As we move from summer into the fall we find a subconscious need to clear away all of the negative energies that we have been building up throughout the year. The best way to accomplish this is by learning how to sink the chi and this is very important because the chi can become stagnant during the winter months. When the chi gets blocked our energy is prevented from flowing throughout the body. One of the first things to follow this problem is the beginnings of depression.

Depression may come from a number of different causes, while some people have genetic abnormalities that cause chemical imbalances; most people are depressed because of environmental factors. Our energy channels become blocked and when stressful events happen we are unable to cope. When we sink the chi we relieve these blockages and allow our body to heal itself. But this means that we need to not only understand chi on an intellectual level, but on an emotional level as well. This can some time be a real problem for many people, especially Westerners, because we have been taught to understand that which we can see with our eyes.

Controlling and sinking the chi to help with relaxation is actually fairly simple. One of the fundamental rules of tai chi is that you do not move on to a new set until you f ully understand the movement that you are working on. Until you can relate to the chi, you will not be able to manipulate it to your benefit. This means first of all that mediation is essential. Distractions are the killer of real thinking and we must first remove all of the worlds little interferences and our eyes are the portal through which these distractions enter our consciousness. Relax the eyes and you will feel the peace settle over you. Next it is important that your focus, your attention, be focused on your breathing. This simple exercise, begun while you are meditating and continuing through your workout, will allow us to gently move the chi downward, sinking it, while reopening the body's meridian points.