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Most stress management techniques primarily consider
mental and emotional defense mechanisms. These
provide tremendous results and should be considered a
crucial component of stress management practice. The
general idea is that as we engage stressful situations we
respond emotionally, which induces a physical reaction,
which feeds back to our mental state and may induce
another, perhaps different emotional reaction, which induces
yet another physical reaction, and on and on. For
instance, suppose your boss yells at you and upsets you.
You in turn get angry and subconsciously tighten your
shoulders. This tension strains your back and makes it
hard to maintain a good posture at your desk, which in
turn causes back pain. The back pain and shoulder tension
make it hard to concentrate on your work, which
your mind interprets as another stressor because you
have a deadline and are falling behind, and your boss
will only get angrier, which adds to the physical reaction,
which in turn makes you angry and snappy, etc….
Contemporary stress management techniques work by
teaching one to calm the mind and emotions in order to
deal with the stressor, or to reinterpret the situation as
something not worthy of an adverse reaction.
Taiji takes a reverse approach to the management of
stress by going to the feedback system first. The physiological
response that is engaged by the mental reaction to
stress is a feedback mechanism. Concurrently, this feedback
also registers with the brain as stress. Hence, a
headache can trigger anger, or vice-versa. The practice
of Qigong and Taiji form develop sung, activate the various
meridians, and increase the flow of Qi, all of which
help to develop internal harmony, which in turn calms
the mind. These are the qualities of healthy living and
it’s easy to develop and feel these in solo Taiji practice.
However, we need to be able to maintain these qualities
even when our harmony is challenged by stressors.
Push hands can be utilized as a method of stress
simulation. In the practice of push hands we try to maintain
central equilibrium while challenging the equilibrium
of our partner. And our partner in turn tries to upset
our equilibrium. In the process we give each other
something to work with and the opportunity to deal with
stressors while attempting to maintain peace of mind.
Another person inside of one’s personal space, trying to
upset equilibrium, can be a stressor. While relatively
mild, controlled, and simulated, it is enough to challenge
the relaxation gained in solo practice but is safe enough
to not cause any real harm to the players. Every newcomer
to push hands knows this experientially. Most
people are not comfortable with another person being in
their personal space. It is even more uncomfortable
when one’s balance is challenged. The principles and
techniques of push hands can be utilized to train our bodies
to effectively deal with threats without getting tense
or upset. In Buddhist terms, it is a method for developing
equanimity. As a healing practice, it teaches the
mind/body to remain calm under attack, which in the day
-to-day world could just as easily be from a flu virus, an
angry boss, or maniacal drivers in rush hour traffic.
While push hands practice is associated with the
martial application of Taiji, it is not fighting. To fight is
to struggle. Fighting implies diametrically opposed energies
colliding head-on against one another. Push
hands is more about cooperation, even if it means learning
to cooperate with the uncooperative. Push hands is
about redirecting opposing energies and learning to go
with the flow rather than opposing it. Push hands is
about harmonizing with the environment and finding
peace of mind in the midst of chaos. Peace of mind is
not something reserved for monks and hermits. It’s
something inherently available to all of us. It is within
us. Solo practices like
those we find in meditation,
yoga, Qigong, and
the Taiji form help us to
find and become familiar
with this, to nurture
it. Partner exercises,
like push hands, provide
us a way to learn how to
maintain it under challenging
conditions.
Peace of mind, developed
and maintained
through bodily integration,
leads to completeness
wholeness and
health.
Rodney Owen has had a life-long interest
in the relationship between meditation
and martial arts. Over the years he
has followed and studied systems that
emphasize that relationship: Aikido,
Qigong, Taijiquan, I Liq Chuan, and
Buddhism. He practices and teaches
Taiji, Qigong, Kung Fu, and Meditation
in High Point, NC. His primary interest
is in the practical and functional aspects of these arts and in
the concept that Kung Fu is a way of life, a methodology for
improving and enjoying the content of life, of discovering and
manifesting our higher selves. He maintains a blog on martial
arts and mindfulness at http://nagualtime.blogspot.com/
Samples of his writing and other interests can be found at
http://rodneyjowen.com
44 Yang-Sheng (Nurturing Life) Volume 1, Issue No. 10