Week 4 Manual

Form: Grasp Birds Tail - tell the name and that we are doing the Right ward off, the Roll Back and Press.

Demo: that "ward off" is any upward motion in Tai chi, Demo on roll back.

Philosophy: "Stacking the Paper"- The value of each Tai chi session or practise is minimal. The benefits of each practice is small, and little difference if you practise or you don't.. Its benefit is paper thin. However, just like stacking the papers together, after some time, the benefits are substantial.

Assignment: Practise the form - 3 days out of the coming week.

Further understanding:
Q: Why do we move so slowly in Tai chi? It's very boring to me.
A: We move slowly in Tai chi, and it appears to bore you. Its not that the Tai chi steps and postures are boring. No, that's not it. You need to understand the nature of your mind.

Your mind loves to travel, and wander, and hates to stay still. Where does it wander to? Everywhere. More accurately, it wanders into the future - and day run day dreams; and it wanders into the Past - going over what had already transpired, and perhaps changing a senario or two. It goes over and worries over the one hundred and one maddening things that you have to do, in order to survive, and in order to be happy.

Your mind resists the Now. It wants to run away from the Present. Now, when we do Tai chi slowly, we are training the mind to focus on the incremental movements, the millimeter-by-millimeter movements; in our thouroghly relaxed way. The Tai chi game is that we do not move abruptly and quickly from the start of a movement to the end of a movement. No, we are interested in the journey of the hand (or waist or foot) as it moves from the start to the end of a posture. We are not concerned with just the destination of the hand.

The Tai chi postures are upright, hence the body is in harmony and perfectly poised.

What happens when you witness and are keenly aware of each and every part of our body movement described? Your mind is still, and you experience quiet, and stillness, and peace. This is the calming effect of being aware.