Qi gathers dantian and intends to put pen first
Zhang Ruyu. Chinese calligraphy is an art, and yoga is a method of exercising the body that originated in India. Calligraphy cultivates sentiment through the brilliance of the brush, while yoga achieves the unity of body and mind through the practice of asanas. Calligraphy and yoga rise from the physical life to the spiritual life, and the two nourish each other, so that the physical life and the spiritual life complement each other in a balanced manner.
I started learning calligraphy eight years ago and yoga two years ago. Nowadays, calligraphy and yoga have become my daily routines. Yoga is about the body, using the body as a pen and the form as a trace, creating in the universe and rejuvenating the body. People who have practiced yoga for a long time are slim and have inner vitality in their every move. Practicing yoga helps people stay healthy and at peace. It is a transformation from the outside to the inside. Calligraphy is quite different. Writing requires deep, long, and even breathing, and the breath is presented in the calligraphy, and each of us has our own aura, thus forming a different style. or feminine, or masculine, the words are like their people. Calligraphy achieves the goal of physical health through patient exercise. It's a change from the inside out. Yoga purifies the body, calligraphy opens up the intellect and improves personal cultivation. Yoga and calligraphy are more like the integration and extension of one's inner and outer self.
Calligraphy is the yoga of the mind, and we often have the experience of holding our breath in the process of writing. The essence of yoga lies in breathing, Cai Yong's "Treatise on Writings" wrote: "Husband, first sit silently and meditate, do as you like, do not speak, breathless, dense and radiant, such as to the Supreme, you are all good." This is also the calligraphy of the emphasis on qi gathering dantian, which is intended to be the pen first, to gather consciousness at the tip of the pen, and to experience the turning point in the process of writing, or volume or soothing, light and heavy, light and dry. In the same way, when we practice yoga, we bring our breath into the asanas, and when we inhale, we feel all the energy between the universe slowly entering every corner of the body. When you exhale, you feel all the toxins in your body be expelled from your body, and you get rid of the disturbances of the outside world. Through concentration and moderate exercise, calligraphy and yoga have become activities that strengthen the brain, calm the mind, and prolong life. The more you practice calligraphy in the way of yoga, the more you can achieve the charm of calligraphy, and the more you practice yoga in the realm of calligraphy, you can concentrate and calm your mind, and achieve balance and harmony.
Both calligraphy and yoga are based on an open mind and natural teachings. Wei Heng said in "The Four-Body Book Situation": "Those who are frustrated and cangjie should start to write a book deed to knot the rope on behalf of the knot, and cover the bird tracks to think about it." Chinese writing is created by the observation and perception of nature by ancestors and working people, as Xu Shen said: "Take everything from the body, and take everything from afar." "The majesty and beauty of the natural world inspires calligraphy. Yoga is also a practitioner who observes living beings in the natural world and realizes the laws of nature, and then verifies it to human beings, and gradually understands how to talk to their bodies and minds and recuperate. There are many yoga asanas that are related to animals and the natural world, such as: cat pose, downward dog pose, wind-blown tree pose, and so on. Through the imitation of nature, we gain the energy to balance our emotions and mind, and also enhance our natural wisdom to understand ourselves and the external environment.
a yoga mat, a table; A practice suit, a page of plain propaganda, an inkstone, anytime, anywhere, pen and ink with you, perseverance, quiet and internal cultivation.
The author is a member of the Taiyuan Book Association).
Zhang Ruyu's handwriting.