Relax Under Pressure
As you know, taiji encourages relaxing in response to incoming pressure and force. It strongly discourages the idea of meeting force with force. Instead, it asks us to relax and meet aggression with softness and listening. This should not be mistaken for inaction or surrender, rather we learn to remain calm while things swirl around us so that we can approach things from a place of quietness, understanding and great internal power.
One of the hardest things to convey is the quality of relaxing which does not mean that one allows muscles to go slack and our minds to become slothful. The “relaxing” that we are seeking is more along the lines of observant and non-investment, being relaxed but ready to respond as needed - a quiet readiness.
This is extremely hard to learn. Our nature is to tense up when confronted; our fear response rises and we arm to protect ourselves. The practice of push hands can help us overcome this instinct and gives us time to practice meeting aggression with softness, to allow our fears to become calmer, i.e. to teach us to respond from a calmer place in the midst of chaos and threat. Needless to say, this is very difficult and often people resort to power to defend. But with time, a practitioner can learn to trust themselves a bit more and become less afraid.
The trained relaxed mind is applicable in situations outside of push hands. Like so much of taiji, the true benefit is derived by applying it to our everyday lives and situations, our interactions with others and our mental state as we approach difficulties around us.
Recently, I’ve been reading “There Are No Secrets” by Wolfe Lowenthal, a student of Professor Cheng Man-Ch’ing. I was struck by a few passages and some insights that might be useful. I thought I’d share it here for those who might find it interesting as well.
Lowenthal writes:
Professor [Chen Man-ch’ing] used to say, “As you grow more relaxed, you become less afraid. As you become less afraid you grow more relaxed.” This is the nature of progress.
Any event in the world will produce suffering if one reacts to it fearfully, but if one relaxes and dissolves the fear reaction, one can meet even great catastrophes with equanimity.
….
We misunderstand the process. “Relax,” he said, but there was something else, something not directly teachable. An idea that comes not to the mind, but to the “heart-mind,” or the soul.
People desperately pursue relaxation and the release from stress: Illicit dugs, alcohol, caffeine, sex, television. There are a vast number of escapes, all predicated on the belief that life is too hard and that it demands relief. We think of relaxation as a way out, a retreat from the pain and pressure of our lives.
True relaxation embraces life, does not declare “time out” from it. We must accept the life that is a difficult proposition, but like the soldier who “mastered” death, or Prosessor who saw each day as a gift, we can relax and find joy in life’s challenges.
After years of pushing hands, I am still guilty of meeting force with force. People “get my goat” all the time and my eagerness to prove that I’m capable means I’m knocking my own self off center to prove my point.
But, the last few weeks has had me searching my experiences for ways to relax in the face of oncoming chaos. Drawing on my taiji experience, I’m attempting to calm my mental muscles, and wait, ready to respond as needed. But, none-the-less, ‘relaxed’.
When you practice, remember it’s not just your body you are strengthening, it’s your internal world as well.