Taiji & Qigong Part II

This week I spoke with a cousin of mine in Caracas, and she told me she tried a bit of Taiji last week for the very first time in her life. She too said that it surprised her how relaxing and uplifting the experience felt. For quite some time, she had believed Taiji (and as a matter of fact Chi Kung too) looked extremely slow and boring to her. But there was a cool guy teaching the class she attended. I am sure that helped change her mind on that department. Wink!
Now the truth is that having an upbeat person teaching us -- whatever it may be that we are learning -- makes all the difference. Of course, nothing replaces the genuine interest a student must have to master well the subject. The old expression it takes two to tango could not be more true than in this case. So my cousin's opinion about Taiji went from some serious eye-rolling to a very cheerful smile. Indeed that sweet!
Anyhow, the only way we can go from a fixed perspective to a more liberating approach is through trying things out. If they turn out great, those new activities will invigorate our lives. If they suck as much as we thought they were going to suck, we will have gained deeper and better insight -- still. The trick is (if we can call it that) finding the EXIT of our comfort zone. At first it may feel as if we are walking in a very large dark theater -- afraid of falling, failing, and wasting our precious time. In the end, Taiji/Chi Kung/Bagua (Internal Martial Arts in general) can be as fast and as physically demanding as you wish it to be. It is very much up to you, and the disposition you have for it.

But like in learning a new language, we need to take care of the basic stuff first. We cannot imagine ourselves writing a dissertation in Chinese if we have not mastered the essentials. Thus, for as tedious as it may be, first things first remains relevant -- very much unavoidable. Once we have gained a decent level of proficiency, we can engage in some poetic license to spice things up with our own unique flavor. That we can expect because of our many idiosyncrasies -- nothing wrong with that. On the contrary, let our pride be humble enough to celebrate what sets us apart from the crowd -- like in one of Ezra Pound's poems.
In a Station of the Metro
The apparition of these faces in the crowd:
Petals on a wet, black bough.
Think about it: The title of that poem is as long as its second line. I imagine that back then it took some courage for Mr. Pound to come up with the outrageous -- the subtle, the obvious -- like a newspaper headline for which the literary elite of his time more likely criticized him (plenty). Eyebrows going up.
Well, is Taiji/Chi Kung/Bagua (or any other type of Internal Martial Art) for you? That is for you to find out. Who knows, you may end up falling in love with it.
Infinite love,
Nirvana Gilbert ☯️
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Note: T'ai Chi/Taiji, Qigong/Chi Kung: They are the same stuff just written differently.
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