Tai Chi, Chi Kung and anxiety

Can Tai Chi and Chi Kung practice help us better manage stress and anxiety?

We probably know that one of the benefits of practicing Tai Chi or Chi Kung is that they help us with stress and anxiety. But it is necessary to understand that, regardless of the exercises proposed or the type of slow movements we do, the best management of stress and anxiety comes from aware of ourselves during the practice. This awareness is developed through internalizing the exercises of Tai Chi and Chi Kung, that guides us, thanks to the natural intelligence of the human being, towards balance and well-being at all times and under any circumstances.

Our natural tendency to balance free us from states in which anxiety takes control of the mind, leading us to states of intense suffering. Without the need for an intermediation directed by our intellect, this awareness transform attitudes, emotions and thoughts that have previously completely colored our mental screen, becoming harmful to our health.

As it is said in ancient papers, through practice we could transform ‘poisons into honey’.

Anxiety is not the problem

Nowadays, anxiety is talked about as if it were necessarily a disorder, but it is not. The anxious attitude and the emotions that trigger the states of anxiety they are not the problem in themselves. Problems occur when these emotions overwhelm us too often and in situations where they are not necessary or have any practical sense. It would not even be logical to talk about excessive anxiety levels. There are situations in which we release high levels of cortisol into blood, which prepares us to attack or flee. This release of cortisol is accompanied by a psychological and physical condition, which is sometimes necessary to get out of difficult situations unscathed.

Yin and Yang balance

Under Yin and Yang philosophical principle, yin forces (feminine, darkness, passivity and earth) and yang forces (masculine, light, activity and heaven) tend to balance each other. The extreme of a yin force gives way to the beginning of a yang force, and vice versa. Thus, from the point of view of this principle, all phenomena occur during the development and retreat of these two forces, without any living or inert being on Earth, including humans, having full control over them.

These forces, although they may seem antagonistic, are complementary, and through taking awareness of our center (Dan Tien) which can be developed through practice, we become observers of the action of these forces within us. From this internal awareness we can also observe the effect of yin and yang forces outside us and learn to relate better to them.

This gradually leads us towards what is known in the Taoist tradition as the middle path or Tao, which concept is difficult to explain or describe with words, but includes us within a whole encompassing these two forces, and giving them a sense of harmony.

The meaning of intention in practice

Strengthening our intention is one of the main internal resources that we can develop with Tai Chi and Chi Kung exercises. Learning to lead intention in one direction or another, mobilizing our energy from consciousness through our body, and repeatedly observing the beneficial effects that internal movement has on a psycho-emotional and physical level, helps us to tone the ‘muscle’ of intention. Strengthened intention through the practice of Tai Chi and Chi Kung helps us to adequately manage states of stress and anxiety.

This attention to our inner space reconnects in a simple and natural way the neural pathways of well-being, and allows us to develop an attitude of balance. Paying attention to the sensations that occur during the different types of movement: expansion and contraction from the center, the circulation of Qi and the effects that have on us, allows us to transform the practice into an experience at all levels (spiritual, psychological and physical).

It also allows us to detect our midline, the psycho-emotional state that keeps us at peace. Thanks to an intention strengthened by practice, we cultivate the attitude of returning to this state when we feel far from it.