Your "Tai Chi Daily Three" for Health and Long Life

Dear Friend,

Please accept my apologies for the delay in posting this article. It’s been a bit over 5 months since my last post. I just got “caught up” in business, family, and other endeavors.

If you have "opted in" to my e-mail list  through my free download page on Total Tai Chi,
( http://www.totaltaichi.com/Tai%20Chi%20Master's%20Secret%20Strategy%20Audio%20Download.htm )  I am changing my mailing list service company. You will still receive my emails from alltaiji@aol.com.

If at any time you want to unsubscribe, you can simply email me at alltaiji@aol.com with the subject heading “unsubscribe” and your name will be removed from the list. Of course, I hope you stay on the list. I will be making the blogposts more frequent and will be developing some new products (ebooks and audios) which will explain how to make the Tai Chi way shine in your life.

Needless to say, we totally respect your privacy. And we will only send you emails which we genuinely believe will be of interest and value to you.

And now—on to today’s post!

Tai Chi is so much more than the practice of a set of esoteric movements for “relaxation” or a low level of fitness.

The deeper practice of Tai Chi is the adoption of a “Tai Chi Lifestyle,” which incorporates the Principles of Tai Chi into numerous areas of your life. Now this does NOT mean taking on any special belief system, religion, or so forth.

The practice of the “Tai Chi Lifestyle” is simply applying common sense principles--which have an effective history of over 2000 years—to enhance your health, vitality, and mental clarity for a lifetime.

The Tai Chi Lifestyle is elegantly summed up in Chapter One of The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Medicine,  one of the foundation texts of classical Chinese medicine.

This is what the Yellow Emperor’s “Heavenly Teacher” taught him as a way to create great longevity:

“If you are tranquilly content and your mind is empty, the True Chi will
accompany you always. If your Original vital Spirit is preserved within,
from where might illness come?

“Those who know Tao pattern themselves according to Yin and Yang
and live in harmony with the motions of Heaven and Earth. They
carefully regulate eating and drinking; they arise and retire at the
appropriate hour; they do not carelessly overtax their energies.
Thus their external form and internal spirit can be fully nurtured
And they can fulfill their allotted span of years.”


The Commentary says, “If you follow these principles your body will be strong and your spirit clear, old age will be late in coming and Spring will seem to be everlasting.”

Well, all that sounds very elegant and inspiring on a philosophical level.

Now—how can you APPLY this in daily life/

The answer is the “Tai Chi Daily Three”-- Meditation, Healthy Eating, and Movement which circulates and builds QI.

Future blogposts will discuss Meditation and Movement in more detail.

For a thorough description of Healthy Eating according to Tai Chi principles, just click on

http://www.totaltaichi.com/Master_Key_to_Healthy_Eating.htm


Right now, here are the principles of Meditation for the Tai Chi Lifestyle:

Your body is simply a dense configuration of energy at various frequencies of vibration. Each organ vibrates at its own set of frequencies, in health and in disease. And your body as a whole, has its overall Core Frequency. Maintaining harmony and coherence in this Core Frequency is the main purpose of Meditation, and as such is your most important daily practice for health and energy.

Many books and teachers nowadays teach meditation as a kind of “feel good” relaxation practice, a way to “zone out” for a while and get away from the stresses of life.

The Taoist (Tai Chi) approach is a bit different; it is a way to focus the mind, quiet the Spirit, and build QI at the same time. That way, the Yin function of Meditation quiets the mind and relaxes the Spirit; while the mental focus and breath (Yang function) cultivate a strong QI field and build your Core Frequency.

Here are the basics of Meditation, and we will expand on these in the next blogpost.

1) BODY. You need a stable posture. Zoning out on a couch won’t do it! You require a stable and aligned body “frame” for effective Meditation. That means the crown of your head should line up with the base of your spine; your shoulders should be in line with your hips, and your ears with your shoulders.

You don’t need to sit on the floor ”yogi style” unless you are flexible enough and enjoy sitting that way. A stable posture on a chair with your feet flat on the floor is quite OK for most people. If you do sit on the floor, make sure you sit on a firm meditation cushion , so your hips can be slightly higher than your knees.

Just remember—you need to feel STABLE and COMFORTABLE, as in the illustrations below:

2) BREATH. The second critical requirement for effective, QI-building Meditation is breath. Your breath should be altogether natural and relaxed-- absolutely NO straining of the breath. Just feel and experience your natural breathing patterns. Often your breath may feel a bit tense and uneven at first, but will soon become deeper and smoother. The old meditation texts say your breath should be “slow, long, deep, and fine,” like a baby sleeping in complete tranquility. Obviously, this is a natural process and you should NEVER strain to become “relaxed.” That’s pretty obvious, isn’t it?

3) MIND The third essential to Meditation is a focus for your mind. There are  scores if not hundreds of ways to focus the mind, but the simplest is just to count your breaths—from one to ten, and then repeat. If you miss a count, simply start again at one. The best way is to start meditating for 10 minutes or so, and increase the minutes over time. There is no need to spend hours meditating, unless you are a Zen monk (nun) or a mountain Taoist. For most people a CONSISTENT meditation schedule of 30 minutes a day will bring amazing results for your energy level and peace of mind.

There will be a few more specifics about Meditation in the next blogpost.

Meanwhile, just get started with Meditation, the first of the  "Tai Chi Daily Three"—and enjoy the results.

And don’t forget to check out the e-book on Healthy Eating as well.


http://www.totaltaichi.com/Master_Key_to_Healthy_Eating.htm



Till next time,



paul gallagher

What Is a Tai Chi Master?

Have you ever wondered what a Tai Chi master really is? It’s a fascinating question—and needless to say, there is no definitive answer.

Still, if you are at all interested in Tai Chi, or a “Tai Chi Master’s Strategy of Life,” some of these observations may be helpful for you to consider.

The most common ideas on what a Tai Chi master really is usually center around the following characteristics:

The Tai Chi Master is:


1) someone who performs the Tai Chi Forms perfectly, with elegance, focus, precision, and power.

2) someone who knows the entire Tai Chi System to a high level. **

3) someone who is an excellent fighter and can overcome any adversary.

4) someone who combines all the above qualities.

All of these qualities would indeed define a high-level Tai Chi master. But I would suggest there is something even more, perhaps a more elusive and intangible quality.

The following story might begin to illustrate just what this might be…

Some years ago, I was taking cooking lessons with a renowned Japanese chef in the Boston area. One of my fellow students was a young Japanese who was quite proficient in Goju Ryu Karate-do. He was visiting the United States for a while to learn English and to experience American life.

One evening, we went to a local Karate exhibition offered by one of the schools in the city. As the demonstration began, the head of the school came onstage and was addressed as “Master_______.” I have forgotten his name, since this happened several decades ago. He was an American, in his late 20’s or early 30’s. He began showing some Karate kata (solo formal exercises), and I was very impressed by his power, speed, and skill.

My Japanese friend, however, seemed to be getting more and more agitated. When there was a pause in the demonstrations, I asked my Japanese friend what was disturbing him so much. He replied in limited English, “Cannot be master; cannot be master…”

I had no idea what he was talking about.

He went on to explain as best he could that the youthful Karate teacher was “too young” to be a master. He said that a “master” had to be at least sixty years old. I was stunned to hear this, because I had been very impressed by the teacher’s demonstration.

A week or two later, my Japanese friend and I visited a scholar who was fluent in both Japanese and English. Remembering my experience at the Karate demonstration, I asked my friend and the scholar WHY a young American could not be a “master.”

The scholar replied that it had nothing to do with the teacher’s nationality, but that he was “too young.” As our conversation continued, the scholar told me that in the Far East, a “master” was assumed to be someone who had a wide experience in life and skills in many areas, and that accumulating this level of skill and life-experience required many decades. A “master” had to have more than technical martial arts skills.

A few years after that, when I myself began studying Karate, my teacher said something which seemed to confirm what the scholar had said earlier. “Don’t make the dojo (training hall) your world; make the world your dojo.” The force and depth of that comment hit me hard, and I have not forgotten it to this day. From that moment, I personally vowed to “make the world my dojo.”

Later still, when I began studying Tai Chi, I came to realize that each of my teachers seemed to have a quality and charisma which transcended mere skill in the Forms.

After many years of observing my Tai Chi teachers, and masters in other areas, I arrived at a general idea of what the term “master” means to me.

I came to realize that a true Master is someone who can help students in any area of life, from the skills of the art itself to health, life-attitude, and even spirituality. Many Tai Chi masters of the past were also highly skilled in Chinese medicine and herbs. Some of them could do Qi healing. Others were experts in military strategy.

A modern example comes to mind--the late Grandmaster Cheng Man Ch’ing, who was a “Master of the Five Excellences.” He was a high-level master of Tai Chi, Chinese medicine, painting, calligraphy, and even wei qi, or Chinese “chess,” (similar to the game of GO in Japan).

Master T.T. Liang was another Tai Chi adept who excelled in painting and calligraphy, and was taking university courses in English literature in his mid 80’s!

Many Tai Chi masters excelled in Chinese medicine. Traditionally, if a student fell ill, the well-rounded Tai Chi master could offer remedies for the illness; if a student sustained an injury while training, the master could heal that injury. When a student needed advice on some pressing life problem, the Master could offer wise counsel, based on years of observation and experience.

(I was beginning to comprehend why the Japanese scholar years earlier had said that a “master” needed to be a mature and seasoned individual).

A master also has “kung fu.” In America, we think of “kung fu” as a form of martial art, or a set of forms or techniques. Actually, “kung fu” really means something more like “inner development of skill refined after years of study.” And ‘kung fu” is not restricted to martial arts.

A supremely skilled Chinese physician who can deftly place a needle with perfect precision on an acupuncture point, or who can create an elegant and effective herbal formula, has kung fu in medicine. A superb cook has kung fu in the kitchen; and an expert calligrapher or painter has kung fu with the brush.

Developing profound kung fu requires years, if not decades.

I have personally come to believe that a Tai Chi Master should also understand Yin/Yang on many levels, since Yin and Yang and their transmutations are the very essence of Tai Chi. So a Tai Chi master could relate the Universal Principle of Yin/Yang to nutrition, medicine, meditation, and even social events and personal economy.

Most often, a well-rounded master is also a highly skilled teacher. And there is truly an exalted kung fu in the art of teaching! A real master is always compassionate and caring for students, even though the teaching and discipline may be strict. There is absolutely no excuse for a master harming or exploiting a student in any way.

A master is also supremely perceptive and can unfailingly perceive precisely what a student needs to progress. If a student’s best interest demands that s/he go on to a different teacher, the master is detached and can “let go” when the student is ready to move on.

Many students are surprised to learn that the genuine masters are still the MOST TEACHABLE of students. No real master ever pretends to know it all, since the very process of achieving mastery reveals that there is always a far horizon where there is more learning yet to attain.

I am reminded of a story told to me by my martial arts brother, Sifu Ray Hayward.

He was studying with the late B.P. Chan in New York City when T.T. Liang stopped in for a visit. After exchanging a few pleasantries, Chan promptly asked Liang to observe his Form and offer corrections. Some of his students were shocked. Chan, after all, was a master of five entire “systems” of Chinese martial arts, each “system” being roughly equivalent to a Ph.D. in the West.

After Liang had left, Chan’s students demanded to know why in the world he, an eminent master in his own right, would ask another master for “corrections.” Chan replied, “What kind of teacher would I be if I failed to try to perfect myself? The best teacher must also be the most humble student.”

That attitude is the hallmark of a true master, and an interesting contrast to the young student of meager experience who comes to a teacher and demands to learn the “good stuff,” or advanced material, claiming that he already “knows” all about the basics. A master in any art is ALWAYS practicing and refining the “basics.”

In the end, I believe that studying with a master is essential to acquire true depth in Tai Chi. It is possible to learn forms and techniques from a less skilled teacher, or even from a video presentation. But there is another dimension altogether which one senses in the energy orbit around a true master. The great Zen Master Shunryu Suzuki characterized it well when he called it a “transmission from warm hand to warm hand.” There is really no substitute.

Another of my teachers, in a totally different area of study, once told me “When you enter a room, you either brighten the room or you dim the room.” In my experience, I have found that a genuine master always brightens the room.

**  To learn more about the Tai Chi System, you can check out my book Drawing Silk
at http://www.totaltaichi.com/Drawing%20Silk--Tai%20Chi%20Masters'%20Secrets.htm

Tai Chi and the Three Teachings

Some years ago I was visiting with a professor of Chinese history at a prestigious college and asked him if there was “one best way” to understand the essence of Chinese philosophy. He unhesitatingly replied that there were TWO ways. One was to “Eat an  excellent Chinese meal” and the other was to “Study Tai Chi.”

The first came from a wonderful book by Lin Yutang, a Chinese scholar in the early 20th century who wrote in impeccable English because of his Oxford education. When asked to summarize the Chinese approach to life, he answered, “All of Chinese philosophy can be reduced to one good meal.”

Lin wrote a wonderful book entitled The Importance of Living. Although its style is a bit antiquated by modern standards, it is well worth the read, and to be perused slowly, like smoking a fine cigar or enjoying a cup of truly excellent tea.

Other than Lin’s advice, the best way to learn Chinese “philosophy” is by studying Tai Chi. Of course this is NOT about learning a bunch of abstract philosophical “head-trips.” Chinese philosophy has always been practically oriented, centered on how best to live and enjoy life.

And since many elements of the practical application of Chinese philosophy have endured for several millennia (notwithstanding the tremendous changes to China in the past century), it just might be interesting to take a look…

There are three main “paths” or teachings in China—Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism. Although many Westerners would call the latter two “religions,” they are not religions in the commonly accepted sense. They are more like ways of life, each effective in its own area. In the West it would be unthinkable for someone to be an Orthodox Jew, a devout Catholic, and a Presbyterian at the same time. Yet it is not at all unusual for a traditional Chinese to be a Confucian in regard to family matters, a Taoist in terms of overall life-attitude and health cultivation, and a Buddhist when it comes to the “afterlife.” Each of the teachings serves its own proper sphere.

The best example of the practical use of these Three Teachings came from my main teacher of Tai Chi, T.T. Liang


Master Liang often advised his students to be good “Confucians” until age 60—that is, get a good education, find a good career, have children and grandchildren, etc. Each successive step would be a big  “Raising of Rank.” During this time  it would also be necessary to practice health and QI development to form a foundation for later life. By establishing a good foundation of family, career, finances, and health, a student would have a good "root"  for the remainder of his/her life. Since most of Master Liang’s students of the early 1970’s were “hippies” and “seekers,” it was quite amusing seeing them reject his admonition to be good “Confucians!”

Then, Liang recommended being a “Taoist” from 60-80, emphasizing further cultivation of QI and Spirit for long life and the perfect health necessary to ENJOY the fruits of the first 60 years!  I remember a very touching incident which perfectly illustrated this maxim.  One Summer, Master Liang was teaching at an education center in New York State. He and his students were practicing in a pine grove; the air was fragrant with pine and soft white clouds drifted across the blue sky. A perfect day!

After they had finished a round of the Tai Chi Solo Form, there was a short respite. One of the students took advantage of the break to ask the Master why he still practiced at his advanced age (he was around 80 at the time). Liang looked surprised for just a moment, then replied that he practiced to make his life beautful! The student appeared a bit confused, so Liang went on to explain that he had experienced considerable toil and stress during the "Confucian" period of his life--and he needed to be in excellent health now to enjoy the fruits of his earlier labors. Tai Chi ensured that he could remain in perfect health, so he could now have the abundant energy and  alertness to enjoy his life to the fullest.

If he did not have his health, he said, his first 60 years would have been in vain. But now, he found every day beautiful.

Finally, after age 80, Liang recommended one become a “Buddhist,” that is--meditate frequently, and remember that in the end “Form is Emptiness; Emptiness is Form.” This way one could have a perfectly clear and calm mind, devoid of any stress or striving. As Liang once said to me—“In the end, nobody cares who’s who—all are dust!” And Liang seemed to perfectly exemplify each stage of the Three Teachings and passed away peacefully at age 102.

In Tai Chi practice there is a fascinating mix of the Three Teachings.

The Confucian aspect of the art lies with the teacher/student and student/student relationship. The teacher/student bond is based squarely upon Confucian norms of respect. There is a respect for the Founders of one’s Style and for the Founders of Tai Chi in general—that is a respect for the Lineage. There is a kind of vertical dimension, in which both teacher and student revere the Lineage of the past, and realize that someday they will be a part of that Lineage, and be esteemed in turn by their Tai Chi “descendents.”
In the horizontal dimension, students respect each other as members of the same family in a spirit of mutual help and support.

The “Taoist” aspect of Tai Chi is that many of the fundamental principles of the art—such as the mutual interplay of Yin and Yang, neutralizing aggressive Yang energy with Yin yielding, and a concept of a firm “root” which ensures one’s physical stability in the midst of movement and change—all have a distinctly Taoist flavor.

And , while there is no markedly Buddhist aspect to Tai Chi in terms of underlying philosophy, many of the Tai Chi movements probably derived from elements of Shaolin martial arts, since Shaolin anteceded Tai Chi, and formed much of the martial arts “repertoire” for many centuries in China.

In sum, going beyond the Tai Chi “Solo Form” and exercise routine and exploring the profound spiritual and philosophical roots of the art can be a rewarding study, with many positive ramifications in real-world everyday life.

For an entire audio seminar on Tai Chi and the Three Teachings, go to http://www.totaltaichi.com/  click on the left on “Audio CD’s” and find “The Secret Life of Tai Chi” audio program. It is currently available as CD’s, and will be available as an MP3 download early next year.

Also, we are continuing with our Tai Chi Master Key series, using the Tai Chi principle as a guide to many areas of life. The first in this series, an e-book on “The Tai Chi Master key to Healthy Eating” can be found at www.totaltaichi.com/Master_Key_to_Healthy_Eating.htm

Tai Chi and the Yin and Yang Calendars

For many years I have been fascinated by the “wider view of Tai Chi”---from simply a  form of exercise or martial art to actively using the Universal Principle of Yin and Yang for a more elegant understanding of Life as a whole.

Part of my quest was motivated by something I read in a book on Aikido by the great master Koichi Tohei. He said that the real meaning of Aikido (the "Way of Harmony with Chi," or Universal Energy) was to become so in tune with the Universal Energy that Nature would protect us at all times. What a huge and powerful idea! Following this suggestion, I set about to make part of my Tai Chi practice a study of cycles and patterns of energy in Nature.

One of the simplest ways to go about this is to study the Yin and Yang calendars of ancient China. The Yin was the lunar calendar; the Yang was the solar calendar. Right here we will not look at the solar calendar per se (as in the usual 365 ¼ day calendar), but the Solar Terms, which are 24 periods of the year, or “mini seasons,” sometimes called Qi-nodes.

These “mini seasons” last for approximately 15 days each, and each one of them indicates a subtle shift in the QI of that time period. Since they were developed in North China, they would correspond most accurately to the northern part of the United States. I have often been amazed at just how accurate they are, and they seem to be effective from Vermont to as far south as North Carolina. Of course, the opposite conditions would apply to the Southern Hemisphere.

Here is a summary of the Solar Terms:

The Chinese “Solar Terms”

(Reverse these for Southern Hemisphere)

Solar Terms with Month, Date, and Special Information

Lesser Cold Jan 5th

Greater Cold Jan 20th

Establishment of Spring QI   Feb 5th   Time to allow a slight adjustment away from Warm and Building foods

Rains and Waters   Feb 18th   Cool Spring rains

The Awakening of Insects   Mar 5th   Stirrings underground, as insects awaken from hibernation.

The Spring Equinox   Mar 20th   Quarter of Great Yang begins

Pure Brightness   Apr 5th   First signs of Spring light and warmth. Traditionally a day to celebrate early Spring and “Sweep the graves of the Ancestors”

Grain Rains   Apr 20th

Establishment of Summer QI   May 5th   You can begin to start taking cooler foods

Lesser Fullness of Grain   May 21st

Grain in The Ear   Jun 5th    Grains start to ripen

The Summer Solstice    Jun 21st    Apogee of Yang; start of Quarter of Lesser Yin

Lesser Heat     Jul 7th

Greater Heat     Jul 23rd     The hottest time of the year

Establishment of Autumn QI    Aug 7th    Time to make subtle changes away from cooling foods

The End of Summer Heat    Aug 23rd

White Dew    Sep 7th

The Autumn Equinox   Sep 22nd    Beginning of Quarter of Great Yin

Cold Dew    Oct 8th

Descent of Hoarfrost     Oct 23rd     First faint signs of cold weather

Establishment of Winter QI    Nov 7th    Time to begin using warming foods to prepare the body for Winter

Lesser Snow     Nov 22nd     Light snowfall in northern regions

Greater Snow    Dec 7th    It snows heavily

The Winter Solstice    Dec 22nd Apogee of Yin;    begins the Quarter of Lesser Yang

These Solar Terms are referenced in the Calendar section of my website at: 
http://www.totaltaichi.com/Total%20Taichi%20NEWS.HTM

I have found that making subtle adjustments to my lifestyle in each of the “establishment periods” of the seasons (Feb 5th, May 5th, August 7th and November 7th) allows my body to adjust to the COMING season. So on Feb 5th I can begin sleeping a bit less, and ever so slightly start to alter my eating patterns away from very warming to less warming foods. I might also start to dress just a bit lighter. The precise opposite would happen around Nov 7th, as I prepare for Winter.

(You can check out my e-book on the Tai Chi Way of Healthy Eating  for more specific details on how to adjust food through the Solar Terms). http://www.totaltaichi.com/Master_Key_to_Healthy_eating.htm
By following the Solar Terms, you will experience the ebb and flow of the Seasons in a very intimate way—and be comfortable and balanced in each Season.

The Yin Calendar of China is the lunar calendar. The lunar calendar varies each year, and generally starts on the second new moon after the Winter Solstice (about 97% of the time). The lunar calendar puts you in tune with the waning and waxing energy of the moon throughout the year and offers an interesting counterpoint to the Solar Terms. The lunar calendar is used in China to celebrate the major popular festivals, which have been observed for hundreds of years.

Here are a few of the festivals celebrated in the lunar calendar:

Needless to say, all references to “month” will be to the LUNAR month, starting with Chinese New Year on 2nd new moon after Winter Solstice.

MONTH ,  DAY   and   FESTIVAL MEANING

First Month 1st Day   New Year’s Day.       Pretty obvious---more profoundly a time to let go of the past year, forgive others and anticipate a bright new beginning

First Month 3rd Day   Birthday of Tsai Shen, the God of Wealth.        It’s always good to pay respects

First Month 15th Day   Lantern Festival, formally ends the New Year Period. First Full Moon of the New Year In some ways similar to Western festivals celebrating the newly born light

Fifth Day 5th Day   Dragon Boat Festival.    Time of maximum acceleration of Yang energy

Seventh Month 7th Day   “Seven/ Seven Day.”    Day for lovers—or for long-separated lovers to reunite

Seventh Month 15th Day   Festival of Ghosts, sometimes called the “Hungry Ghosts”   Note: This is a Full Moon day.    It was believed the spirits of the departed come to the earthly world to visit their families. Time to respect your departed ones…

Eighth Month 15th Day   “Mid-Autumn or Moon Festival.”    Celebration of the Moon and of the harvest. Generally corresponds to Western “Harvest Moon.”

Ninth Month 9th Day   “Nine/Nine Day.”    Time to enjoy the chrysanthemums and to climb a nearby mountain

Tenth Month 15th Day   “Respect the Water God.”    As the year nears its greatest Yin period

Twelfth Month 23rd Day   Chinese folk festival:  “Kitchen God Returns to Heaven.”   Kitchen God reports on the conduct of the family—somewhat like Santa Claus “who knows if you’ve been bad or good!”

I hope you have fun watching these lunar festival and Solar Term periods of the year. It is a wonderful way to experience the undulating wave-form of seasonal energy and to hone your understanding of Yin and Yang.

In line with this whole idea, I am developing the “Tai Chi Master Key Series”™ which will give you numerous practical applications of the Yin Yang principle of diverse areas of life—from Meditation to economics and home decorating with much in between.

The first publication in this series is the “Tai Chi Master Key to Healthy Eating” mentioned above. http://www.totaltaichi.com/Master_Key_to_Healthy_eating.htm

Till next time, enjoy the flow of the seasons and the rhythm of the Tao!

And don’t forget to give Thanks, as I thank all of you.

The Tai Chi Way to Healthy Eating

Tai Chi and healthy eating? At first you might ask, “What in the world does Tai Chi have to do with healthy eating?” Most people think of Tai Chi as nothing more than the slow-motion Solo Form exercise which they may have seen on TV, observed a friend practicing, or even done themselves.

But Tai Chi is actually a Principle of universal activity, and as such can be applied to numerous areas of life, as I described in my post “Yin, Yang, and Total Tai Chi” (Oct 5, 2009).

One of the most fascinating and functional uses of the Tai Chi principle of Yin and Yang is its application to “diet” and nutrition. Since the ancient Chinese physicians did not have modern scientific facts about foods, such as vitamin, mineral, or protein content, fat grams, etc., they relied instead on the energetic properties of foods to determine the best dietary regimens for their patients.

That is, they considered whether any given food was warming or cooling to the body, and whether it was building or cleansing. Their analysis of the energetic properties of foods was based on centuries of direct observation in real life. Overall, the goal was not so much curing of acute symptoms (which would be addressed by Acupuncture or Herbs), but the cultivation of long-term health, stamina, and longevity.

The ancient doctors had good reason to ensure the health of their clients, for in many periods of Chinese history they were not paid if their clients became ill! It was thought that a good doctor’s duty was to keep patients healthy and teach them the principles of healthy living. Moreover, the Chinese revered and respected old age. So if a doctor could keep clients healthy and cultivate their longevity, this would tremendously enhance the doctor’s own reputation.

The Chinese science of nutrition, called Yang Sheng “Nurturing of life” is very simple to understand and apply. First it analyzes an individual’s body and energy type and only then provides specific direction about whether a given individual requires warming or cooling; building or cleansing. There is no “one size fits all” type of dietary recommendation, since every person is absolutely unique.

I am always amazed by the many dietary fads and fancies we see touted every day which totally neglect to consider a person’s body and energetic type, as well as their age, amount of physical activity, and even spiritual aspiration. These were all taken into account in the ancient Chinese science of Yang Sheng—or the “Tai Chi Master Key to Healthy Eating,” using the Yin/Yang Principle.

If you would like to learn more about the Tai Chi way of healthy eating, it is all summarized in a 55 page E-book which distills my 30 plus years of research and observation.

You can find out all about it at:


www.totaltaichi.com/Master_Key_to_Healthy_Eating.htm


Meanwhile, we in the Northern Hemisphere have just gone into the period of Li Dong “Establishment of Winter QI.” So be sure to keep warm, avoid ice-cold drinks, sleep a bit more, and preserve your QI. (Below the Equator, you can do just the opposite).


© Copyright Paul B. Gallagher, all rights reserved

"Tai Chi Friends are Best Friends"

Today I am sitting in Virginia Beach, gazing at the gray, windy, drizzly sky, and the rough incoming waves. I remember the times some twenty years ago when I taught several Tai Chi seminars here at the invitation of my dear friend and colleague Almanzo Lamoureux, also known as Professor Lao Ma.

Professor Ma is a long-time Tai Chi Player, Master Teacher, and a very gifted Chinese calligrapher. More than that, he is one of my dearest friends. (He teaches in Chapel Hill, NC.)

Reflecting on old times and friendship caused me to recall a saying oft-repeated by my main Tai Chi teacher, T.T. Liang (1900-2002), “Tai Chi friends are best friends.” Those words were very meaningful to Master Liang because they had literally saved his life.

A high-ranking customs officer in Shanghai during the 1940’s, Master Liang’s duties put him into numerous life and death situations. In his later years, he loved to regale his students with his real-life tales of smugglers, drug lords, opium dens, and back street gun battles.

Sadly, part of that culture rubbed off on Liang, and in his early 40’s he found himself deathly ill from his indulgence in the “five vices.” (I will leave to your imagination just what those were). In fact, a doctor told him he had barely three months left to live.

Master Liang then decided to renounce his former lifestyle and begin a serious practice of Tai Chi. Even after his decision to live a “clean life,” however, gangsters would frequently appear at his home late at night, demanding that he come and join them in the gambling parlors. That made him realize he needed to find a completely new set of associates—and he did! They became his “Tai Chi friends.”

Following the Master’s example, I too developed a group of Tai Chi friends. The very best of them were my “old-time” students, who would come up to my mountain studio in Vermont to train each Saturday morning—even during the harsh Vermont winters--and drive up the steep snow-covered road for two miles from the state highway.

Of course they came on balmy Summer mornings as well.

What a wonderful energy we had training together! Practicing Tai Chi in a group of high-level players creates a powerful QI-field which is very evident to all. Everyone in the group contributes to and can draw from that field of bio-electrical energy. One of my teachers told me, “If you feel great, come to class to share your energy; if you feel down or depleted, come to class to absorb energy.” And that is exactly how the dynamic works.

Practicing Tai Chi with your “Tai Chi friends” creates a greatly magnified energy, which seems to grow geometrically in proportion to the number of people that are training together. In addition to the enhanced QI-field, there is an interesting resonance, as the players share rhythms of movement and breath.

Tai Chi friends can playfully “intimidate each other to advance,” another expression of Master Liang, as he recalled his Tai Chi friends of decades ago coming to take him to the park to practice, even when he didn’t feel like it. Once the gangsters had given up coming in the middle of the night to drag him off to the gambling dens, the Tai Chi friends started coming in the morning to take him to the park.

So—if you are now practicing Tai Chi, or if you plan to become a student of the art, just remember to find a group of Tai Chi friends. They will inspire you to practice, share their energy and insight with you—and they just might become your best friends!

Here is bit of news:

I am now working on the “Tai Chi Master Key Series™” which will use the Universal Principles of Yin and Yang to enlighten and simplify your approach to numerous areas of life. The “Tai Chi Master Key to Healthy Eating” is NOW available as a 55 page e-book.

You can learn more about it at

www.totaltaichi.com/master_key_to_healthy_eating.htm


Until then, enjoy the late Autumn (or early Spring), and cherish ALL of your friends, whether or not they are “Tai Chi friends.”

Next day at the beach; sunny skies and good humor...

(C)  Copyright Paul B Gallagher
all articles on this blog are copyrighted , with all rights reserved

The Tai Chi Art of "Effortless Action"

One of the more mysterious aspects of Taoism, and Tai Chi for that matter, is the idea of Wu Wei, usually translated as “Non-Action.” The Taoist is said to be someone who practices, “Non Action.” That conjures up the image of someone who lives a pretty uneventful, boring life—maybe meditating all day long, or simply sitting on a rock contemplating existence.

But the Taoists were in reality extremely dynamic people. They were tireless experimenters, observers of Nature, and in a sense the “scientists” of their time. They developed herbology, alchemy, martial arts, Qigong techniques, and meditation methods. The Taoists were anything but passive!

Above all, they were great observers, carefully studying the innate tendencies of things and the natural flow of energy. Wu Wei, far from implying passivity, actually means “not forcing,” or “not acting contrary to the natural tendencies of things, people, or events.” By acting WITH the flow rather than against it, the Taoists could produce big effects with little energy input.

There is a great illustration of this in Chapter Three of Lao Tse’s Tao Te Ching. The common translation in English usually runs something like this:

The Sage rules
By emptying their minds
Filling their bellies.
Weakening their wills,
And strengthening their bones.

So in the typical translation we get the image of a “ruler” who seems to make the people as doltish as possible, empty-headed and weak-willed. Of course in Taoist literature there are not the hard definitions of English, so the passage could also mean that this is the way a Taoist (Sage) rules him or herself. The translation above would correspond to the common way in which Wu Wei is interpreted as “non-action.”

But wait a minute…bearing in mind that 99% of translators of the Taoist writings into English were scholars who never had any actual Taoist TRAINING, let’s take a look at how a trained Taoist might have read those same four lines.

In Chinese, “mind” really means “heart-mind,” and the location of the “heart-mind” is in the solar plexus/heart area. So emptying the mind is really emptying energy from the solar plexus/heart area.

Did you ever feel stressed and “uptight?” Almost invariably, the tightness you felt would have been centered in your solar plexus area. A proliferation of chaotic thoughts will essentially BLOCK and congest energy in your heart/solar plexus area. So the Taoist, empties this area by releasing extraneous, stressful thoughts, usually through meditation.

The energy, however, is not just dissipated. Once the heart-mind is cleared, the energy and intention is directed toward the tan tian, or area just below the navel. The Taoist (or Tai Chi Player) releases excessive thought energy and instead gathers energy in their lower abdomen, the reservoir of QI, or bio-electrical vital energy.

So now, by applying just the first two lines of the poem above, the Taoist Tai Chi Player has succeeded in quieting stressful thoughts, releasing energy from a tense heart-solar plexus area, and gathering energy into its natural reservoir for abundant vitality and longer life.

Then the Taoist “weakens the will.” In Chinese medicine the Kidneys, or what we would call Adrenals provide energy for the “will.” So always trying to impose your will on events to make sure they turn out your way will deplete your Adrenals, and later your immune system. The Taoist Tai Chi Player “weakens the will” by practicing Wu Wei . S/he always works WITH the natural tendencies of people and events. So life seems to flow effortlessly, but everything gets handled with the greatest possible ease and effectiveness.

Finally, the Taoist Tai Chi Player “strengthens the bones.” In Chinese medicine, an accumulation of Kidney energy is said to enter the bones and make them resilient, but indestructible. The Tai Chi Chuan Classic says, “Let the Qi sink deeply and permeate the bones...” When the Qi has sunk to the bones, it is a sign that the entire body energy has been concentrated to its core for personal power and long life.

A quick recap for Taoist Tai Chi Players:


Release stressful, chaotic thoughts from your heart area;
Concentrate your intention on your lower abdomen to accumulate QI;
Lessen your “willfulness” in trying to control events
(Follow Wu Wei instead)
Relax all that formerly pent up energy deeply into your bones.


Who knows, you might even become a long-lived “Tai Chi Immortal!”