It’s winter, the water phase of nature. Like water, our energy is moving inward, to the deepest parts of ourselves. “The supreme good is like water…” says verse 8 ofthe Tao Te Ching “…which nourishes all things without trying. It is content with the low places that people disdain. Thus, it is like the Tao.”
This reminds me of one of our favorite things to practice together: the art of using 70% of our full effort. It’s a challenge to pull back from what we know we can do when performing big, difficult movements like leg swings or something held statically, like Turtle Pose. It feels so good to move, to feel our strength! The brilliant surprise at the heart of the 70% principle is that using less effort allows us to relax more fully, and thus frees up more of our deep, inner energy.
But what about when we’re doing simpler, smaller movements? Like turning our heads to the right, and then left? You may be tempted to push beyond your body’s natural limits. Our culture encourages more! more! more! Perhaps the phrase “the low places that people distain” refers to this ingrained habit of believing that what feels like just enough to us, is never quite enough. Maybe we think our honest, healthy limits are among those “low places that people distain”.
So, here is my December gift to you. It’s a phrase I heard from author and Tai Chi/Qigong scholar Peter Deadman as he described turning the head to the side:“We’re not trying to force it. Just rotate the neck to the soft limit of its reach.” The soft limit of its reach. Isn’t that a beautiful concept? We can reach, we can exert effort, but with softness. While force creates restriction, softness allows space and flow. Limits aren’t disdainful. Often, they’re exactly the places where we are nourished.
