Relaxation of the whole body means the conscious relaxation of all the joints, and this organically links up all parts of the body in a better way. This does not mean softness. It requires a lot of practice in order to understand this point thoroughly. Relaxation also means the "stretching" of the limbs, which gives you a feeling of heaviness. (This feeling of heaviness or stiffness is a concrete reflection of strength.) This feeling is neither a feeling of softness nor stiffness, but somewhere in between. It should not be confined to a specific part, but involves the whole body. It is like molten iron under high temperature. So relaxation "dissolves" stiff strength in very much the same way. Stiff strength, also called "clumsy strength," undergoes a qualitative change after thousands of times of "dissolution" exercises. Just like iron which can be turned into steel, so "clumsy strength" can be turned into force, and relaxation is a means of gradually converting it into force. Our ancestors put it well: "Conscious relaxation will unconsciously produce force." There is truth in this statement.From Yang Style Taijiquan, by Yang Zhenduo (emphasis added)
What does this mean: What is it like to be molten iron? Perhaps soft, yet hard and enduring, at the same time.
In light of my studies on E = mc², I am interested in things that speak to producing energy, force, power etc.
*
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.
No comments:
Post a Comment