Summer is the most active time of year. The extended light and warm weather often shoos us outside and like Bees we flit between activities and social engagements. But nestled within summer is the idea of rest.
Summer vacation means spending time sitting, relaxing, and doing nothing so that when we return to work and our daily schedule, we have recharged. Resting balances activity in the swing of the yin and yang of living.
I haven’t put together a blog essay in quite some time because I have been relaxing from what has been a hectic but also productive year. In between taking my daughter to audition for music conservatories, I finished up Cultivating Qi: The Roots of Energy, Vitality, and Spirit, which is scheduled to be published in August by Singing Dragon, a renowned publishers of books on T’ai Chi, Meditation, and Traditional Chinese Medicine. I must admit that I have felt an occasional twinge of regret for being so remiss, and yet. . .
We need to remind ourselves that down time is necessary. To recharge. To reinvigorate the self. To rediscover our purpose.
One of the central principles of T’ai Chi and Chi Kung (or qigong) is Song—the state of the body and mind being at ease. The goal of these practices is to cultivate a relaxed body and mind which helps for overall health and well-being as well as informs the art of T’ai Chi as an internal martial art.
For many of us, we only allow ourselves to experience the wonders of “Song” during scheduled vacations, yet the real gift of the practices of T’ai Chi and Qigong is how it teaches us to relax during all of our activities and throughout all the parts of our daily life. As the T’ai Chi classics say, we use T’ai Chi to find “Stillness in Motion.” Or, in other words, it teaches us to find the calm center in the midst of the swirl of living.
With wishes for a relaxing summer,
David Clippinger
Director, Still Mountain T’ai Chi and Chi Kung