Empowerment through Tai Chi Walking Meditation
© Jennie S. Bev
To a not-so-active person like myself, whose profession mainly involves thinking and conveying thoughts in various media without having to make demanding physical maneuvers, practicing Tai Chi exercises gives me physical endurance and both psychological and emotional health. When it's time to catch a tight dateline, I usually work more than 12 hours a day without feeling completely drained the next morning. Thanks to Tai Chi Chuan.
Every day, I perform the so-called "walking meditation." Well, I don't literally walking around meditating. Rather, I keep my daily rhythm of breathing the Tai Chi Chuan-style. Mindfully, I sink in my breaths into the dantian (about 1-2 inches below the belly button). This happens automatically after I practice Tai Chi Chuan for about six months.
Keeping daily rhythm of breathing this way helps me endure the stressful events and periods. In fact, one time, it helped me out from a depression. If you're wondering how to breathe automatically the Tai Chi-way, it's easy.
First, don't think. Just act it out. Remember, practicing Tai Chi Chuan, especially the walking meditation, doesn't require much intellectual comprehension. It should be intuitive and instinctive.
Second, simply breathe in the usual way. The only difference is, you need to sink the inhaled oxygen into the dantian (about 1-2 inches below the belly button). This is known as the source of chi, the source of life energy.
Third, do it intuitively (don't think!) and instinctively. Feel the oxygen being distributed to the cells mindfully. Yet, again, don't think about that. Just feel and do the breathing.
Fourth, do whatever you need to do. Don't stop your activities just to exercise the walking meditation. If you do, it won't be called a "walking" meditation, right? Perform your normal activities and see how your breathing pattern adjusts.
Once you are totally "in tuned" with the Tai Chi breathing pattern, you'll notice an increased endurance against stress. This, automatically, leads you to a healthier psychological and emotional well-being.
Try the above steps and find out for yourself. Though there is no specific formula to accelerate your learning curve, it is important to keep a balanced life and a humble core value. From my experiences, my I can master most of the basic exercises by keeping myself on the ground and leading a balanced lifestyle.
