Beginners Mind

An old Tai Chi teacher of mine used to say that each time I practice the form I should approach it as if it was the first time I had ever done it.

At the time I thought that was just silly. What am I meant to do? Forget it all and re-learn it each time?! What is the point in that? Surely to improve at Tai Chi I have to draw on the previous experiences and practice. After all that is how we LEARN isn't it?!

Then I got it...

"Beginners mind" means approaching the practice of Tai Chi fresh each time. When we do something we so often compare it to past experiences or future expectations. We rarely focus on what we are doing right now.

"Beginners mind" is about letting go of all the past times you have gone through the form, letting go of the good experiences that you want to emulate and the bad times you want to avoid, about the aims and goals you have with you practice and just being in the now, focusing 100% on the current practice; your posture, your breath, your movement, the tiny changes in balance, the flow through from one posture to the next...

That is enough to think about without filling your brain with memories and expectations!

Tai Chi is really about living in the now.

Matt
www.thetaichiguy.co.uk
Tai Chi and Chi Kung Classes in Cardiff and Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales, UK

Tags: tai chi, beginners mind, practicing the form