Stillness in Movement, Movement in Stillness: The Unity of Yin and Yang in Taijiquan

THE BODY

In Wuji posture, standing naturally, and Standing Post training, you could call both “standing still”. Your

muscles are making continuous small adjustments to find the correct posture; tightening here,

releasing there; holding you upright against gravity. We learn to align and release, the soft tissue sinks

down. Blood is pumped around the body by the heart. We breathe in and out, Qi is rising and falling. All

these things can be considered movement. There is the movement of your mind; for instance-the internal

instructions that are directing the posture, the internal questioning and adjusting to get it right; relax,

attend to the Taijiquan principles, head suspended, tailbone tucked, quiet the mind, and other activity

both coarse and subtle. Without these movements we would be unconscious or dead. So it can be

clearly seen that stillness is supported by movement.

Now take a step you'd call "movement." It works as a ‘step’ rather than falling because your centre of

gravity and your vertical axis stayed centred and relatively still while the leg travelled around it. On our

good days at training there is an overall sense of balance and central equilibrium which can be clearly

felt to be still while we move. The mind, relaxed and directing the movement is not scattered and

thinking of paying the bills or that you forgot to feed the cat. The mind compared to the body could be

considered still, still enough to notice the movement it is directing. In Taijiquan, movement depends on

stillness to function properly. From these examples it can be seen that movement is supported by

stillness.

Stillness is supported by movement. Movement is supported by stillness. They are by nature a unity and

cannot be separated.

THE MIND

Notice a thought arise and pass, another thought naturally follows, arising and passing. The thoughts

change, the mind moves. What noticed the thoughts is still noticing. Right now you're aware of the

words on this page, the clouds moving across the sun, maybe a small itch on your leg. Awareness is

simply that which knows, the experience of knowing. A gentle way of exploring this is noticing those

times you feel dull, lethargic or sleepy and then on a different occasion you might feel active, energised

and engaged. Is the awareness that knows these different states changed by them?

In our Taijiquan practice, our minds are directing movement and our awareness knows it, feels it. Our

minds move, Qi moves, our body moves, the contents of awareness changes. The awareness which

knows change stays constant and unchanging, it is naturally still. When we are caught up only in what

changes and lose the connection to what is still, we become distracted by the movement and the still

aspect is obscured. From a Taijiquan perspective this can be called ‘losing the centre’. We can see from

this that movement and stillness are the twofold aspects of a unified whole, they mutually support each

other and cannot be separated.

EVERYDAY LIFE

You've been doing all of this, unassisted, since before you could talk. Catching your balance, breathing,

walking; muscle, bone, and tendon coordinating stillness and movement together. The multitude of

thoughts, feelings, sense perceptions, busy mind, calm mind, all unifying into a single experience of life.

This is what a sentient being does naturally and spontaneously. Taijiquan slows the same ordinary

process down enough for you to watch it happening. There is a great healing in being conscious of this

natural process. With our busy lives and busy minds always caught up in the challenges of movement

and change, we can create space and find an openness of mind to rest at ease in our natural state - the

unity of movement and stillness.

Alex Fricke