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Freeing is what brings us fluidity, freedom and an ease in moving.
It follows the idea of flow and recognises the importance of movement (a hinge won’t rust if its kept moving). You consciously relax (sung) the muscles and encourage a loosening of the joints. This releasing in the muscles promotes circulation and helps to dissolve unwanted tensions that are held in the body. There can be many layers built up over time from 5 minutes to 50+ years back! As well as releasing anxiety, freeing will unlock your creativity and love for life. Freeing can be the force or agent of change that helps you move away from unhelpful and 'stuck places' to happier ways of being.
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Aligning is all about relationship - the relationship between one part and another, foot and hand; tailbone and soles of the feet; crown of the head and perineum; the earthy part of you and the cerebral; muscle and bone; shoulders, hips and ankles; head, chest and abdomen; gravity and levity; mind and body; one person and another; you and nature; and so on ..... many relationships!
Rather than thinking of your body's connections as a rigid, held, scaffolding type of structure, envisage a fluid, alive dynamic that's always open to change, always searching for the happiest connection. A bit like a river in its flow, like the cycle of the seasons in being natural. Think of your head wanting to reach up and 'kiss the sky'; your feet wanting to reach into the body of the earth. The 'sung' of freeing, combined with the connections in aligning is what generates your tai chi body. Play around and see what you come up with. Read more .....
So, what I have written on the 'about Living Movement' page re focusing is this:
Focusing is the 'mind' aspect of tai chi. You allow yourself to become absorbed, attentive to what is happening in each moment. Learning to be present, actively directing your attention or quietly listening, with clarity, is truly one of the fundamental cornerstones of tai chi and as modern neuroscience tells us, becomes a gateway to happiness. I have just a few thoughts to add, which is what i say in the film above. I like the idea of focus being a natural, easy state. I am reminded of how I used to like watching my children play with water when they were very young - they had a natural (and enviable) level of absorption in the moment as they played and studied, yes studied, the water...how it dripped, poured, spilt, sloshed, felt .... I like this kind of attention - where you simply allow yourself to become absorbed in the experience of the moment. The tai chi is so good in offering possibilities here because it is physical. So there's always something to feel, to become intrigued with, interested in. All that said, there is also, of course, the thing of training and practice. The Kung Fu - the time and practice - that counts for so much and makes all the difference. So, I think it's a question of finding that balance between, the effort, the training and the natural way. It's both. From my own experience, what really doesn't work is trying too hard, which seems to slow things down. Anyway, it's a lot of fun playing around with .... |
AuthorAngus Clark - just one human in this world of many Archives
September 2018
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