Tai chi is an old Chinese, reminiscent of slow dance, unusual form of movement that has made a career in the Western world. It combines martial arts and he alth gymnastics, it can be a way to relax and calm the mind, a kind of meditation. What else can tai chi be, I decided to check for myself. I chose Master Nam's school in Warsaw, which has been teaching Europeans for over 30 years. My first teacher is Bożena Futoma, Nama's wife.

Tai chi philosophy

No rush, I gently tread the floor of the gymnasium. I'm learning to walk. "Heel, toe, heel … We put our feet down carefully, as if searching for hard ground in a boggy swamp." Slowly, deliberately, without fear. Feet are our foundation, they give a sense of security - says Bożena.

Each session lasting more than an hour begins with exercises that relax and stretch the joints. There are elements of yoga in it. Then we practice single sequences of the popular, calming tai chi yang style. At first, everything is wrong for me. I have difficulty coordinating the movements of my arms and legs. After a month, I can do a piece of the form relatively smoothly, and when I leave the class, I feel relaxed and relaxed. I come to trainings more and more often. During the breaks, I admire the advanced group with admiration. Its participants look as if they were dancing in a trance. They move slowly, smoothly and softly, but at the same time firmly and decisively. There is some dignity and a calm self-confidence in them. I watch Bożena's movements.

- I have been training for quite a long time, 12 years - explains my teacher when we talk, sipping green tea. - Tai chi gave me peace, it helped me control my emotions. Exercise builds a physical and mental sense of security. Every move serves this purpose. The very position of tai chi is as stable as a foundation. Thanks to it, we tame and disarm our fears, we get rid of stress. Therefore, it can be said that tai chi is a way of life.

It is also an art of self-defense, but the fighting gestures are intentionally camouflaged. The point is not to put your mind on a fight, because then we can subconsciously look for confrontation. Tai chi teaches that "soft" wins over "hard", which means that a movement performed with full relaxation and concentration has a greater force than that resulting from tension and aggression. It also means that we can overcome it with peace of mindanger.

Tai chi here and now, or mindfulness training

- After a while, I started to notice more elements from the world around me. My perspective and awareness have broadened - continues Bożena. - That's how it works. The mind becomes clearer, we learn to concentrate on one thing. We begin to live here and now - in the present, not the past or the future. We "taste" life more. Man begins to notice himself, he "hears" his body. Tai chi is a gradual process of self-awareness, a kind of self-psychoanalysis.

We change imperceptibly, until at some point we suddenly notice that: we are less nervous, we smile more often, our features soften, and our friends say with amazement "How have you changed" - adds Bożena Futoma.

I am only at the beginning of the road, but I already know that if I have enough patience, I will learn to relax my body and control my emotions, which will be beneficial for my body. I also know that tai chi is not a miracle recipe for he alth. It will not protect anyone against diseases, but it guarantees (provided that you exercise systematically) an increase in immunity. People who exercise better cope with ailments and heal faster. There is evidence of this. Korean scientists studied a group of old people (over 78 years of age). People practicing tai chi improved their physical fitness, sense of balance, mobility and flexibility of the joints, and the number of falls was reduced by as much as half.

This will be useful to you

Tai chi has its roots in Chinese martial arts (kung fu). However, while in the past this form of movement was practiced primarily to increase self-defense ability, today exercises are mainly used to increase physical fitness and resistance of the body and to achieve mental balance. It is a system of easy movements that do not require muscle tension and can be performed by everyone, regardless of age and condition. There are many forms of tai chi - more and less dynamic, you can choose the form that suits you. Learning should be conducted by an experienced instructor. Later, you can do the exercises yourself at home.

Tai chi teaches you to see inner harmony

American research has shown that tai chi masters have a 50% increase in immunity and … do not suffer from Alzheimer's disease!

- Learning long sequences of movements greatly activates the brain, explains Nam. - It's a much better mental gymnastics than solving charades and crosswords! And everyone can train, regardless of age and condition, even people with reduced mobility, because tai chi works even whenwe only practice in the imagination.

Nature is in constant motion and change - this is also how man should act, constantly strengthening himself. Water in motion does not deteriorate - a person who imitates flowing water spends a long life in good he alth. [from the Chinese "Book of Changes"]

We are half Chinese, half Vietnamese, 57 years old. It looks less. I have been training since the age of eight. He came to Poland to study in 1975. In the 1980s he left for France and founded his own school of martial arts. Ten years ago, he won a gold medal in the tai chi chuan style at the European Championships in Paris. Then he returned to Poland.

With the curiosity typical of Europeans, I try to find out what tai chi is. - It cannot be expressed in words - explains the master. - You have to feel it yourself. It's like I want to describe to you a taste you don't know! Europeans have to name everything, they want to subjugate nature. Asians try to live in harmony with it. Us is controlled by the right side of the brain, which is responsible for intuition. Rather left to you - more analytical. However, the conflict between the hemispheres takes place in all of us. Tai chi harmonizes both sides, teaches how to reconcile the forces that govern nature: yin and yang, i.e. female and male. Movement in tai chi is moving forward and backward. Forward - yang, backward - yin. Breathing is very important: inhale - yang, exhale - yin. One correctly performed movement creates a perfect balance between these two forces.

Tai chi teaches you how to be more flexible

He teaches us differently than most Eastern masters. It doesn't talk about chi energy or meridians (channels through which energy flows). He also doesn't like being called a master.

- The teacher is only there to watch over the student, to show him the main direction, not to change his way of life. You must always be yourself, have your own opinion, and not become attached to the master. Each of us has something to offer to others - he argues. - And when it comes to "chi" - it's just a word that no one in the West understands! So I consciously do not use it.

Tai chi grew out of Taoism for a thousand years. "This philosophy does not fit the pace of life of a modern European," says Nam. - So I try to translate everything into structures that you understand. After all, "chi" is nothing more than information from the brain, just chemistry. Chemical processes "control" nature - the functioning of the human body, but also thinking, feeling and emotions. The trick is to be able to guide them. It's possible.

We can learn to regulate our blood pressure, heart rate, pulse. People usuallyeither they do everything quickly or they are idle. They exist between the two states. Tai chi combines fast with slow. When we exercise, we move and breathe according to an internal rhythm, and the movement affects our mind. It's simple: you're on a busy street - your brain is working fast too, it's tense; you walk slowly in the park - the mind calms down and relaxes.

Tai chi teaches you how to slow down, how to train your mind to become flexible, like a rubber ball. A person who lives nervously has a mind as hard as a glass. It is easy to hurt someone like that, just as you can easily break a glass. The ball returns to its shape, it is indestructible.

- I show students how not to get angry, how not to get angry, and how not to suffer when someone upsets us. There is a way, but you have to react quickly before the information that our senses transmit to us from the brain to the adrenal glands, explains Nam. - In tai chi one works subconsciously. But it takes a long and systematic training. If you get into practice, then no one will hurt you … as long as you don't let yourself be hurt, 'the teacher assures and ends with a smile:' Tai chi is the way to happiness. This is the highest peak that we can climb.

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