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The Importance of Releasing in Tai Chi Chuan

The Importance of Releasing in Tai Chi Chuan

One of the aspects that I have found most important to teach over the years is the release aspect in Tai Chi Chuan practice. Why is this important?

Our Western culture, and perhaps human nature, emphasizes the active yang aspect, with less understanding and practice of the receptive yin aspect. Since Taoism is a fundamental source for understanding Tai Chi Chuan, and Taoism expounds the understanding of yin and yang, this is an important entry point for understanding Tai Chi Chuan, with two translations being “great ultimate movement” or “grand ultimate fist.”

From fully expressed polarities of receptive and active comes a complete experience that is beyond the duality. That is the meaning of the word “ultimate” in the translation “great ultimate movement” or “grand ultimate fist.” It is ultimate because it is beyond the limitation of passive and active.

Because the perception of brain and body being distinct from each other is mostly an illusion, the degree to which we release “mentally” can also be seen in our movements. In my experience, the most visible difficulty in releasing for beginners comes in relation to the abdomen and the hip joints. Lack of mid-section release can especially be seen in those who have not practiced long, or where a previous teaching environment did not emphasize releasing the mid-section before action.

At some point, the practitioner is able to start releasing the abdomen and hips, and correspondingly following that with activation of the ball and toe of the foot in order to support finger movement. When this occurs, the practitioner often emits a statement of enthusiasm and excitement, because it is like discovering a lost super-power.

The ability to flexibly and fluidly use the mid-section to connect the extremities of the feet and the fingers, is essential for every sport.

Another essential aspect of releasing is allowing the triceps (or elbows) to stay floating when the upper body tilts forward and the tailbone drops, as part of our pre-action. This is how we naturally jump, and is similar to the way most birds sink and open their wings before taking off from the ground.

The subsequent action movement follows the pre-action setting up phase. It involves making the back vertical again, with exception of Get the Needle at the Bottom of the Sea and of Snake Creeps Down, although the principle applies there in a different format, beyond the scope of this current article.

When the upper body goes from tilting to vertical, it sends a vector of force straight down into the ground while also creating a forward force that counters the backwards direction of the upper body. Our brain inherently understands this if our tension does not interfere. Movement and brain function without tension is restorative of physical comfort and a good mood!

The continuity of connection, activated starting from the brain, using the ball and toe of the activating foot, through the leg’s vastus medialis muscle and the rest of the quadriceps, and through the hips, the ribs, and the triceps, and finally to the fingers, allows the whole brain and body to activate fully, even if the force being applied is subtle such as during Short Form or other Form practice.

This awakening of brain and body is good for martial arts and all sports, for musical and other performance, and for energy flow and well-being.

I won’t go into great detail here, but for those who enjoy Push-Hands practice, releasing is similarly of vital importance. When there is tension in any part of the body, your partner in practice or your competitor can sense that and rapidly respond to the tension with an effective push.

Whether it is tension in the arms, often leading to the arms being used by your practice partner or competitor as convenient handles for uprooting, or tension in the mid-section, leading to a direct and effective attack on the body position itself, the ability to fully and rapidly release is an essential component when trying to enter to an advanced level of Tai Chi Chuan Push-Hands skill.

Can We Say That Tai Chi Chuan Is a Spiritual Practice?

Dreamy girl looking up at sky in countryside

Can We Say That Tai Chi Chuan Is a Spiritual Practice?

Can we say that Tai Chi Chuan is a spiritual practice? Yes, and mostly no.

Not too long ago, a fellow Tai Chi Chuan teacher stated to me and others, in a class I was running: “Tai Chi Chuan is a spiritual practice.” I did not reply to that, since the speaker clearly had his understanding. Instead, I engaged with other points of discussion that he brought up.

The problem is that if you call Tai Chi Chuan a spiritual practice, that can imply that other activities are not spiritual. And yet, everything we do in life is “spiritual” and wonderful, when we see it clearly. So, we can say that Tai Chi Chuan practice is spiritual, but that can lead to problems.

What if we said “Tai Chi Chuan is a meaningful practice”? I am more at peace with that statement. Tai Chi Chuan practice is certainly meaningful, and perhaps using a neutral word like that allows the person hearing it to ask themselves, “Oh, what is meaningful about it?” which allows further exploration.

When we use words that have a high-sounding set of associations, like “spiritual,” we can get into a problem of creating mystery, or idealizing what we are doing. For example, are those who are not practicing Tai Chi Chuan, or meditation, less spiritual? In the absolute sense, my studies and my life experience says “No!” to that.

Yes, Tai Chi Chuan can help us awaken to our fundamental nature, letting go of the excess physical and mental tensions that make life more difficult. That can be called “well-being”, or “mental health”, or even… “spiritual.”

It is important to understand that words are always most effective when used with awareness of context. It may, in some environments, be useful to state “Tai Chi is a spiritual practice.” That might help those who are only seeing it as a physical practice, and may open another door of consideration for them.

For an example of this principle, taken from a very evolved wisdom tradition, there is a famous story involving Bodhidharma, the Indian teacher who brought Zen Buddhism in China. Here is the story, which is believed to have really happened:

Emperor Wu asked the great teacher Bodhidharma, “What is the first principle of the holy teaching?”
Bodhidharma said, “Vast emptiness, nothing holy.”
“[Then] who are you, standing here in front of me?” asked the Emperor.
“I don’t know,” said Bodhidharma.
The Emperor didn’t understand.

Bodhidharma was trying to help release the emperor from divisions in the emperor’s thinking, such as “holy / not holy,” and “wise person / ordinary person.”

Any divisions in our thinking, called “discrimination” in most translations of Eastern thought, separate us from the wonderfulness of being fully in this moment. As poet William Blake wrote, “If the Sun and Moon should ever doubt, they’d immediately go out.”

The teachings of wisdom since the beginning of time have praised the importance of non-dualistic awareness, where so-called opposites are seen without seeing conflict between them, allowing a more complete experience of our world.

Coming back to Tai Chi Chuan, I sometimes call it a meaningful practice, or a practice that helps us be more fully ourselves, and of course a practice that has benefits for physical and mental health. High-sounding labels, while occasionally they can be useful, do tend to create a subtle division that it is better to avoid.

On somewhat of a tangent: I use English in my classes, saying “energy” rather than “chi”, since my own thinking, being American-born, understands the concepts and associations of “energy” far better than those for the word “chi”, not that there is inherently anything wrong with using “chi” for those who are very comfortable with that word.

When there is a concept or experience that does not easily translate from the Chinese words, I look for a way to express it in language and movement that are part of everyday life, and that all the students can connect with.

The point is to be very grounded in our various actions and words, including when practicing or teaching Tai Chi Chuan.

Out of respect and gratitude for the caring, wise teachers I have had in the past, I will continue walking in a path that finds inspiration in the experiences of everyday life. “Happiness”, “Energy”, “Well-being”: these are a few of the many words to describe that way of living, and I would like to stay with that.

How about you?

What does the Cerebellum Do Anyway?

Brain, cerebellum, and sample neurons of the cerebellum

What does the Cerebellum Do Anyway?.
by Sarah Constantin, December 28, 2023
Thanks to Paul Wirth of mosaicbodywork.com, who suggested this article

This [above] is the cerebellum. Its name means “little brain”—it’s a whole other brain under your “big” one.

If you vaguely remember something about what the cerebellum does, you’re probably thinking something to do with balance. Medical students have to learn the “cerebellar gait” that results from cerebellar injury (it’s the same staggering gait that drunk people have, because alcohol impairs the cerebellum.)

A more detailed neurological exam of a patient with cerebellar disease shows a wider variety of motor problems.

Here you’ll notice that the patient can’t bring his finger to his nose or clap his hands without a wobbling back-and-forth motion; that his eyes “wobble” back and forth (which is called nystagmus); and that he wobbles backwards and forwards while standing or walking, so that he nearly falls over and needs a broad-based gait to support himself.

In cerebellar disease, muscle tone is diminished (people are “floppy”), movements are not fluent (each individual sub-movement is separate), there’s dysmetria (failure to “aim” or estimate the distance to move, overshoot or undershoot) and there’s “intention tremor” (high amplitude, relatively slow wobbles that arise when the patient starts to move, as contrasted with the “resting tremor” characteristic of e.g. Parkinson’s disease.)

Clearly, the cerebellum does something to control movement, and movement is impaired when it is damaged. But why do we need a whole other “little brain” to control these aspects of movement?

There are already regions of the cerebrum (or “forebrain”) dedicated to movement, like the motor cortex and the basal ganglia. And you can do a lot of movement using just those!

Even in the rare cases known as cerebellar agenesis, where a person is born totally lacking a cerebellum, movement is still possible, just impaired: slow motor and speech development in childhood, abnormal spoken pronunciation, wobbly limb movements, and mild-to-moderate intellectual disability. But not paralysis, and not even particularly bad disability overall — a lot of these people were able to live independently and work at jobs.

So…that’s weird.

What is the cerebellum’s job? It seems weird to have a whole separate organ for “make motor and cognitive skills work somewhat better.”

The other weird thing about the cerebellum is anatomical.

These very large, complex neurons are the Purkinje cells, which exist only in the cerebellum.

Brain, Toes, and Fingers: Clues About How They Connect

Baby holding feet, curling toes and fingers

Brain, Toes, and Fingers: Clues About How They Connect

Highlights [bolding below is by editor here]

There are systematic but distinct patterns of confusion between fingers and toes.
Idiosyncrasies in patterns of tactile confusion are shared between fingers and toes.
Tactile confusions likely arise from high-level representations of the body.
Shared confusions may be a result of a common representation of fingers and toes.

Note by editor: important for us as Tai Chi Chuan practitioners is that there are innate connections between toes and fingers. The article is also studying pathology (“confusion”) between toes and fingers, but for us, the natural brain connection of toes and fingers is information that is more essential, and points to a fundamental of Tai Chi Chuan practice for most effective movement integrating brain and body.

Abstract

There are many similarities and differences between the human hands and feet. On a psychological level, there is some evidence from clinical disorders and studies of tactile localisation in healthy adults for deep functional connections between the hands and feet.

One form these connections may take is in common high-level mental representations of the hands and feet. Previous studies have shown that there are systematic, but distinct patterns of confusion found between both the fingers and toes. Further, there are clear individual differences between people in the exact patterns of mislocalisations.

Here, we investigated whether these idiosyncratic differences in tactile localisation are shared between the fingers and toes, which may indicate a shared high-level representation. We obtained confusion matrices showing the pattern of mislocalisation on the hairy skin surfaces of both the fingers and toes.

Using a decoding approach, we show that idiosyncratic differences in individuals’ pattern of confusions are shared across the fingers and toes, despite different overall patterns of confusions. These results suggest that there is a common representation of the fingers and toes.

Three Core Principles of Tai Chi Chuan, for an Endless Path of Growth

Practicing Tai Chi Chuan peacefully on the beach

Three Core Principles of Tai Chi Chuan, for an Endless Path of Growth

When practicing Tai Chi Chuan, it can be important to step back at times and revisit: why am I practicing this? and what attitude or understanding will allow me to accomplish the purposes or goals for which I practice Tai Chi Chuan?

As an answer for these questions, I am going to outline three core principles of Tai Chi Chuan. I offer these after 45 years of Tai Chi Chuan practice and teaching, and other meditative and active practices followed for a similar length of time. These core principles, while based on my experience, gain the most value when you the reader can make them your reality (maybe you are already doing so!), rather than only reading the concepts.

The good news is that we arrive at the destination with each step on the path, meaning that even a beginner can create benefits for themselves as they start to concentrate on the essence of Tai Chi Chuan. In a sense, we are always at the beginning moment of our next journey.

So, here are fundamental principles that describe three essential aspects of Tai Chi Chuan practice:

Action originates in the brain, and expresses in the toes and fingers. Every other part of the body stays loose and free in order to fully support the brain’s determination as expressed in our toes’ connection to the Earth and our fingers’ extension through the air. The whole foot supports the action of the toes, and the whole hand supports the action of the fingers.
Fulfilling function of body / brain requires both a deep release, and an awake energizing. With only release, we cannot accomplish our goals and may experience depression. With only energizing, we cannot enjoy the goals we accomplish and may experience anxiety.
The language of the brain is fundamentally frictionless and spacious. When we drop the conflicting mind and its associated tensions, the language of the brain can be perceived by others and by oneself, and we can accomplish and enjoy more with less stress.

I will be writing more about each of these three principles, to clarify how they are part of everyday life for all of us.

With practice, we are on an endless path of growth. May we all share in and enjoy the benefits of this practice.

Brain, toes, and fingers

Homunculus brain map, showing the relative size of body parts in the brain map of each person's body

Brain, Toes, and Fingers

When we practice the movements of the Tai Chi Chuan Short Form, we are always moving as human beings move. We are expressing our human physiology moment by moment and day by day. What changes moment to moment is the quality of our awareness of that reality.

Our mind decides to accomplish a goal, large or small, and tells the brain to initiate movement, to continue the movement, and ultimately to stop the movement. So what is different about our practice of any of the Tai Chi Chuan Forms as compared to other, everyday movements?

The primary differences are that 1) with the Form, our focus is turned inwards, and 2) there is no fixed goal compelling the movements, so the mind is free to “explore”.

In the Form, we are making the effort to move using energy rather than moving using muscles with the accompanying tension. This focus is possible because the movements are slow and are carried out attentively; and they are not done with a distracting goal in mind.

We have the chance, therefore, to focus on clearing up unwanted muscle and brain activations that do not contribute to our movements. We can start to feel our own openness and spontaneity, leading to softness, speed, and ultimately even to generosity and sensitivity to others!

There is immense impact for our brain and body that results from action taken without tension. When our willpower is focused on the moment, and the brain is enabling exactly the desired movement (or cessation of movement), excess thought and tension starts to clear away, and we can better receive the healthy energy from our innermost mind/body.

Since Tai Chi Chuan practice is based on movement of energy with full awareness and without tension, the question arises, “How can we practice and achieve that full awareness without tension?”

Here is one answer that I can offer:

Our brain naturally controls our feet and fingers. Specifically, for action we need the arch as a weight-bearing foundation and the ball of the foot and big toe (along with supporting toes) to connect to and use the ground for traction and propulsion during movement. At the same time, the fingers carry out our desired action in the air, using the support of the earth and our feet.

If somehow, through an accident or stroke, we were to lose either connection to the toes or to the fingers, our brain will inevitably start to re-wire in order to create similar points of focus and action. That is, the human brain is wired as a physically dual engine: support on the solid earth, and movement through the air.

The expansion of energy we need for effective movement can only occur when there is solid support in place from both the earth/ground and the feet that are encountering the ground. When that support is present, the fingers can expressively lead the body to follow along, accomplishing what the mind wants with its passion and determination.

A football quarterback, even when forced to move backwards, will expand against the ground in order to support throwing the football to a receiver. This is similar to the Form’s “Step Back and Repulse Monkey” movement.

Our health, physical capacity, and well-being all improve when we can release excessive mind tension-activity and instead experience the flow of feeling-energy in motion.

If you have been practicing Tai Chi Chuan for a while, and are in a centered stated of mind, if something near you starts to fall your hand will automatically reach out and catch it accurately in mid-air. On the other hand, if you are tense and “lost in thought”, that tension-free movement will not happen and the falling object may not be caught successfully.

By practicing the form slowly, turning the awareness inwards, we can start to re-connect the mind, toes, and fingers. When our proprioceptive nerve feedbback and our movements are free and connected, then our movement comes from and is experienced with our whole being, with the whole body connecting the grounding of the feet and the expansion into the fingers.

ACTION:
When practicing the form, be sure to soften the mind and body before each action, and let the toes and fingers release or soften somewhat, as part of the preparation for action. Then, when taking action, feel the energy expand into your inner arch and especially your ball-and-toe, and correspondingly into your fingers.

The activation of ball-and-toe and correspondingly the fingers is a gradual expansion of energy guided by the brain. The brain directs increasing energy into the ball-and-toes of the supporting foot, and into the fingers, carrying out the desired action of the mind/brain working together.

For effective and frictionless action, we only need to activate the toes and fingers, while the arch of the foot provides support; the rest of the body, as directed by the brain, is relaxed while automatically expanding support for the two endpoints of toes and fingers, thus providing energy flow to accomplish the desired action to completion.

In a few words: Our mind/brain sets an intention and determination, and activates the support of the feet and the action of the fingers; the rest of the body is automatically adjusted to support those two endpoints.

Introduction

It is a privilege and joy to be able to share experiences and understanding that come from the practice and teaching Tai Chi Chuan. This is an endless path of learning and sharing, with realizations small and large along the way.

The way of Tai Chi Chuan, like other wisdom traditions, is subtle and not so easily grasped. Yet, on the other hand, it is grasped from the very beginning when a new practitioner tastes even a little bit of the warm energy and the spaciousness inside and out that Tai Chi Chuan practice awakens.

The forms practiced in Tai Chi Chuan are not just a series of movements, but a practice that nurtures opening to oneself and deepening connection with others. Through practice, the individual awakens to a formless softness and awareness, loosening the boundaries that excessively separate the individual from the bigger world.

The state of being soft (or relaxed) and alert is often thought of as a pair of opposites, but one of the beauties of Tai Chi Chuan practice is that we can experience how they exist simultaneously when we express our whole selves.

I want to thank Grandmaster William C.C. Chen for so diligently embodying and sharing these principles, as all of his long-time students have witnessed. He has modeled dedication to spreading awareness of the true principles of opening and mind / body connection, and a generous demeanor that arises from deep understanding of the principles of Tai Chi Chuan.

All the descriptions and imagery in the following pages are based on my own lived experience of practice and teaching. Along with meditation practice, I was able to become aware of these principles as a result of my efforts during Tai Chi Chuan studies, and was supported in this by Grandmaster Chen.

As a result of these 40+ years of study and teaching, this book is therefore both a record of the methods of GM William C.C. Chen and also a record of my own experience.

The ultimate purpose for writing this book is to offer guidance and inspiration for the true practice of Tai Chi Chuan, leading to a healthier and happier life for all. May you enjoy the fruits of this practice!

Mind and Brain

Mind and Brain

For purposes of discussion, we will for now separate our mental function into two parts: the software or “mind,” and the hardware or “brain.”

Rather than being totally discrete from each other, they overlap and are closely connected, but we can speak of the mind as that aspect of ourselves which gives orders to the underlying brain, while the brain is that aspect which carries out the actions the mind requests, by controlling the movements of the body.

The mind is essential for living in this world. The mind tells us to eat when we are hungry but before we do so, to finish a meeting that we are in the middle of. The mind tells us to pay bills, and when to pay them; to send invoices to customers; and to prepare and file taxes, again on a certain schedule. The mind lets us choose and reserve hotels and transportation if we are preparing for travel. And so on.

The mind / brain connection also provides emotions to motivate and energize us in carrying out various activities.

Where the mind does NOT function well, and gets in the way, is when there are unseen messages playing over and over in an endless loop. These often intense and usually hidden messages may say, “I am no good so stay away”, or “I am great so give me respect”, or “No one will like me”, or “This pain will never change.” In body language, the message might be summarized as “Protect yourself, because you are weak” leading to muscle tension and various aches and pains.

All of these messages cause distress in the mind and body, even if we are not aware of the specific messages. Examples of the resulting sensations are anxiety or depression in the mind, and pain or excessive fatigue in the body.

Tai Chi Chuan helps the mind perceive, interrupt, and release these extra, unneeded and counter-productive mental processes so that the mind / brain connection works quickly and seamlessly, with more enjoyment and energy, and less stress and discomfort.

The process by which Tai Chi Chuan works to release unneeded mental activity is the introspective awareness that we practice, which is the reason that the Short Form is practiced slowly. The flowing movements and pulsing energy of the Short Form encourages introspection, like a moving meditation. As we gaze inside and observe ourselves, we start to heal internal divisions.

Turning the light of awareness onto the mists of our inner world helps evaporate the illusory thoughts that lead to tension and stress.

When the mind and brain work smoothly together, we can catch a falling object without even knowing how we do it. We can get through each day without painful tension and stress. And we can be more genuine with other people, and enjoy our connections with others more fully.

In a few words: turning awareness inwards to experience our own deeper processes helps the mind simplify its activity, and frees the brain and mind to collaborate and function more smoothly and energetically as one, in all aspects of life.

What Is Tai Chi Chuan?

What Is Tai Chi Chuan?

What is the essence of Tai Chi Chuan? Regarding the short form, which many have witnessed practiced in public spaces, people are engaged in what appears to be a repetitive exercise. But why repeat those movements, day by day, year after year?

There must be essential elements that are stimulated or uncovered through this concentrated practice, or millions of individuals would not be continuing this practice. I would like to share with you the important essence behind the practice of Tai Chi Chuan, and how that essence benefits mental and physical well-being and health.

In this and subsequent articles, I will discuss these essential elements with you, the reader, based on my lifetime practice of Tai Chi Chuan. And if you are already familiar with these essential elements, I hope to support and share understanding and insight, for mutual benefit.

At nearly 70 years old, I am healthy and active, don’t need medication, and am in a good, positive state of mind. I attribute that good overall state to practicing Tai Chi Chuan and meditation, and trying to incorporate their principles of nondualism into daily life. Of course, given the nature of life, that good health could change at any time, but for now, it is something for which I am grateful.

Starting at the beginning, what does the name “Tai Chi Chuan” mean? Two translations you may encounter are “Grand Ultimate Fist” and “Great Polarity Boxing.” The two translations are pointing to the same transcendent understanding. Of course, words are always pointers; it is up to our selves to explore and experience the important meanings of the words.

It is our human nature, to contain and live with both passive, or yin, and active, or yang. These are the seeming “utimates” or “polarities”. And when we see and express both clearly, we can understand a truth which is beyond those opposites. “Fist” and “boxing” refer to the efforts for insight, as well as the efforts for the wise action of martial arts. Insight and action cannot be separated except as a convenience for discussion.

For me, Tai Chi Chuan is study of how our mind and body harmonize at a deep level, which results in a more meaningful experience of the world. Our clear mind and flowing energy, developed through practice, are experienced as spaciousness and true freedom.

Tai Chi Chuan practice is a way to turn our human potential into reality. I find that Tai Chi Chuan practice helps mind and body be more grounded, helps release tensions that would otherwise accumulate, and fosters that sense of spaciousness and true freedom.

So, with a topic as important as experiencing your best self day by day, let’s discuss the nature of this practice. In following articles, we will also discuss more specific principles, and ultimately look at the details of brain and body connection and movement that make this practice meaningful and impactful in everyday life.

Because it supports expression of the “grand polarities” of letting go and engaging energetically, Tai Chi Chuan is a practice of both mind and body. Human nature cannot live with fulfillment with only the physical, nor for that matter with only the mental; insight and expression go hand-in-hand and cannot truly be separated.

Without a good practice of presence, such as meditation or Tai Chi Chuan, we are liable to become wrapped up in inner and outer stresses. If we live with excessive passive, or yin, we will experience disruptive sadness and lack of energy, and not be able to release those. If we live with excessive active, or yang, we will experience anxiety and tension, and not be able to release those.

Conversely, letting go of opposites, letting go of tension based in worry for the past or future, and instead living peacefully in the present, with the flowing changes moment to moment, is like taking the best imaginable vacation, where well-being takes over—and there are no hotel or flight reservations needed!

Tai Chi Chuan is a practice of moving freely between our passive and active, and thereby uncovering and enabling the nondualistic fundamental nature that we all have as human beings. That is good for health as well as mental well-being. Nondualism means a non-conflicting mind, and freedom to express fully and with empathy, in each moment.

As practitioners of Tai Chi Chuan, we are walking on a path to greater understanding and expression of our essence, the best of our capacity as human beings. I believe that path is a foundation for living in the best way, moment by moment.

When the mind and body are harmonized, our actions become helpful and authentically compassionate, while our mind is able to find peacefulness, with reduced inner and outer conflict, and with more energy available for important activities.

That is the essence of Tai Chi Chuan, if we want to understand and experience its value. Although at the beginning of practice these principles are not very clear, through our efforts we can unfold a growing awareness and experience of these important principles, express more meaning in our daily lives, and be more effective in accomplishing our important goals in life.

In a few words: Tai Chi Chuan practice is a way to turn our human potential into reality by enhancing focus and expansive awareness.

Tai Chi Chuan exercise related change in brain function as assessed by functional near-infrared spectroscopy

Tai Chi Chuan (TCC) is a typical mind–body and low–intensity aerobic exercise that involves cognitive training and movement meditation and has positive associations with physiological and psychological conditions. TCC has metabolic equivalents estimated between 1.5 and 4.0.

This aerobic intensity overlaps with brisk walking which has been demonstrated to contribute to the prevention of cognitive decline, and rehabilitation of dementia and stroke; notably, TCC has been observed to improve power, balance, memory and attention after 6 months.

Moreover, TCC practice can affect the brain prefrontal structure and function and improve memory, as observed by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The parietal and occipital cortices in TCC practitioners were found to have thickened through the same method.

Electroencephalo–graph (EEG) showed significant theta activities in the fronto–central and centro–parietal cortical areas in TCC practitioners and TCC have been shown to reduce anxiety and depression. However, the mechanism of the effects of TCC training on brain function remains poorly understood, especially in real–time body movements. Therefore, it is necessary to study the change in brain function related to TCC movement state.

Beyond the intensity of activity in a particular cortical region induced by TCC, significant differences in brain activity and dynamic configuration of connectivity were observed between the TCC and control groups during resting and movement states. These findings suggested that TCC training improved the connection of PFC, MC and OC in myogenic activity, sympathetic nervous system, and endothelial cell metabolic activities; enhanced brain functional connections and relayed the ability of TCC to improve cognition and the anti–memory decline potential… Read full article

The Importance of Releasing in Tai Chi Chuan

Can We Say That Tai Chi Chuan Is a Spiritual Practice?

What does the Cerebellum Do Anyway?. by Sarah Constantin, December 28, 2023Thanks to Paul Wirth of mosaicbodywork.com, who suggested this article

Brain, Toes, and Fingers: Clues About How They Connect

Three Core Principles of Tai Chi Chuan, for an Endless Path of Growth

Brain, Toes, and Fingers

Introduction

Mind and Brain

What Is Tai Chi Chuan?

What does the Cerebellum Do Anyway?.
by Sarah Constantin, December 28, 2023
Thanks to Paul Wirth of mosaicbodywork.com, who suggested this article