Life in Motion
Why train tai ji in the morning
Practising tai ji is hard. But that’s not an excuse to not practise. However, the “hard” part seems to nag louder than the “I want to practise” part. So I’ve rephrased the question to “how can I create the time to practise”. I have tried night time, I have tried day time. I have tried weekends. I have tried anytime. Each has its own strengths and weaknesses. I have finally settled on mornings. Here’s why.
1. Less distractions
There aren’t much thoughts in the mornings, for me anyway. I just wake up and go to work. Everything in between is normally a blur. I would have brushed my teeth, had my breakfast, and changed into my work clothes. However, they are all part of a routine so much so that I wouldn’t even think of them. The ultimate aim would be to incorporate training as part of this normal routine. The immediate aim of course, is just to do it in the morning, before the work piles up, before questions start flowing in, before problems start erupting at work or at home, before the day even starts!
2. Less guilt
If i’ve promised myself to practise everyday, I’ll feel very guilty to break that promise. If I am suppose to practise at night, come night time, I will have plenty of excuses not to e.g. too hungry, too tired, something’s on TV, worked late etc (see this post). However, if I have practised in the morning, not practising at night is “ok” because I have already done so in the morning. If I do practise again at night, it’ll be a bonus!
3. Less stressful
I don’t have to rush home after work. Work nowadays are normally unpredictable. It can drag on. Working late will provide a very strong disincentive to train (my top 10 excuses). Working late actually attracts all other excuses like too hungry, too tired, a lot in the mind etc.
4. Habit is stronger than motivation
A regular time slot for tai ji actually works better than coming up with motivation every time I want to practise. As mentioned in (1), the ideal will be to incorporate it as part of a routine. While aiming for that ideal, we can always “just do it” for now.
5. Good atmosphere
The morning air has a certain quality and calmness. It’s like the world has fallen asleep and had a good rest. And my tai ji is trying to stir it into motion again.
Next action
I have been trying to maintain this “morning routine” for the past 1 month. I have failed on average about 2 days a week, which is still a good achievement for now. Some failed days are normally my “class” days. So it’s not all bad. 
My next goal will be to maintain the same quality of mind from start of a form to the end of a form. Most of the time, I might start out good, but later in the form I’ll be more tensed because of lack of concentration, legs giving way, distracted, too hot etc. Care to join me? It’s always good to know someone else is training as well.
Tags: Discussion
4 comments for “Why train tai ji in the morning”
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The lunchtime training session has become a bit sporadic at times. Sometimes it’s too hot, other times I really need to just get out and grab some lunch in a place other than my desk.
I’ve tried incorporating the morning thing, but for me, mornings are quite hectic.
Thanks for sharing. I’ve tried various times, and morning has worked for me when I did my exams while working. So i figured it can work for tai ji as well, and so far, it’s working. fingers crossed!
I’m nearly 50. I’ve found different times of day work better during different phases in my life (young kids, building a career), and different seasons of the year (summer - longer days, everyone in the family more active, longer; winter - shorter days, everyone tends to turn in earlier).
It’s always a challenge to find the best solution for right NOW. It’s an even bigger challenge to face up to when it’s not working so well, let go of a habit, and find a new best time.
Thanks for the input Rick. It’s quite refreshing to be reminded of the time dimension in the larger scale. I guess I’m only looking in daily chunks. I’m sure my yearly (or longer) chunks would be quite different as I go through life. The time will come when I have to let go of a habit, and I’ll try to remember the advice here. Thanks for sharing.