TaiChi, Chikung and habitability of inner space.

Nowadays more and more importance to the livability of buildings where we live or where we work is given.It is as undeniable the influence of the comfort in the space where we spend a large amount of time in our lives, leading our states of mind, health, relationships, productivity and overall quality of life. But, what about the habitability of our inner space? Are we dealing with what happens within us in a similar way as we do with our habitat? Discover how Taichi and Chikung can help us to take care of our inner space.

Our inner space

In the same way that we take care of the space external to us in which we live and we move daily, we take care of our own inner space for us to be habitable. However, are we spending such time to maintain this so intimate and close 'place', livable and cozy?

Feel comfortable in yourself

Feeling comfortable with ourselves could be associated with what we think about, but feeling comfortable in ourselves has more to do with the perceptions and sensations that occur within us. Perhaps we do not see a parallel between taking care of an outdoor space, like home or office, and taking care of our closest space, which is the space of our perception in close relationship with our body. This can happen because we think that unlike other spaces, we do not have total control that happens within us.

By contacting the invisible space where our emotions, sensations, thoughts and feelings live, self-aware, we can make a clearer perception of this inner space and how we can manage the movements that occur within, to stay in balance. Above all, it is the contact with the cognitive, psychological, emotional and behavioral that makes this internal space perceived as a comfortable place in which we feel comfortable, calm, confident or, on the contrary, we perceive it as a hostile, uncomfortable, agitated, unsafe or unstable space.

What does the perception we have of our interior space depend on?

Certain emotions and thoughts can display a variety of sensations in our body, covering a wide spectrum that can range from the very unpleasant to the very pleasant, comfortable or pleasurable. But are we ever able to fully witness this display of emotions and moods that occur daily within us? And therefore we learn to manage them, or on the contrary, are there psycho-emotional territories remaining unexplored for a long time?

We have probably already realized that trying to reject a certain thought or emotion presented does not prevent us from feeling its impact, whether on a physical, emotional, behavioral level, or all at the same time. When we try to reject a thought or emotion that is unpleasant to us but has already entered our consciousness, it is too late. The length of time these disturbing thoughts and emotions dwell is usually proportional to the strength with which we resist feeling them.

Where do the emotions that disturb us come from?

Many of these emotions come from beliefs installed from our past, from the education we have received through the feedback from our social environment, where perhaps we have learned that in order to adapt we had to reject them. This game of rejection, attraction, suffering, pleasure is part of our mental machinery and most of the time it is unconscious, which keeps us anchored to situations that we do not want to experience, but that in some way it is impossible for us to avoid.

This lack of contact, familiarity and acceptance with what happens inside, usually make us to develop rational mechanisms to be able to allow ourselves for long years to remain apparently outside of these internal spaces, which we prefer to avoid but since they are inside they will accompany us wherever we go. By not allowing us access to them, the walls of our interior space (our house) become increasingly narrower, increasing the feeling of restlessness when perceiving toxic spaces that can get out of control at any moment.

Looking for the cause of our discomfort on the outside

Sometimes we blame the external experiences, or persons linked to them as the cause of most of our problems, without a pause to observe that are repeated time and time again, even with different people. In this way we are not looking for the solution to our problems in the right place, that is our inner space. Our defense mechanisms psychological and emotional at times, are activated too by the multitude of external situations that we live day to day, and in the long run they can cause diseases and related diseases almost always with the lack of balance between the phases of tension and relaxation (Yin and yang) of our body.

Effects of continued stress on health

These situations sustained over the time are translated into our body in multiple ways that cause a variety of health problems, such as poor circulation, slowed down by hold tension in certain parts of our body for long periods of time. These long term stresses can lead to affect internal organs, by not receiving a balanced and constant blood flow and oxygenation necessary to properly discharge its vital functions. In addition, if the emotional impacts are intense enough, the damage may be much more deep.

The anxiety caused by external situations when affect us become internal, and disrupts the functioning of our entire circuit of nerves, affecting in a negative way, functions of vital importance, such as reasoning, digestion, sleep, rest, relaxation, etc. Further the permanent anxiety over time can lead to problems in our personal relationships, emotions, work, and lead us to dissatisfaction, depression, psychotic, and a long etc.

TaiChi and Chikung to learn how to observe and take care of our inner space

The ability to listen to ourselves and pay attention to what is happening inside, is not a new skill for us but rather a forgotten or untrained skill. Therefore, it is necessary to practice in order to maintain a conscious and active listening that allows us to observe ourselves in greater breadth and depth. In this way we can resolve internal situations that bother us or limit our lives, incorporating the habit of bringing our attention inward, focusing the intention of whatever we do, from inside to outside.

The practice of Taichi and Chikung aimed to ourself-observation

In this sense, TaiChi and ChiKung exercises play an important role in taking care of our inner space, since they invite us to constantly place our focus of attention from the skin inwards in a comfortable and calm environment from which we can observe ourselves with equanimity. From this approach, Taichi and Chi Kung exercises are not limited only to the moment in which we are executing them, but rather they are emancipated as new skills that allow us to lead better our lives.

Both disciplines have been practiced for centuries and it has been proven that they have great potential to generate self-awareness and illuminate our inner space, since conscious breathing exercises and releasing unnecessary tensions are combined with conscious movement in which we can develop the habit of observing what is happening skin inside. Furthermore, the movement from Dantien (in) to the extremities and rest of the body (out), allows us to observe ourselves and everything that surrounds us in a single, comprehensive and unifying gaze.

Embark on the way back home through Taichi and Chikung

Like someone coming back home, where they once felt at ease, comfortable, safe, calm, inspired, loving and satisfied, we can feel while are recovering their inner space. It is the place from which the adventure started and take (consciously or unconsciously) an essential part of your present moment, but although it may seem simple, putting on practice is not easy. There will be tense moments along the journey, sometimes even tough, but with an attentive, open, relaxed and natural attitude during the process, we can experience profound changes and at some point reach states of calm, well-being, comfort and hapiness

When this happens we will have done nothing to make this sudden change take place except let it happen. In this sense, an appropriate attitude throughout the process of returning to ourselves is one that allows us to make changes in our internal landscape without changing too much our relationship with the outside: family, friendships, work, daily relationships, etc., so as not to cause more instability than that generated by the change process itself.

Conclusions

Lack of attention to our internal physical and psycho-emotional space often deprives us of the ability to enjoy a full life, keeping us in an attitude of rejection and a constant escape from ourselves, evading us towards the outside world, where we search fruitlessly which can only provide us with a satisfactory and lasting return to our internal space in a balanced way.

Once installed in it and thanks to the ability to be present, calm and at peace, we will be able to have access to qualities and virtues that perhaps we did not see before. From this tranquility arises creativity, the kindest, purest, deepest feelings, from which we can experience a joy arising spontaneously from the depths of ourselves.