Tai Qi outside of the Classroom

Tai Qi outside of the Classroom
written by: Antony Bartlett

One of the common questions asked in promotions is: 'Tell me about how you have applied Tai Qi in your life'. The responses range from the trivial to the gut-wrenchingly profound. In every case the answer inspires and illustrates the broad spectrum of practical applications the work provides the student. The classroom and our daily practice give us form and technique, taking us along our personalized, yet inexorable path towards a healthy mind and body.

Outside of the classroom the work gives us new insight into our many roles, the family member, the worker, the teacher, the student. It also gives us awareness of how many mundane situations cause us to unconsciously create tension. I have heard many examples from my fellow practitioners on tension in the shoulders alone:

"I always used to get stressed out when beating eggs for my breakfast. Didn't know why until I realized that I was holding my shoulders as tightly as I could whilst whisking as if I was about to drop the bowl."

"In the middle of a heated argument, my whole upper body tenses up causing my voice to go higher, which signals to the other person they have got to me. The tension first begins to build in my shoulders and the rest follows."

"When standing in a crowd of people my shoulders are around my ears with tension."

"It's nearly impossible to clean my teeth with relaxed shoulders."

There are 3 parts to learning Tai Qi: The initial awareness or discovery, then the conscious practice to re-align yourself, and finally integration, where you become the work. A suggestion: take your work outside of your studio, be aware, and stop tension before it starts.