Each morning I practice tai chi chuan (“tai chi” exercise), I first engage some qi gong warm-ups. Then, before practice, I do the salutation to the form. The salutation itself is beautiful and meaningful, as one fist joins an open palm (Yang within Yin) and they dissolve and swirl ‘round each other, symbolizing that within Yang there is Yin and within Yin there is Yang, forever interchanging and morphing into one another in the dance of life.
Each morning I do the salutation, I remember that life is full of good and bad days, fortune and misfortune—yin and Yang—and to this I humbly bow . . . each time.
Before I knew much about Yin-Yang, I also practiced tai chi, beginning at 20 years old. Now that Yin-Yang is etched into my essence, I am fascinated by how brilliantly tai chi embodies Yin and Yang—in the graceful, balanced movements counterbalancing and contrasting above and below, weighted and lifted, forward and backwards, soft and hard, inside and outer, tension and release, Yang constantly turning to Yin, and vice versa—circles within circles, all in a constantly flowing dance of unity and full-body engagement.
Through a Western biomedical lens, I am also now aware of the many benefits tai chi auspiciously incorporated, before Western medicine was a thing. These movements benefit the brain, bones, joints, and nervous system.
Balancing on one leg, moving backwards, weighting the legs, gentle articulation of all the joints, the constant flow state, moving from the center, breath regulation, the mindfulness—it is a longevity and wellness practice, par excellence.
Tai chi is a form of qi gong (“energy cultivation”) that originated in China. It takes months to learn and a lifetime to continue refining and to learn from. Popular, modern-day understanding of qi gong usually amounts to single form exercises one can learn relatively quickly and feel immediate benefit, which are wonderful and helpful to prime one for tai chi chuan.
Yoga is India’s mind-body cultivation counterpart. I have practiced both tai chi and yoga, off and on, and together, for decades. They are both invaluable gems, and especially valuable, for these stressful times.
