How to restart Tai Chi practice after a break

Recently I went on a family vacation to London. I had so much fun there! We stayed in a small apartment, went sightseeing, ate a lot of delicious food in Chinatown and visited my favourite bookstore. However, it was unusually hot and we had little indoor space. And before I knew it, more than a week had passed without a single Taijiquan move.

When I got home, my body let me know. My back hurt. My knees made noises they don’t usually make. I felt tight, stiff, and frankly a little old. I remembered this saying:

If you don’t practice for a day, only you know; if you don’t practice for two days, your teacher knows; if you don’t practice for three days, everyone knows.

I could feel that quote in my bones, in my moves.

I struggle with my daily Taijiquan routine

I have been struggling to create a daily routine since I started Taijiquan. I already wrote about why I resist practicing, about my current state of practice, and I even collected quotes from masters about why daily practice matters. This topic is not new to me. But things have changed.

Twenty years ago, the struggle and the guilt lived mostly in the classroom. My teacher would ask who had practiced that week, and there would be this awkward moment where nobody quite met anyone’s eyes. Then there was the inner voice at home. That was it.

Nowadays, the struggle and the guilt live everywhere. I open Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, or a newsletter from a Tai Chi teacher. Everyone seems to be practicing all the time. Everyone seems to have it together. I feel the pressure has gotten so much bigger. Do you feel that, too?

How I restarted my Tai Chi practice

But the secret to restarting is: to start.

A few days after returning home, I just stood in my room and returned to the familiar moves of the form. My body knew them. But my body had also changed, even after just one week. The moves felt different, heavier somehow. I could feel the decline in my body.

You can always come back

I realised once again how important daily practice is to me. How much it benefits my body and my mind. And I know that a lot of people struggle to create that habit.

I tell you and I tell myself: we can be serious Taijiquan practitioners even if we miss days or weeks of practice. Taijiquan is not only what happens in class. It transcends into what happens in life. Yes, it is necessary to move and learn the form. And if weekly classes are what works for your life right now, that is completely fine. The benefits are real either way.

Social media puts even more pressure on how to practice “right.” There are so many people who seem to be perfect, with beautiful flowing moves in amazing rooms. But life is messy. Practice is messy.

While in London, I kept telling myself there was not enough space, or that I had forgotten my shoes. But that does not matter. Taijiquan and Qi Gong only need a little space. Any space. The circumstances don’t need to be perfect for practice. It is so Taijiquan to have a strong stance, wherever you are.

We do not need to be perfect. We can let go of expectations and just move.

Now turn off this screen and just do one move.

Happy Qi!

Angelika