Tai Chi Journal

More on Wu Chi (or Wu Ji)

It has come to my attention that Wu Chi is considered a form of meditation all by itself. Web pages about the meditation and the philosophy behind it include:

• This article by Vincent Chu
• This introduction at "Wu Chi: The Power of Stillness" academy
• A philosophical discourse on Wu Chi here

Apparently, Wu Chi is the primordial nothingness, void, or emptiness. Wu Chi accordingly proceeds from the tao, and with it the constant interaction of yin and yang — which is what Tai Chi basically is — necessarily begins.

Circle as symbol of wuji

Tai Chi symbol: yin and yang

No wonder we assume the Wu Chi position, or a variation thereof, at the beginning of any Tai Chi form. No wonder my individual Tai Chi exercises, as prescribed by Master Lam in Step-by-Step Tai Chi, now begin with a two or three minutes of this "Standing Meditation" posture.


Incidentally, I can add a degree of confirmation to my earlier post on Wu Chi, in which I mentioned that adopting this posture (which is pretty much maintained during the subsequent "Strength and Motion" exercises) does in fact seem to relieve the urgent need to empty the bladder. I felt, and resisted, the need before beginning my exercises today. I tried starting with the "Fundamental Movements" exercises, which do not involve the Wu Chi position. It was no go. I felt like I had to run to the bathroom. But instead I went into Wu Chi, and almost immediately my urge vanished. After two or three minutes, I continued by going back and doing "Fundamental Movements." Then I did the Wu Chi-oriented "Strength and Motion" exercises. The entire session lasted an hour.

When I was done, I sat at the computer and did some work for this blog, looking up "Wu Chi" on Google, composing this post, etc. It's now 2-1/2 hours since I used Wu Chi to quell my strong bladder urge, and, no, I haven't gone to the bathroom. Though I naturally feel like I could go now, or soon, there's no sense of urgency.

I'm going to keep experimenting with Wu Chi posture as a bladder-control technique. It seems to me it could come in handy when I'm stuck in a line waiting for a urinal, as occasionally happens when there's quite a crowd.

And I'm wondering if "Wu Chi bladder control" couldn't help women even more, given that the lines just to get into the rest room can be even longer, in their case, than men's in-restroom queues for a urinal.

posted by eric @ 10:03 AM