Tai Chi is the graceful, health-giving art form practiced daily by millions of Chinese, young and old alike. It is at the same time a martial art and a technique of meditation. The form has a slow-motion, dance-like quality that hides its true combat origins.
 Through the gradual building of one’s inner energy, known as chi, one discovers how soft truly does overcome hard and how in combat, an ounce of energy can defeat a thousand pounds of force. Tai Chi is known as an internal art because of its emphasis on internal chi power, rather than on external physical power. Tai Chi is referred to as “the grand ultimate” fighting form.
The four Components of Tai Chi are: Physical Exercise, Martial Art, Moving Meditation, Healing Art; Understanding all the components will help you strengthen your life.
Meditation is often one of the hardest parts of Tai Chi for beginning students to want to learn. This is because Tai chi requires your senses to be aware of the flow of your chi’s or energies. This might be difficult initially, but students soon get over this.
Meditation is one of the most important aspects of practicing Tai Chi. Tai Chi has an attitude of uncovering the “stillness within motion”, and it is only through meditation that we can realize this. Meditation also helps bring out the grace and calmness that Tai chi is known for.
The idea is fully experience whatever it is that happens. Each person will have their own, unique range of experiences so it is best not to expect anything specific, but remember to allow and observe what it is that does happen.
The energy flow within us can be a wonderful thing to allow and observe. The beginning student should learn not to fear any sensations, thoughts, or feelings experienced in meditation. By doing this there is no limit to what we can learn about ourselves, why we think or act certain ways, the depth to which our body-mind-spirit is connected, and our relationship to life.
Standing meditation is the most basic posture in Qi Gong, and Tai Chi is a form of Qi Gong Standing is then followed by some warm-up Qi Gong exercises. These exercises build up our qi and harmonize the meridians. Finally we do moving Tai Chi to flow the abundance of qi throughout our bodies like the wind and water. The Taoist definition of health is “the smooth, harmonious, abundant, and appropriate flow of qi”.
