Dealing with ( excessive) tension in Tai Chi

This article is not based on clinical trials but rather personal experience as well as reports from patients and students.

The word "relax" in Tai Chi class very often causes the wrong perception. When the students hear the word "relax", their body becomes toneless like a wet noodle. "Relaxation" has some negative taste like total lack of awareness. In Tai Chi or any other type of martial arts, focus without overconcentration is most important. The Chinese word is"song", but students are confused enough with the teachings, so we better don't torture them with Chinese words.

One of my colleagues, Tai Chi and karate master Steve Rowe, suggested the phrase:" Get rid of excessive tension". I like that. We do need a certain tension or tone to maintain our posture and balance, otherwise our body will be just a heap of soft pudding on the ground.

How can we apply our practice in our social and work environment?

Life can be very stressful in a fast-paced world. Many people come to a Tai Chi class hoping they could reduce their stress and tension. But first we need to look for the reasons as to why we are tense. It is genetically determined that one person is more tense and thus more prone to stress than the other.

Basicly there are two types of personalities:

1. The A-type of person, primarily determined by the sympathetic nervous system with a high adrenaline activity. These people are more agressive and the negative forms tend to lead to uncontrolled anger and tension. The positive traits of these people are ambitious approach of everything they do and a tendency to perfectionism

2. The B-type of person is more determined by the parasympathetic system and lower adrenaline activity. These people are more laid-back and not easily provoked

A-type people are mostly very professional and have reached high achievements in their lives. Tai Chi Chuan has a high impact on both the sympathetic and para-sympathetic system. An easy-to-understand explanation would be the relaxing components of the slow, flowing movements and the deep abdominal breathing enhances the para-sympathetic system. The more active parts like kicks, punches and fa jing(explosive whole-body force exertion) supports the sympathetic system

Let us look at the slow movements as the relaxing yin components and the active fa jing(force exertion)parts as the yang . This means that there would always be the yin within the yang and vice versa. Tension within relaxation, relaxation within tension is one method which is also practised in the Jacobsen relaxation techniques.

There are two different types of stress:

1.Positive stress or Eu-stress. One example is the type of stress we experience on completing a difficult task. When we master this task, we experience an immediate reward which makes us feel that the stress was worth going through. Eu-stress may become necessary for us to meet the challenges in life.
2.Negative stress or dis-stress. Stress which is destructive like abuse by family members or job with high effort and low reward.


Which group of people is more likely to experience negative stress or dis-stress ?

1. When an A-type of person works in a stressful environment with virtually very unhealthy, small and one-sided movements, tension is hard to control. Dentists and those who work with the computer have an unreasonably high exposure to this type of movements.

2. People who have been traumatized in their childhood and low stress-tolerance

3. Those with low stress tolerance who are experiencing loss of loved ones or constant abuse


Which home remedies may possibly help?

Good Tai Chi chuan needs a relaxed mind and body to execute the forms correctly and develop martial skills. Many students who live and work in an unfavourable environment are tense before they come to class.

Massage treatment and full bath with essential etheric oils are so-called passive stress management interventions. During these treatments, one can practise mental clarity in a light meditative mental state. It is a good opportunity to cleanse the thoughts from everyday problems and focus on breathing or how pleasant the experience is. Remember this positive experience and the feeling you get afterwards. Continue to remember it and transfer to physical TAi Chi practice later on.


Additional practice outside direct Tai Chi practice:

As my teacher Chenxiaowang put in his numerous seminars:" Tai Chi is abstract and not concrete. One should not fully concentrate because it will cause tension and too much obsession on just one aspect. The mind should therefore consist of one part considering the form, the other part should be free and enjoying the practice." Practising this type of mindset in the bathtub, at the doctor's surgery, in the plane and bus or even in front of the computer will support direct Tai Chi practise

The mind is the general who works out a strategy and gives orders, the body is the army who carries them out.When the mind is tense the body will be tense up. However, when the body is tense due to movements against natural physiology, the mind will receive it back. Exactly like a bad general who is the head of a good army or a good general whose orders are not understood by an incapable army.

Zhan zhuang or standing meditation, posture holding, reeling silk qi gong, sitting meditation in the plane, train, at the computer or when sitting in a doctor's surgery are very good means to achieve mental clarity. Brisk and nordic walking is considered to be the best sport to train posture, balance and internal connectivity. Chen Yingjun recommends walking to most of his students.