There are no signs up in any language telling the early risers to walk and jog round the park in one direction only, and yet most people obey. I suppose it might stem the flow unnecessarily to go the other way; something to do with energy and focus. It's always anti-clockwise, in case you were wondering.
All these early folks are walking their hopes, their fears, their openness around the park, starting their day in open vulnerability. The glass isn’t half empty or half full, it’s just there, as a lens through which we can view humanity. The day is becoming charged, and it’s basically good!
Business partners are generating ideas together as they pace in pairs, discussing money heatedly (it’s not just Arcadia), solo exercisers are getting their rounds done in a furious hurry, some of them. Watch out anyone who gets in their way. Others move more slowly.
UK parks have none of this early-morning bustle. Not even the busy commuters release such cries or twist their arms in front of them, as some local people do. I’m sure they’re shaking out all their tensions, thereby improving their daily interactions. Anyone moving like this in UK parks would become known affectionately – and condescendingly – as freaks, outsiders.
Some views of a park almost force you to slow down and take it all in; other stretches feature people getting past you awkwardly, or vice-versa. It’s all grist for the mill (or mist for the grill, just to spoon a vague food reference in).
Several years ago I accidentally became Malaysia’s first practitioner and assistant instructor of one variety of Qigong in one such neighbourhood park.
The Guo Lin Qigong technique started with Madame Guo Lin, a 60s Beijing artist who adapted existing forms of qigong to reverse her own Stage 4 cancer, and then taught it to fellow sufferers, in parks. There’s plenty of information about it on the Internet, and groups you can join (in Malaysia). The form she pioneered survived the Cultural Revolution, and is now taught by the Chinese government.
The instructions for walking practice are detailed and numerous. Unlike regular walking, the arms both move on the same side of the body. Then there’s step counting, tongue placement, breathing instructions and head movements. Though it sounds complicated, it’s all about relaxation. If you’re musical, there’s a tangible connection to the 4/4 beat. Meditators may have held the tongue placement before. The picture above cannot capture it, and it doesn't try.
This is nothing like qigong as I knew it in Europe. There, we lined up facing the teacher and copied their movements. We stayed more or less on one spot where we stood, and it was seen as a general tonic, less focussed on specific ailments.
Guo Lin Qigong gradually becomes a daily practice, a meeting with nature. For me, it’s an honour not only to be accepted as the only kwai lo practising the technique, but also as a practitioner. What really helped me a lot was seeing Ed, my Sifu or teacher, enjoy the practice. He wasn’t smiling, but his body was – held lightly, open to the experience, with lithe, cat-like movements. Without such regal relaxation, it could easily be robotic and stiff, blocking circulation. You can see relaxation or otherwise in how somebody holds themselves.
Though I’ve felt the tingling of chi before in T’ai chi and yoga practice, it’s nonetheless special for all that. I no longer practise the technique, but it was definitely an honour to have been accepted into the practice. I was told that locals were watching me; they must have been doing it subtly!
When science does eventually explain chi, it will still be everyday magic, as it is so accessible.
If you’re celebrating Easter, break an egg!
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