I had the opportunity recently to participate in a five day Tai Chi workshop that incorporated meditation and taoist chanting and if there was one thing that became obvious throughout the workshop was that letting go made life a whole lot easier!
We practiced both seated and standing meditation and the pain in my arms and legs became quite severe after a time and all I could do was focus on that pain. Then there was a point when I couldn't take it any more and the muscles relaxed and gave way and the pain went and I was left wondering why I had held my muscles so tight when I could be in the same position with relaxed muscles and no pain!
The same applied to the chanting which we did kneeling up for over an hour. The chanting is in cantonese so you start by trying to focus on each word to say it right but the chant is so fast that you don't have time and you have to let your focus soften and breath gently to get to the end. Then after a time the knees and back begin to ache so again you allow the body to let go and relax to allow you to kneel for that bit longer.
In Tai Chi as you let your arms relax you can stretch that millimetre further which lengthens the tendons and lubricates the joints rather than using the muscles to push the arms into a stretch. It also makes the movements more flowing and graceful and less like a workout.
Letting go is a key element in Craniosacral work. When there is a dysfunction in the body or energy cyst it means the energies are not able to flow freely around the body and the body can't function in the most efficient way. As therapists we act as facilitators for our clients to help them become aware of where those energy cysts are and how to release them and let them go so the body can work easily and effortlessly again.
Have fun letting go!
