Sometimes we practice Tai Chi limiting ourselves solely to learning forms. While this is a necessary part, understanding and practicing conscious movement through the fundamental principles behind the forms is the ingredient without which we will not be able to experience all health benefits and personal development

The key is to direct our attention to our inner space while we move. This, which may seem easy at first, is not at all. Because usually, when we want to move or reach for an object, we direct our attention outside of ourselves, onto the object. And if there are no objects and we're just moving, we focus all our attention on the part of the body we want to move, taking all our attention away from the other parts.

This means that we are not aware of the path of movement from our center of gravity (Dan-Tian) to the parts of the body we're moving. Our center is where our strength, balance, and unified movement of our entire body come from.

It would seem that focusing on this inner path might limit the practical use that can be given to Tai Chi. Most situations in which we need to move occur outside of ourselves. But we must not forget that every intention to move originates within us, even if we express it outwardly. This intention determines the direction, intensity, and quality of the energy we invest in a given movement. Therefore, the more conscious we are of the path of energy within us, the more powerfully it will be expressed externally.

Tai Chi and intention

Through our intention, we can direct precise, rapid, fluid, elastic, and nourishing movements for our tissues and organs. Or they can be clumsy, slow, tense, rigid, and ultimately harmful to our bodily structure. Clarity of intention behaves in this case like the gate in a dam. The wider the gate (clearer the intention), the greater the flow of water (energy) that will flow out of the dam. Therefore, the greater the flow of water, the more forcefully it will be able to pull objects in its path (our body and other external objects).

Through the conscious practice of the fundamental principles of Tai Chi, we increase our awareness of the movements of energy within us. This way, we can learn to channel and direct it more efficiently in any action we are performing.

From this perspective, the importance of practicing Tai Chi lies not so much in learning a system of techniques that can be applied in martial arts or in our everyday lives, but in internalizing a new awareness of movement.

A consciousness in which we attend with greater presence occurs externally, thanks to presence to our inner space. Through experience, we better understand the subtle details of our inner space. This allows us to appropriately monitor and manage the most important movements that occur repeatedly throughout our lives. We refer to breathing, blood circulation, emotions, and the tension and relaxation of muscles, tissues, and organs. In this way, we achieve a more balanced inner space, and by extension, we transfer this balance to the actions we express externally.