Releasing Resistance

Investigating Resistance from ann on Vimeo.

In T'ai Chi practise we investigate resistance. What does resistance feel like physically? When someone pushes you as in the video above, you can respond by pushing back or by yielding (releasing) and 'allowing' the pusher to fall forward. In this practise one aspect of resistance become obvious,  In order to feel resistance you must be pushing back!!!! Wow I can still remember my AHA moment when the truth of this struck me.  If I stop pushing back I can't feel like I'm being pushed. If I yield to life and go with the flow i have stopped resisting.

Resisting things in our life is often difficult to recognise. However as soon as you ask yourself to list the things in your life that you want to change you become aware of what you are resisting.

 Wanting to change or control things and people in our lives is another way of thinking of resistance.

How much time in our day do we 'waste' trying to change or 'fix ' people. Here in Ireland we spend a lot of time resisting the rain, does it work, has the rain stopped? No! And all our resisting does is build up frustration inside of us.

In releasing we remind ourselves to let go of resisting, and allow what is to be.

If this is too difficult we welcome the resistance and really allow ourselves to feel it fully. This is a form of releasing because at least we have stopped resisting our resistance.

If you make a list of the things( and people) in your life that you are wanting to change and let go of wanting to change and or fix them you will notice a change happening.

Firstly you will free up a lot of energy that was being used in resisting.

You will be more present in your life and relationships which will allow you to enjoy your life more fully.

We all feel it ether consciously or subconsciously when someone is trying to control us and we don't like it, it makes us want get away from those people. People feel it from us when we are trying to change or fix them and they don't like it either. When we stop doing this our relationships really blossom.