LIVING PRACTICES OF BAGUA ZHANG, BAGUA MEDITATION AND THE I CHING

One of the most difficult aspects of learning an esoteric art like Taoist meditation or Ba Gua Zhang is learning to feel the more subtle aspects of the physical body and how energy moves through the body. There are many layers of energy and infinite possibilities of pathways it can take and ways it can manifest.

All Taoist practices rely on the ability to feel what is happening inside your body. It is both the internal sense of awareness and the physical sensation of the body which are used to harmonize the entirety of one’s being to the natural flows around us. It is somewhat similar to a musician learning to hear individual instruments in an orchestra. At first it is nearly impossible to differentiate between the different sections let alone single instruments. Similarly, within the body there are many different things which one could focus on at any given moment. Each part and the function of each part has a distinct frequency on which it operates. In order to feel that frequency the mind must first tune itself to that frequency. This is where the forms practice comes into play. The physical movement forms are what tune your body, mind, energy and spirit to the appropriate frequency so that you can better feel what is happening.

Both the audible and silent “transmissions” in Taoism are like songs which subtly vibrate the different strings within us. In order to “get” the transmission the first thing one must do is be receptive to the idea that it is possible. Next is to just allow what is happening to occur without judgment or expectation. At this stage you can begin to notice any subtle changes in how the energy is moving in your body. At first it may just be that certain movements (energetic or physical) are easier to perform when the transmission is fresh. As you practice more, the transmissions become something beyond just a “quick fix” they become points of reference for future training. They become something you can tap into when you need guidance.

In martial arts the ability to feel subtle changes in your energy and your opponent’s energy can give you an enormous advantage. This is essentially the goal of the majority of two-person practices. In Push Hands or Rou Shou for example the beginning stages are about learning structure and technique but later they are primarily a form of sensitivity training. The “game” becomes more than just about beating the snot out of the guy in front of you, instead you try to discover how well can you feel the guy in front of you. Can you feel changes of pressure in your own body? In his? Can you feel where his energy gets stuck in his body? Are you able to put your attention in different parts of your body or his? Can you feel all these at once? At some point all the techniques martial or otherwise begin to fold into a seamless flow of circles and spirals with no beginning and no end. There is no yin and no yang, just change. You move from being a player in a small band to being the conductor of a 100 piece orchestra.

One of the most important skills you can attain from two person practice is how to lose. It is relatively easy to keep your attention on feeling when you win, but how about when you get whacked? The ability to feel what is going on is how you can learn from losing. If you can feel what went wrong you can change it. To borrow from a classic phrase “it’s what you can’t feel, that gets you.” In many ways learning to feel is easier in martial arts than in chi work. In martial arts you KNOW right away if what you were doing was successful, whereas in chi work and meditation the results are much more subtle. In martial arts someone can beat it into you, but in chi work or meditation the sense of feeling and awareness of change must come from within.

Isaac and Jess

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