One of the cardinal features of our discipline is the don yu or the relaxation of weight. Also referred to as letting go, dropping, or filling the feet, it forms part of all movements of the set. Once understood by the body, this subtle but simple process has a profound impact on our physiology.
But how do we come to understand what is, initially, quite mysterious and hard to grasp? And why do our instructors first ask “how do you feel” and only later “do you understand”?
Fig 1 A portion of Waldseemuller's map of 1507; the first to depict, in addition to Asia, Africa and Europe, a 4th world - the New World, surrounded by water and distinct from Asia. The map: a symbol of discovery and new understanding. Lester, 2009
Certainly, the don yu does not come to us by reading about it. It is through practice, guided by others further along in the journey, that we learn how it feels, and what it means, to relax the weight.
And the guidance often comes in the form of images – maps which direct our explorations.
Peter Wayne and Ted Kaptchuk write about tai chi² as a complex, multifaceted intervention that employs imagery as one of its essential ingredients. By means of imagery, our mind, our intention, produces specific kinaesthetic, emotional states. Through their use,
ittcs.wordpress.com 