Spiritual movement

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 26/04/2010 (5731 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The connection between body and spirit is often overlooked in this fast-paced, technology-driven world.

Tracing its roots to ancient China, tai chi is a simple, efficient, internal martial art that allows the mind to be free as the body engages in a flow of movements.

As the participants move in unison, there arises an invisible but very palpable surge of energy.

In Brandon, there are two main tai chi clubs — Taoist and Zen.

This art was introduced in Canada by a Chinese monk, Master Moy, and he founded the Taoist Tai Chi Society in 1970.

One local practitioner of the Taoist style, Kerry Clermont, has six years of tai chi under her belt.

She loves how she feels and how energized she is now.

This Eastern discipline was something that had long intrigued her, but it wasn’t until she was concerned about her memory that she sought out the Taoist classes.

"I was feeling like I wasn’t able to remember things. I’d heard that the set was 108 moves and I thought this would be good mental stimulation," she said. "It turned into way much more than that."

Within the first three months, she found a decrease in tension in her back and shoulders and she has since realized that tai chi has contributed to heightened body awareness and clarity of thought.

"We had a facilitator at a workshop talk about how tai chi is always new because as we learn it and as our body adjusts to the moves, we become more flexible and it is an ongoing brain stimulation. Something that is new is always creating new (neural) pathways in the brain, so we don’t stay in a rut," she said. "This carries us into our later years, with new pathways still being created."

Though the 108 motions, representing the 36 celestial deities and the 72 terrestrial deities of ancient China, are repeated with each practice, they are never identical because they always feel different in the body.

It may seem that the slowly executed movements might not accomplish very much, but the results are quite noticeable.

In fact, every muscle group is challenged by this pattern of motions.

As well, as the body becomes more flexible, it allows the practitioner to complete the movements more fully with greater definition and depth.

"I’m more relaxed and that allows my body to move into the positions differently than it did before. It’s almost like fine tuning," Clermont said. "It’s a lifelong process."

Of course, results vary from individual to individual, but studies have determined that tai chi does indeed have healthful benefits (see sidebar below).

With 19 years of experience under his belt, Murray Smith is one of Brandon’s most accomplished tai chi practitioners.

He and his wife founded both local tai chi groups, but they have focused on the Zen style for several years.

"My wife had been teaching yoga and we decided to try tai chi. It is kind of a moving yoga," he said. "The foundation is the same, but we enjoyed that movement more."

The link between the two is the spiritual component when practitioners become more accomplished.

Both yoga and tai chi prepare the body for meditation.

"We do it every day," Smith said of his and his wife’s dedication to tai chi. "It’s not monotonous because you’re working at so many different levels. We’re always working on something. It’s a progression."

Trips to China with Master Ng helped him overcome a plateau in his development.

In fact, the couple has just returned from their fifth visit there.

"We practise in the park in Guangzhou. Everybody is out practising and doing their exercises because they live in such small apartments," he said. "Then, to practise with a master, it’s utterly amazing."

He believes that tai chi, by getting the chi or the body’s energy moving, is beneficial for all that ails us.

"They’ve been doing this for a thousand years and one of the medical findings was that people who do exercises in a group have a higher level of serotonin — the good feeling brain chemical," Smith said. "That’s the same with tai chi. That’s why we do it groups, in rows."

The Taoist Tai Chi Club meets Mondays and Wednesdays at 9:15 a.m. as well as at 7 p.m. and Saturdays at 10 a.m. at St. Matthew’s Cathedral church hall.

For more information, call 726-8332.

The Zen Tai Chi Club meets Mondays and Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m. as well as Saturdays at 9 a.m. in the South End Community Centre.

For more information, call Smith at 726-8220.