You can’t learn Tai Chi from a good teacher for very long without hearing it is ‘an internal art’¹. And the next question is: “What does that mean?”

In some ways it is quite literal. We are striving to regain or expand our awareness of what we are experiencing internally as well as externally. We focus on what is going on inside our skin. How are we carrying ourselves? Are we breathing naturally? What muscles are relaxed or tense and should they be so? Do we have good alignment of our skeleton to minimize stress and effort?

But the principles of Tai Chi are much deeper than that. They are not limited to the external physicality of how we appear, nor do they end at awareness and improvement of our internal physical organization. Are we aware of our ‘internal state of mind’? Do we know what motivates us, what scares us, repels us, attracts us? Can we relax enough to acknowledge and accept who we are? Are we willing to explore and embrace gradual change in order to become ‘a better version of ourselves’? Building upon that, can we dissolve the supposed barrier between ‘mind’ and ‘body’ and accept ourselves as a unified whole?

Tai Chi is a deep and complex gift, a journey of self-discovery that, when we invest enough, we appreciate more and more. Sharing and exploring the many dimensions of the art with others can be profoundly rewarding, sparking ideas and understandings we would not find on our own, especially under the guidance of a good teacher. And Sensing Hands / Push Hands, which is a core part of the art, requires collaboration with others.

Yet, at it’s core, Tai Chi is a deeply personal art, a journey of internal discovery we must largely undertake by ourselves, even when working with others. And this means your path in learning will not be exactly the same as mine or anyone else’s. Don’t shy from sharing the art with others, but don’t be afraid to embrace finding your own path to a deeper understanding and the personal growth that comes from it.

1 For example, "Do not seek the external, seek the internal, the ch'i."^† (Cheng Tzu's Thirteen Treatises on T'ai Chi Ch'uan; page 114)
† If you have questions about Chinese terms used, you may find About Chinese Terms helpful.