The Art & Science of Taijiquan Part III
Journeying from the Wuji Posture

By: Jason A. Ward

As mentioned in part two of the Art & Science of Taijiquan series, the Outer dissolving process is one of the exercises done from the Wuji posture. The purpose of this article is to expand upon the previous issue, and give a more detailed understanding of the Outer Dissolving Process.

To begin with we will only describe the dissolving process using just the physical energy body. In this level begin above the head and as mentioned before, lower your intent downward towards the floor. Just like being at the top of a skyscraper, you will check all areas around the level of the body you are checking, just like checking all the doors on each floor. When you lower to another section of the body it is like dropping down one floor of the building, and checking the doors on that floor. As you lower your intent and awareness down the body you are searching for one of the four conditions. These are 1. A sense of strength. 2. A sense of contraction. 3. A sense of tension. 4. A sense that something is not right, even though you really do not know why or how.

In the first part of the process you make one whole pass through the body, starting from the head and ending at the feet. After you have done a sweep and found all of the existing blockages (ie. One of the four conditions) then you will return to the top of the head and lower your intent and awareness again, this time stopping at the first blockage along the way.

Now that you have found a blockage, you need to learn how to deal with it. Remember that the process is simply ICE TO WATER, WATER TO GAS. Starting with the first blockage, use your mind intent to feel around the blockage. Fully discover its perimeter. The perimeter will appear to be somewhat soft as it fades into the normal background of your body, so what you need to focus on is in entering the blockage. To do this, gently begin breathing and focus your intent on the blockage. As your breathing begins to enter a rhythm use your mind to relax your muscles around the blockage. This is done by sending your breath internally to that blockage. This is not done overnight. To begin with you must use your intent to trace your body from the lungs to the blockage. To develop this ability you can practice breathing from your chest to your arm, down to your palm at the laogong point.

The more you practice sending your breath to a specific location on the body, the more natural it will be to enter into a blockage, but it the beginning it may take several sessions to fully dissolve a blockage. If you find yourself spending too much time with the blockage, move on. It is best to take several passes over the blockage, rather than overexert yourself and lose focus.

When you have finished with a blockage and it is still rather substantial, remember to leave it and go on to the next one. If you find that the blockage has become soft and is losing its substantial quality, then you can use your mind to sink the blockage to the level of the next blockage and merge the two together. After the two have merged, you can begin dissolving the combined blockage. Continue this process until you can sink the blockage six feet into the ground.