How to practise Taijiquan to attain super health and longevity #2

Zeng:
This is very interesting and important. Please elaborate.

Wu:
Of course, I am not prepared to give you a comprehensive presentation, but I will try to cover the most salient points.

The first thing to note is the tenet in physiology that a proper functioning of the nervous system, with the cerebral cortex as its core, is a prerequsite to the proper functioning of the different systems of the human body. Compare this with the cardinal principle of Taijiquan that the art depends primarily on the mind, not on the muscles, and that one must cultivate the subtle directing power of the mind and maintain an ever tranquil state, free from all outside disturbances and vexations. This cultivation is realized through an ever higher coordination not only of such body parts as the hands, eyes, feet and the torso, but also a harmony of the external body movements with the innerchanges of the mind-intent, the respiration and the movement of the "qi." Such a state is termed in Taijiquan: "The upper and lower in correspondence; the internal and the external in unison."

To practise or seek such a high coordination for 30-60 minutes everyday is very beneficial to the nervous system and therefore to the whole body, in two ways. Firstly, it will greatly improve the efficiency of the directing power of the mind through exciting, by concentration, a certain part of the cerebral cortex. Secondly, according to the phenomenon of negative inducement in physiology, increasing the excitation of one part of the cerebral cortex will necessarily lessen the excitation in the others, thus suppressing excitation focuses due to chronic illness or prolonged stress and vexation, and so encouraging recovery.


Zeng:
That certainly is an important basic concept to be kept in mind. Are there any recent findings relevant to the directing power of out mind?

Wu:
Recent findings in physiology, brain science and other related fields have further revealed that not only voluntary muscles are under the control of our mind; by focusing attention on certain parts of one's body and thinking in a certain way, after a short period of training with the help of the technique and instrumentation called "bio-feedback", certain inner activities can be controlled or aroused by one's mind as well (the same kind of phenomenon had long been noticed and made use of by Taijiquan masters hundreds of years ago in China.) One successful experiment made in recent years in the West is the raising or lowering of fingertip temperature by the will of mind, which actually is the result of the opening or closing of the capillaries brought about by one's focused thinking. This offers a scientific interpretation of the slight distension and wriggling often sensed by many Taijiquan practicians in their fingertips palm centres together with a visible reddening of these parts when their minds are focused on them. Sometimes one can also feel a stream of warmth running through a certain part of his body when performing a certain movement, that could well be the widening of some bigger blood vessels, allowing more blood to circulate through.

According to the Taijiquan classics, that something running inside is "qi". And according to the traditional Chinese medical theory, "qi" is something innate in man from birth, something invisible but vital to life. The free moving of "qi" clears the way for the blood to circulate freely, though "qi" circulates through its own network of main and collateral channels, along which the acupuncture points are distributed. The existence of "qi" had never been scientifically identified until a few years ago, when some Chinese scientists with the help of modern instruments, succeeded in finding out first in 1978 that the "qi" emitted from the palm centre of a "qigong" master is a kind of far infrared radiation adjustable by the rise and fall of low frequency electrical waves. Then in 1979, it was again demonstrated that the "qi" emitted from the fingertips of another "qigong" master was a current of fine particles with electrical charge. Although a comprehensive understanding of "qi" is still a subject for further research, and whether the sense of warmth and wriggling is the result of a freer movement of blood, or of "qi" or of both remains to be ascertained scientifically, practising Taijiquan in the way of "letting the mind direct the qi; and letting the "qi" circulate through the body" will greatly improve your health and lead to longevity. If not practised in this manner, you will still receive some benefits, but not much more than spending the same amount of time walking or doing calisthenics.

Zeng:
You talk on the relationship between the most salubrious effect and the most characteristic feature of Taijiquan is a point of great interest to me. Now, what would you rate as next in importance and ingenuity?

Wu:
There are a few more points that I would like to mention, but not neccessarily in the order of their relative importance and ingenuity. One special feature that almost everyone can see when watching a good Taijiquan performance or practice is the slow, pliable, even, rounded and continuously flowing movements done smoothly without apparent effort from the beginning to the end of a complete set which generally lasts about 5-8 minutes for the shortest simplified version and 20-40 minutes for the longer ones. When it comes to an end, one usually finds light perspiration on the performer's skin even in cold weather, but without finding him out of breath.