Tai Chi Chuan Classical Yang Style. Jwing-Ming Yang

      Since ancient times, taijiquan has been recognized as one of the most effective ways of maintaining health. However, this treasure was not revealed to the general Chinese public until the beginning of the 20th century. Since then, taijiquan has become widely accepted as the most popular martial qigong exercise for health. This section will compare taijiquan with other martial qigong, to provide an idea of its relative effectiveness for improving health and preventing disease.

      First, you should recognize that taijiquan is a qigong practice, even though it was originally created for self-defense purposes. Second, taijiquan was created based on the theory of yin and yang, the most basic natural concept in the Dao, or “natural way.” It is because of this that the balance of the yin and yang remains the most important goal of all practice. It is also because of this that the body’s healthy condition, which depends on the balance of yin and yang, can be attained. Third, taijiquan was created in the Daoist monastery, where the final goal of training was spiritual enlightenment. Because of this, the meaning of life was constantly pondered, and a peaceful, harmonious environment was created, both externally and internally. The product of this environment, taijiquan, is a calm and peaceful mind and a relaxed, healthy body. These elements are the critical keys to health both mentally and physically.

      Because taijiquan is a qigong training, it was developed following the natural cultivation and training procedures of qigong—also known as the five regulations (wu tiao). Here, we will summarize how this training path can be beneficial for human health.

      Regulating the Body (Tiao Shen). The first step in learning taijiquan, other than learning to do the movements accurately, is the emphasis on physical relaxation. In order to obtain a deep level of relaxation, you must first relax your mind. Moreover, you must feel the balance of your body and maintain your physical and mental centers. In order to reach this goal, you must practice until you have strengthened and firmed your legs and torso. This key to maintaining your spiritual center is to first stabilize your mental and physical centers.

      Once you have reached the goal of relaxation, you have achieved the most basic condition for your health. If you can relax deeply in your body, the blood and qi circulation can flow smoothly. This will make cell replacement in the body occur without error. Maintaining cell replacement in the body is the key to health and longevity

      Regulating the Breathing (Tiao Xi). Once you can relax physically, then you must pay attention to your breathing and come to a full appreciation of how your body absorbs oxygen and expels carbon dioxide smoothly and profoundly. Every cell in the body requires oxygen. If you can take in oxygen smoothly and abundantly, you will provide a crucial ingredient for the creation of new cells in your body. In addition, through deep breathing, you can help to eliminate dead cells from your body through exhalation (carbon dioxide). The carbon in our exhalation originates from two sources: one is from the biochemical combustion of the food we eat, which is primarily composed of carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen, and oxygen. The other source is from our body’s own decay and replenishment. Every cell in our body has a lifetime (e.g., a skin cell is 28 days). Amazingly, a trillion (10¹²) cells die in our body each day.¹⁵ When these cells die, the body must eliminate them and their constituent carbon molecules. Each of our exhalations is a part of this ongoing process.

      In order to increase your lung capacity and slow down your breathing, it is necessary to practice either your qigong or taijiquan with an emphasis on the breath. No matter whether you use regular or reverse abdominal breathing, it is necessary to use as much of the lungs’ volume as possible without tensing up. Notice that if you inhale to the full capacity of your lungs, you will feel a tightness right under your sternum and possibly into your back and abdomen. You want to avoid this feeling of tightness while still using as much of your lungs’ capacity as possible. A good method of practicing is to simply focus on your breathing, filling the lungs from the bottom to the top, and emptying them from the top to the bottom. Remember to avoid tension and to let the breath flow in and out in a controlled, smooth, soft, and uniform manner.

      In addition, the breathing helps to prepare you for the next stage of regulating the mind. The breath is a pathway linking the external and the internal universes, and you can use it to guide yourself to this deeper level of existence. The speed, depth, and quality of your breathing will have a direct impact on your taiji, your mental and emotional states, and your physical and energetic bodies. Therefore, in taijiquan practice, you must learn how to breathe deeply and correctly.

      Regulating the Mind (Tiao Xin). The mind is the general who directs the body’s battle against sickness. If the command post is disordered and the general is confused, naturally the battle will be lost. Remember, in Chinese culture the mind is viewed as having two distinct aspects. The first is the yi, or wisdom mind. The wisdom mind is responsible for the intellect and the higher mental functions, but it is somewhat sterile. The second aspect of the mind is the xin, or emotional mind. The emotional mind encompasses all emotional states and passions. It is the originator of desire and aggression and from it flows all actions and intentions manifested to the physical world. However, it is also selfish and fearful, and if not properly regulated by the wisdom mind, it will lead you to destructive purposes and possibly even self-destruction. Regulating the mind means learning how to calm down your emotional mind and strengthen your wisdom mind. Throughout this process, you must constantly conquer yourself and ponder the meaning of your life. The goal of regulating the mind is to lead you into a deeply profound, peaceful, and harmonious state. Once you are in this state, you can use your whole mind to lead the qi and circulate it through the entire body. From this training, you build clear connections between the mind, body, and qi.

      Regulating the Qi (Tiao Qi). As mentioned previously, if you have a peaceful mind, a relaxed body, and correct breathing, you can lead the qi to anyplace in your body. For a martial artist, the first step is to lead the qi to the limbs to energize the muscles there for defensive purposes. The result of this is the production of strong internal power called jin.

      For a person who is training only for health, the mind can be used to circulate the qi in the body through Small Circulation (Xiao Zhou Tian) and Grand Circulation (Da Zhou Tian) meditation practice. If you are interested in knowing more about jin and qi circulation, you should refer to additional books and videos published by YMAA.

      Regulating the Spirit (Tiao Shen). The final stage of taijiquan practice is regulating the spirit and strengthening the spiritual center. In this training, you use your mind to lead the qi though the thrusting vessel (chong mai), that is, the spinal cord to the brain, energizing it and opening the third eye for enlightenment. Since this subject is very profound and of interest only to the most advanced taiji practitioners, it will not be explored further in this work.

      From the above, you can appreciate the reasons why taijiquan can reward you with a healthy body, both mentally (yin) and physically (yang). If you practice for only a few minutes every day, you can bring your mind to a peaceful and harmonious level and open your perception to an entire new world of living energy.

1-6. What is Taijiquan?

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