Relaxed and Confident~

Relaxed and confident is my current motto.

Practicing tai chi over time will give you a sense of relaxation and confidence in your body and in your mind.

What is it to be relaxed in body?  What it is not is to be limp or collapsed or deflated or sleepy.  What relaxing in body is is a release of physical tension and stress.

Releasing and letting go of tension in your muscles and joints allows energy to flow freely.   

When you unlock all of your stress points you will begin to feel a free flowing circulation of energy that permeates your entire body.

It takes time and practice to recognize some of the tension you have in your body.  Some tension has become so ingrained and is such a life long way of being that you aren’t even aware of it as being tension anymore.  This usually manifests in the shoulders and neck. 

Once you begin to truly unlock your muscles and joints, particularly the shoulders and hips, you will find lowering your center of gravity, or rooting, becomes smooth and easy. 

Lowering your center takes on a fuller more -sinking into the ground- quality that creates a strong base that your torso can move freely upon.

This leads to a confident feeling in your body.  

What is it to be confident in body?  What it is not is to be off balance.  What it is is moving your body in a deliberate way so that it will not fall over.  Your postures are stable in stillness and in movement.

Lowering your center of gravity so that you feel very attached to the earth and knowing how to transfer your weight from one foot to the other with proper alignment, builds body awareness and body confidence.

This body work has a great impact on the mind.  After practicing a tai chi form long enough so that you basically know how to do the postures and the order that they come in, your mind is free to focus on relaxing the joints and muscles, and lowering your center of gravity as you go through the movements.  A relaxed state of mindfulness is the goal.  A nice energy begins to flow and you may experience being in the ‘zone’ of moving meditation.  This has a calming and relaxing effect on the mind.  This relaxed state of mind combined with a confident state of body leads to a confident state of mind.  

A confident mind does not need to prove anything.  It does not need to be aggressive or overbearing.  It is not ego driven.

A confident mind is a knowing and positive sense of self.   Your mind is relaxed.  You are not threatened by what others think.  Your self worth comes from within.  You are not afraid of losing or of admitting when you are wrong.  You are calm in familiar and unfamiliar situations.  You are free from negative self talk.  You have a nice positive internal energy that radiates into the world.  

Being relaxed and confident is a goal toward tai chi improvement.  All of these qualities of a confident and relaxed body and mind are important when practicing push hands. Adding push hands to your practice will inform you on how well you’re doing with becoming ever more relaxed and confident in your form work, and in your body and mind.  Not only will your tai chi become better but life outside of tai chi (is there such a thing?) will also change for the better.

Tai chi is a path to a healthier, happier, relaxed and confident way of being and living life.  

~Jill