My Chinese Slippers
I looked over and there they were. I had slipped my feet out of them moments before beginning my dreaded qigong exercises. I liked how perfectly poised and positioned they were on the floor—as if they were to pick themselves up and start walking on their own.
Nowadays, my physical activity mostly consists of walking, qigong, and doing the everyday things that need to be taken care of in and around the house. When did I turn into an old Chinese lady??
I’m not complaining, this change of pace has brought more peace into my life. My body is certainly no longer the firm runner and yoga body that I used to have, but what I’ve learned is that it’s not about forcing myself to do something or be somewhere (which I found myself constantly doing when running or doing yoga), it’s actually about learning how to drop my strength.
What does it mean to “drop” strength? If you asked me to properly explain to you how or why, I couldn’t, because I’m an eternal student, still learning for myself as I go. What I can share is that there tends to be so much strength stored in our bodies that our bodies are gravely misaligned and out of balance. We’ve forgotten the original art of effortless movement because of all the yang energy that pervades society: push, be tough, push harder, succeed, overcome, triumph, etc. Too much speed and strength with no consideration for grace nor proper timing makes for an exciting and shallow spectacle. Beautifully sculpted, rock hard bodies may be what look and feel nice, but according to this practice, it’s only on the exterior. The desire to look or feel a certain way, again, according to this practice, actually leads to more internal blockages .
On a more social level, the same can be said about the necessity being created around building our presence online. I still refuse to partake in the circus that has become social media and am constantly wondering whether I’m doing myself a disservice by not pushing myself hard enough. Well, if I go back to the notion of dropping strength, then as long as I’m choosing this path, it seems like I’m doing the right thing.
According to this qigong practice (which, by the way, goes much further than dropping one’s strength), moving through space while making every effort to make no effort, while also feeling the body and ignoring the incessant stream of thoughts, is what can open up the channels for Spirit to flow through. I once said that sitting 10 hours a day in meditation on a 10-day Vipassana retreat was the most difficult thing I’d done in my life, but this practice trumps that. Qigong is the hardest damn thing I’ve done in my life; not exerting myself when I’ve been told my whole life that I must. Apparently, however, as long as the practice is approached with humble action and perseverance, everyday life is meant to get better, easier.
Lao Tzu said, “Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished”. As I go from battling one existential crisis to the next, this is the philosophy I currently choose to use as my guide. Plus, I think it goes rather well with my pair of ornate Chinese slippers.
