Posted by Fiona Anderson. on Wednesday, October 29, 2014
When I first started tai chi, I had great difficulty remembering anything at all, no matter how little or how simple. 8 years later, this has changed dramatically, so that I now remember all sorts of sequences (the chuan, 6 different partner forms, sabre forms, sword form, spear form, chi kung (qigong) sets...)
So how did I move from little or no memory to being able to remember so vastly much?
Well, the simple answer is little chunks at a time. Learning the tai chi form is best done in tiny chunks, so that you can practise a manageable amount at a time, before adding a new little amount. It's the process of just doing a bit over and over, without worrying about trying to reach a goal, that really helps. If you focus on a goal (as most of society does for work purposes) then you can't relax. If you focus on the process of doing what you're doing, without thinking about any goal, then one day you just look round and notice that you've made huge progress.
Work on what you're doing for tai chi, no matter what it is, and don't worry about where you're trying to get to. Just enjoy the process of practising for its own sake. That way, you will not only reach your goal, you will also learn how to relax properly too!