Tai Chi Principle - Péng

篷 - Péng (pronounced pung) - awning, canopy, tent.

extending support to all directions,
stretching outward,
drawing inward,
strength, everywhere.

篷 péng combined with 松 sōng (to loosen and relax) represent the two fundamental skills or principles to bring into one's practice of tai chi.

Tai Chi Principle – Péng

A. Zuhri

Like the parasol, with extended ribs supporting the tension of the soft paper or fabric so the whole structure can support itself, so too, the whole body must extend with a relaxed sense of even tension, so we can support ourselves.

You could also think about the just right tension of a well tuned guitar string, piano, or Chinese zither/Guzheng. Not too tight, not too slack, just right.

Here's a beautiful performance of the Guzheng for you to enjoy as you ponder the qualities of péng in your tai chi form:

If you have a friend or relative you think might like this blog post please to share it with them.

We look forward to seeing you at one of our classes or workshops.

Philip and Helen

What Is Tai Chi?

What comes to mind when you first think about T‘ai Chi? You may think of Chinese people rising early in the morning to take part in slow, meditative movements to ease themselves into the day. T‘ai chi, often written tai chi, as we know it today has come on a long journey from its origins. Despite a number of theories to tai chi's origins no one theory has yet managed to pin down this elusive art.

 Outdoor Tai Chi Practise in Beijing's Temple of Heaven.

Image by Craig Nagy, Vancouver, Canada. Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.
Written in full we ought to say T‘ai Chi Ch‘uan which loosely translated into English means Supreme Ultimate Boxing or Source Fist. This meaning offers us a clue to tai chi's origins within the self-defense and martial arts of China. We would more commonly describe those fighting arts as Kung-Fu in the west.

Nowadays we can best describe tai chi as an art and an exercise. It appears from a growing body of research that regular practise of tai chi offers people some important health benefits. In particular, improved balance, flexibility, fitness, strength, lowering blood pressure, general heart health, mental health and symptoms associated with stroke, fibromyalgia, Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease.

Tai chi emphasises the integration of mind with body. This integration marks tai chi as a unique form of exercise along with another associated exercise practice from China referred to as Qigong (chee gung), older still, known as Daoyin, meaning to guide and pull. To get a feel for this integration you practise tai chi movements, or forms, slowly as one smooth flowing movement with a deliberate focus on those movements.

Daoyin tu - chart for leading and guiding people in exercise.

This image from Wellcome Images, a website operated by Wellcome Trust, a global charitable foundation based in the United Kingdom. Refer to Wellcome blog post (archive). Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.

‘This is a reconstruction of a 'Guiding and Pulling Chart' excavated from the Mawangdui Tomb 3 (sealed in 168BC) in the former kingdom of Changsha. The original is in the Hunan Provincial Museum, Changsha, China.’

Tai chi truly represents a whole body form of exercise as you coordinate your hands and arms with the controlled transfer of your weight from one stance to another. In other words to perform tai chi well from start to finish you must engage all parts of the body. The hands, arms, legs and feet all move in circular and spiral patterns with turns of the torso via the waist, neck and head. 

A saying associated with the practise of tai chi – 

“ When the wind blows the whole tree moves

.

Regular practise of a tai chi form can strengthen and mobilize the joints and muscles, improve physical fitness and induce a deep sense of mental relaxation. The slow and low-impact nature of tai chi make it ideal for people recovering from illness or injury and those living with chronic health conditions.

Not that people who live with long term health conditions should only practise tai chi for health. In China, fit and healthy people practise tai chi to cultivate and sustain their health. Anyone can benefit from a little tai chi practise each day.

People performing Tai Chi Chuan at the Temple of Heaven Park in Beijing, China.

Image by © BrokenSphere / Wikimedia Commons. Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
Our tai chi programmes differs from the traditional approach to learning tai chi where you had learn and perfect many complicated sequences of movements over many years. Some tai chi forms go on for well over a hundred moves with complex and difficult movements to perform. We encourage participants to enjoy the tai chi movements within a safe and pain free range of mobility. Participants can take a seat for some or even all of the session. A key message in our classes goes – If it hurts, stop doing it.

The Harvard Medical School's Osher Center for Integrative Medicine has found that people can enjoy all the health benefits of tai chi from very simple movement sequences derived from the traditional long form tai chi styles. For example the first part of our Tai Chi Foundations programme takes no longer than three to four minutes to complete.

So, there you go, a snap shot description of tai chi. Tai chi has much more to offer though. Through regular practise you begin to realise the depth of meaning within the principles that underpin tai chi. The movements truly do embody a cultural and philosophical way. 

If that has peaked your interest then please do get in touch. If you think someone you know, a member of your family or a close friend might benefit from tai chi please do share this page.

We look forward to seeing you.

Helen & Phil

Tai Chi Principles

Tai Chi Principles

Sung and Jing

Sung (sometimes spelt Song), pronounced ‘soong’, represents the most important principle to build into your practice of tai chi and qigong.

Sung has many meanings, such as to relax, to loosen, to open, to release tension. Sung, counter-intuitively describes an active state of relaxation. Not as some people think to relax like a ‘sack of potatoes’.

In the classes I teach I often use an analogy from archery of the perfectly tensioned bow. Not too slack. Not too tight. Just right. Full of potential energy just waiting for the archer to draw and release. Which brings us to a second, yet equally important principle, that pairs nicely with sung, called Jing.

Movement with Stillness

Jing, like sung, has many meanings, such as stillness, motionless, silent, quiet, peaceful, calm and tranquil. When applied to your practice of tai chi Jing describes a quiet mind. An anonymous Tang Dynasty Daoist classic called the Qingjing Jing – The Classic on Clarity and Tranquility –  describes the quality of jing as a mind free from worries and naturally at ease. One can also think about jing as mindfulness or being mindful.

One could say the mind must also have sung. We could also say, that without jing, a tranquil mind, we'll find it difficult to feel sung throughout our body. Each principle supports and relates to the other, like the balance of yin and yang, which together form the familiar diagram of tai chi.

Through our practice of the tai chi form, we begin to realise the meanings behind well known tai chi sayings, such as, ‘movement with stillness’ and ‘when the wind blows the whole tree moves’.

Sung - Tai Chi

Sung and Jing represent very real felt qualities. It can take a little time to get a feel for them. At first you may get a glimpse, just for a moment, as you practice your tai chi form. With some patient practice each day you'll find your feel for sung and jing grow quite naturally like the unfolding of a beautiful blossom.

What do sung and jing feel like? Well, remember the archer and bow analogy? As you get familiar with the movements of the form you can begin to release tension from your mind and in your body. As you find and release all those tensions you will feel your muscles, tendons and ligaments, all the joints in your body, begin to open, loosen and relax. You will have started to develop sung – active relaxation. Further more, as you practice your tai chi form each day you'll find that quality of sung carry into your day to day activities also.

Chen - Tai Chi

Many people find a tai chi class without ever hearing about, let alone getting the opportunity to practice the principles that underpin tai chi, specially, sung and jing. Without these principles, one's tai chi becomes just another set of physical movements or form of thoughtless exercise like so many that people do day to day.

With jing and sung present you'll realise how they relate to, and act as the key to unlock the door to the other tai chi principles: Chen - meaning to sink, to feel heavy, rooted to the earth; Huo - meaning suppleness, agility, elasticity and resilience; the controlled transfer of our weight from one leg to another; and the rhythm for the slow, continuous, flowing movements we aim for when we practice tai chi.

Huo - Tai Chi

As you get a feel for these principles you'll find the health benefits really begin to kick in. You'll feel more  at ease and alert, calm and focused, with more energy for your day to day tasks, have greater physical and mental strength, stability and balance. With your continued practise you feel a real sense of happiness, contentment and feeling uplifted.

Tai Chi - Feels Good

Tai chi ought to feel good. If you don't get to practise it you begin to miss it. Finding a good tai chi class can really help keep you motivated as you learn the movements and give you a great sense of camaraderie. A good tai chi class will have a happy and relaxed atmosphere with lots of laughter present. If you find a class like that you'll know the principles of Sung and Jing are present too.

If you have a friend who you think would benefit from coming to one of our classes please do share this page as a link on social media or email.

We look forward to seeing you : )