Relaxation in T'ai Chi, by Ting Kuo-Piao

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To be relaxed means to release tension, but not to let go of substance.  There is a quality in-between stiff and loose which is stable, yet flexible, that has fullness without being rigid, that is calm in motion yet conveys a vigorous presence. For lack of an equivalent English word, I refer to this concept as flowing within firmness, firmness within flowing. Flowing and firmness do not gain support from a rigid skeletal posture or strength from muscular tension. Rather, their integrity comes from expansion. Expansion is the ability to spread out in all directions. This is the key to relaxing without collapsing.

Reference:  "Understanding Flowing and Firmness," by Ting Kuo-Piao.

This is the thing about shoong:  It does not mean that we make our bodies flaccid (e.g., like a wet noodle, as some say).  There are forces in nature - for example, gravitational and atomic - that are essential for keeping things intact or in place.  Rather, we use whatever force we may need to sit down, stand up, and move about, and shoong requires us to let go of any unnecessary tension.

At one point, I learned about “extending in all directions.”  Shoong is about nurturing, circulating and extending chi.

Ting Kuo-Piao speaks to the yin-yang of relaxation:  hard within soft, soft within hard.

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Michael Garofalo culled information, quotes and references on relaxation - Relaxed - and I am grateful for his effort.  Over several days in July 2011, I meditated over each one of these quotes and made notes in my T'ai Chi journal:

Not just to be really, really, but truly to be completely and absolutely shoong.  I would like to imagine that in the future, I can be completely impervious to some people's craziness and shenanigans, by being absolutely shoong.

Going forward I will post regularly on relaxation, with more quotes and notes.