Being Soft is not necessarily Relaxed

We say that one of the main benefits of tai chi is to relieve stress. This can be true.

In the Chinese internal arts this relaxation in the body is referred to as ‘song’ ( pronounced soong ) , loosely translated as ‘release’. Releasing tension in the muscles. Unfortunately this is also one of the more misunderstood aspects of tai chi.

It doesn’t necessarily mean just letting go, becoming softer.  So many tai chi students and teachers are fixated on flow and becoming as soft as possible but forget about structure.

Without structure, all their advancements toward being released only lead them further down a dead end street. In the end, their tai chi is a mess and yet they often remain blissfully unaware of the huge opportunity missed. A good teacher is essential.

It’s not just as simple as being hard or soft. Soft is not always released. We must remain true to our structure. The shape and physical makeup of an object or entity obeys the laws of its creation. Steel is hard and structured. If it were made soft by the application of heat, then it would no longer be relaxed. Atoms would be zipping around chaotically and the structure would collapse into liquid. Soft but not relaxed, for steel. Similarly, we must obey the physical laws that define our shape. Our posture must be supportive. If muscles relax around a well aligned frame, then we can truly achieve positive release. If our structure is corrupted by malalignment, then the more we relax the muscles, the more our structure comes under strain. We compensate by unconsciously tensing other muscles for support. We may think we are relaxing effectively but it’s little more than a trick of the mind. This is another aspect of tai chi that requires a good teacher - someone who can snap you out of comforting sensations that we mistake for progress. Left uncorrected, the student merrily proceeds down another dead end path.