I was having a chat with my wife the other evening about how she reads. She was talking about how she reads differently depending on what she's reading. Maybe it's a beach read, or maybe it's something in-depth like Dune or Game of Thrones. Each one of these requires a different level of attention and focus. This got me thinking about our Taiji practice.
I think a lot of us get stuck in our way of practicing/training the frame. While this can be a good thing for consistency, it can become problematic for development. We need to think of our practice like my wife thinks about reading. Meaning, some days we have a really relaxed practice where we don't really focus on anything, like a beach read or walking through a park without a care, just enjoying being there. Other times, we need to practice more as though we're reading Dune or Game of Thrones, where we pay attention to each minute detail of the practice and we don't get that far, and that's OK.
Different Ways of Practicing the Form
In this reel, my teacher demonstrates how the same form can be practiced in different ways.
I've found this greatly aids development. We don't have to finish the book every time because, as we know, we only have 2 in our line. So sometimes, take it super slow and enjoy each page/posture, find the detail, find the nuance, maybe do it a few times in a row if you find something, just like rereading a paragraph a few times to really grasp what the author was trying to say. Don't forget how much detail and time went into developing each posture or each chapter.
All this being said, for the long-term health of our practice, we need to keep it lively, fun, and free—and deeply focused at other times. We want to keep our love for the practice, and too much contentment can be a hindrance to our development, so switch it up sometimes and enjoy.