Learning Taijiquan

Yesterday morning the group woke up early to go visit a local park. It is an amazing phenomenon in most of Asia that parks in the mornings become filled with people, mostly older generations, enjoying the new day by dancing to wake up the body. We walked by couples dancing a salsa-like combination, groups doing aerobic dancing in circles or in lines following each other in unison, and individuals doing Tai Chi or taijiquan (in Chinese). I liked the music coming from a big group doing synchronized dance movements, so I stood in the back row and followed along. Other friends joined on and the western students enjoyed learning from the Asian elders. I was awake and alive and completely content. But our trip to the park was just an introduction, we had to go back to the university to learn about taiji from a Chinese scholar, former UMass professor, and now just a healthy 87 year old. This man gave us the background information on taiji, since we will be learning it every morning between Chinese language classes.




During his talk, I felt inspired and reminded of how Asian culture amazes me and now I want to try to explain the excitement. Taijiquan is rooted in Taoist culture, which views the world as possessing two opposite forces, yin and yang. The world, the body, the mind must always strive to be balanced between the two. Chinese people seem to uniquely understand how different elements can bring the body into balance. Just the other day, one of the leaders, Charles, turned down food saying his body had too much yang, instead he made a different selection. I too can tell if I have eaten too much of one thing, but it is poetic and interesting (and truthfully something I am just scratching the surface of while being in China) to view the world in terms of always maintaining balance between opposite elements. It is an entirely different way of viewing the world.

I too want to always strive to maintain a healthy mind and body. Today this professor (who survived the hardships of an intellectual during the Mao years) stood before us looking vital, strong, and excited about life, and told us taiji practice helps him to have strength and a peaceful mind. By doing movements and fully concentrating attention, one can forget problems and quiet the mind. According to research, the practice helps the central nervous system, expands blood walls, reduces heart pressure, allows for more exchange of oxygen, and aids the digestive system and the urinary system. When all five systems are okay one can truly enjoy good health.

So this man requested our group to go home and teach our parents, family, and friends. I wondered how many of my loved ones actually give themselves that time in the day to clear their mind, or would have the patience to practice taiji? It is just foreign to many Americans.

Well I look forward to practicing taiji on this trip. I guess I would call that my spirituality- my life goal to try to maintain a healthy mind and body. I just feel stronger and excited when I set that goal for myself.
It also impresses me that from the beginning of Chinese history, maintaining balance was also life’s purpose.