may not happen to any regular person. I used them often. I gain it to let it become part of my life. With people who never do it, they may lose the ability to do so. Here are some examples:

1. Walk backwards and sideways
Without learning the movements repulse monkey and waving hands like moving clouds, you will probably never walk backward and sideways as easily. You will also lose this ability as you grow older. When you need it in a sudden situation, you could easily fall.

2. Open and relax your shoulder
Regular exercise such as lifting weights won't train you to open shoulder joints such as “Jian Jin”( The well of shoulder) acupuncture point. With Jian Jin opened, you will have less shoulder pain and less tight shoulders as you get older.

3. Quiet down at the beginning
In modern lifestyle, people tend to catch one thing after another and have a “Go, go, go” lifestyle. Tai Chi teaches you to quiet down and relax at first before you take a task. This is one thing I benefit most from Tai Chi.

4. Elbow and Knee move together
With your elbow and knee moving together, your body parts are supporting each other. It makes you move with ease. Without doing Tai Chi, it's hard for you to understand how body parts coordinate with each other.

5. Take a deep breathe
Herbert Benson MD from Mass General Hospital mentioned that when you breathe deeply, the air coming in through your nose fully fills your lungs, and you will notice that your lower belly rises. The ability to breathe so deeply and powerfully is not limited to a select few. This skill is inborn but often lies dormant. Reawakening it allows you to tap one of your body’s strongest self-healing mechanisms.(Harvard Health Publications in consultation with Herbert Benson, M.D.)

If you are always in hurry, your breathe are not deep enough. While doing slow movements in Tai Chi , it will enhance your breathe to a better deep breathe. A deep  breathe involves relaxation, quietness, with slow and gentle approach, and continues with concentration and many other techniques while doing Tai Chi. 

Use or disuse? They are all in Tai Chi.


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If you like this article, you may also want to read Lao Tzu's Secret to Extend your Life
 
Copyright Huan's Tai Chi 2014

Welcome 2014 and a New Beginning

Life is short! Plan your time wisely and see if you have accomplished your goals by the end of each year. If you have a dream or something that you always wanted to get done, you want to try to get it done sooner rather than later. Things can change if you don’t get it done today. I always wanted to visit Master Ma Hong (He was a tenth generation descendant of Chen Style Tai Chi Chuan and a classmate of three of my grandmasters). Just as I was telling one of my private students a few weeks ago that I am planning to visit him in 2014, Master Ma passed away on December 22, 2013. Master Ma was a kind hearted old man. People said that he always replied to every letter that was sent to him. He was very patient while teaching his Chen Style Tai Chi. His writings on the new frame of Chen Style Tai Chi are also very detailed and informative. He made a big contribution to the Tai Chi society. He had sent many Chen Style Tai Chi materials to me and my father, which we really appreciated. Master Ma, may you rest in peace.

Zengzi, one of the top students of Confucius, encouraged people to have a conclusion of their day and check if the time of their day has been well spent and if they are productive.  As I mentioned above, I believe we should do the same for our year as well.

Looking back at some of the major events that happened in my life in 2013, I feel that my 2013 was well spent while I also need to make some adjustments for the next year.

1. Huan’s Tai Chi and I have done a bunch for our School and community. I have visited my grandmaster, Cai Feng Xiang in Shanghai and my Yang Style Tai Chi teacher Master Xie Bing Can. Huan’s Tai Chi moved to our own studio within the Cambridge YWCA in February, and we got our own entrance and key in July. We had A Winter Evening of Chinese Dance & Martial Arts: Traditional & Contemporary Movement, Performance & Class, Watch & Learn in coordination with Chu Ling Dance Academy in December. In September, we started a new beginner level 2 class in University of Massachusetts Boston and MIT has finally approved our student Cathy's proposal to lead the creation of the new MIT Kung Fu and Tai Chi club which is taught by Huan’s Tai Chi 's staff. In the summer, we taught our Summer Park Tai Chi class again in Backbay, performed demonstrations for Green Fest, and gave a lecture at Spectacle Island Boston. I also made my first video of Yang Style Tai Chi to post online to benefit my students. I want to thank Dave Watts, Yael Marshall and the other Huan’s Tai Chi staff members for helping to accomplish some of the efforts above. I also want to thank Marie for organizing the summer park Tai Chi to benefit the local seniors.

2. I have spent more time with family and friends.

I also visited a lot of family and friends in a trip to China in January. I no longer feel bad for not seeing them for so long. I also went to two friends' weddings in February and September. I met a lot of close friends individually in October. I did try to squeeze enough time to see my godson as much as possible. I would like to thank all of them for staying good friends and warm family members even though I don’t see some of them often.

3. I traveled to many places which I was eager to see.

In March, I visited New Orleans, the hometown of one of my favorite singers, Louis Armstrong. I also went to Bobsled in Olympic Style and ski at a White Face mountain, where I always wanted to go. In May,  I visited Smokey Mountain and Shenadoah National Park.  In June, I visited Mount Rushmore, Yellow Stone park, and Arches National Park.  I then made my 6^th trip of the year to Alaska.  

4. Stay with a natural and peaceful life.

In August, I got offered a piece of land in Somerville community garden after 2 years of waiting period. I did a lot of gardening.   In October, I traveled to New Mexico to experience the green living life in Earthship and volunteered to setup a hot air balloon at Albuquerque’s hot air balloon festival upon a friend’s suggestion.  In November, I made my 8th and last trip of the year. I escaped the cold and visited St Thomas and St John, went kayaking for hours to an island and learned about the environment on the island. I also begin to present Chinese tea ceremony at my Tai Chi studio for another way to relax and calm people’s life.

Life is short. Being healthy and close to family and friends and close to nature will fulfill your life. Here I concluded my year of 2013 and I wish and plan to have an even better 2014. Happy New Year everyone! I hope all your wishes come true and that you will have a healthy, relaxed year filled with joy and spent with your family and friends!

Copyright Huan's Tai Chi 2013