T'ai chi transforms negative into positive and enables people to achieve insight into repetitive and harmful behaviour, writes Clodagh Mulvey.
THE ANCIENT Chinese martial art of t'ai chi is fast becoming one of the most popular ways to slow down and relax in Ireland. But it is not just the frazzled city worker, stressed-out super-mum or despairing commuter who is finding solace in this holistic health system.
Branching out beyond the environs of the evening class, t'ai chi is now being practised in more unusual settings.
T'ai chi instructor Heather Darling has been teaching the technique - renowned for its slow and focused moving meditation practice - to inmates at many of the State's prisons for the past seven years and says the experience has been "transforming" for the people she has worked with, giving them a sense of inner freedom.
"At present the Irish Prison Service and the City of Dublin VEC is engaged in implementing a holistic programme which will cater for the various needs of each prisoner. This support network is unique in that it approaches each prisoner's needs from a mind, body and spirit viewpoint, integrating these aspects into a rehabilitation programme," she explains.
Having also worked with juveniles and women at Mountjoy prison, Darling now runs a class with men at Wheatfield prison in Dublin combining stress awareness and management techniques into the practice.
The two-hour classes consist of between five to 10 men and are proving such a success at the prison, they are being increased from once to twice weekly.
The inmates are grieving at many levels," Darling explains. "Normal feelings of grief, associated with the loss of a family member or loved one, are multiplied for people in prison. There is also a lot left unexpressed for those who have not come to terms even with their own imprisonment.
"I work by combining my various studies into a stress awareness and management programme to include t'ai chi, chi kung energy work, meditation, group discussion and problem solving on various difficult areas such as low self-esteem, conflict, illness and grief," she says.
Ultimately, t'ai chi is a spiritual journey of self-development and deep character building. The disciplined and meditative practice of slow, deliberate movement and focused, relaxed breathing allows for freedom from continuous analysis, Darling says.
"The peace experienced in the classes allows people to become objective and therefore achieve insight into repetitive and harmful behaviour. The process transforms negative into positive.
"In prison, the amazing thing is that t'ai chi gives the men freedom to transform their lives. We all feel trapped sometimes and the practice gives you a space inside," she says.
T'ai chi instructor Ross Cousens agrees that the calmness and inner quiet which can be achieved through the practice of t'ai chi is transformational, but not an easy thing to find amidst the bustling pace of modern life.
One of the fundamental "principles" in t'ai chi, he says, is to focus and still the mind. "I challenge anyone, especially in today's world, to stop and think of nothing for two seconds."
Trained in Yang-style t'ai chi at the John Ding Academy in London, Cousens emphasises the importance of settling one's energy down by relaxing the mind through the body.
"One way to imagine it is, when a table cloth is thrown out over a table and it takes the shape of the table, it comes to the edges and it just settles. You want that same feeling in your body," he explains.
This idea is particularly important in his work with a group of mental health patients at the St John of Gods hospital in Celbridge, Co Kildare. Cousens gives weekly hour-long classes to a small group at the centre and has found that practising t'ai chi helps them achieve longer than average periods of stillness.
"When the class begins they're usually buzzing and walking around - helping them to settle is very difficult. But by the end of the class, they can be much calmer so you can work on something like standing with feet hip-width apart, hands at their centre and eyes fixed on a point.
"At the beginning of the class I might be able to help them do that for about 30 seconds, but by the end they can stand still for about two or three minutes."
The fact that all of the postures in the t'ai chi form have very flowery-sounding Chinese names also helps. "With names like 'snake creeps down' and 'fan through back', everyone enjoys it and has fun," he says.
Enjoyment of life, despite its stresses, is also central to Darling's teaching and coping with life's constant changes is much easier, she says, when you have the tools.
T'ai chi doesn't change the stressful things in life, but it does change one's attitude to them, she says.
"There is a lot of fear around now about money and economic recession and humans tend to hold onto thoughts, which causes a stress reaction. But you can learn with your breathing to reverse the stress reaction, Darling says.
"T'ai chi helps people adjust to changes and find balance again - an inner sense of equilibrium. We're so capable as human beings of making changes, but also of embracing them," she adds.
"There's a natural process of life out there and we're not in control of it, but we're picked up by it. It's safe to relax into it," Darling says. "When you realise the impermanence of everything, it actually sets you free to enjoy what you do have."
Where you can learn t'ai chi
IRISH T'AI CHI CHUAN ASSOCIATION: evening and weekend courses are available in St Andrew's Resource Centre, Pearse Street, Dublin 2 and at the Clinic in Naas, Co Kildare. www.irishtaichi.com
ROSS COUSENS: John Ding Academy-trained, he works with retirement groups, the Multiple Sclerosis Society, provides corporate training, runs residential courses and takes evening classes in Dublin. See jdiatcc.com
HEATHER DARLING: runs a private practice which includes one-to-one consultations, classes, workshops and retreats in her West of Ireland centre. She works with the Multiple Sclerosis Society, the elderly and people from all walks of life and gives talks and classes to clubs, groups and organisations. Her website will be launched in mid-August at spiritofchange.ie.