Professor Cheng Man Ching was once asked, “What is the most important reason to study Tai Chi Chuan?” He answered, “The most important reason is that when you finally reach the place where you understand what life is about, you will have the good health to enjoy it.”

The important classical principles of tai chi are contained within Professor Cheng’s 3 Treasures, the health benefits of which you can enjoy with constant practice.

 

 

Cultivating Chi And Performing Exercise To Benefit The Internal Organs

The primary goal of CMC Tai Chi Chuan exercise is to cultivate chi. Chi has two meanings – the air that we breathe and the life force energy that surrounds us and is within us.

Chi can be cultivated at the tan-tien, the body’s centre of gravity. To cultivate chi, the mind must be anchored in the tan-tien and the breathing must have the following characteristics: fine, long, slow and quiet.

This deep meditative breathing is beneficial to the function of the internal organs. Over a period of time, the energy accumulated in our tan-tien will infuse our life with health and give us the gift of longevity.

Every time when we breathe deeply, it enables the internal organs to relax and move. When we add tai chi movement to this – turning the hip joint or “kua”, the organs are stimulated and the main connective tissue of the internal organs becomes strong and healthy.

 

Massage Your Kidneys And Exercising Your Second Heart

The Chinese acupuncture point; Yong Chuan (Yongquan), is the first point on the meridian that governs the kidneys. When we practise tai chi, we sink our body weight on the Yong Chuan points and stimulate them by shifting the weight between the feet as we do the tai chi movement. By indirectly massaging the kidneys, the kidney function is strengthened.

Our legs are our second heart. Exercise that alternates full and empty weighting in the feet when practising tai chi strengthens the leg muscles. This gentle exercise reduces the risk of heart damage and helps the blood re-circulate back to the heart.

 

Relaxing The Sinews For Blood To Invigorate.

You must give up all muscular strength when practicing CMC Tai Chi Chuan. A practitioner should be relaxed and soft from the top of the head to the sole of the feet. The sinews are relaxed from the shoulder to the wrist and from the hip to the sole of the feet. When the sinews are relaxed the blood is naturally invigorated.

 

Self Cultivation

In Professor Cheng’s teaching, the principles of Tai Chi Chuan can be used in our day to day life. One famous principle of his teaching is how to “invest in loss”. He taught students how to use the principles of softness and relaxation, yielding and non-resistance to overcome hard force. This is also the principle of how to cultivate ourselves to get along with others harmoniously.