Do the Thing, Get the Power!

When I played in a symphony full time, the Canadian Brass were visiting artists for a pops concert series. That year they were traveling with a plus one artist, a drummer.  It was a bit unusual. The rest of us under our breath, “gimmick?”  

He blended into the rehearsal in a way almost no one took notice of. But, during the concert, to start the second half after intermission, he came to center stage by himself with a snare drum. He started a drum solo. It was truly remarkable. By the climax of that 4.5-minute piece, the entire audience rose to their feet in a single surge with thunderous applause. Shouting and cheers all throughout the auditorium. Phenomenal energy. Incredible artist.

Backstage after the show, the principal percussionist in the symphony told his story. It turns out, they were both studying at the Curtis Institute together in college. He mentioned, “When he showed up, he was nothing great. Just another guy. But about 2 weeks into the first semester, we’d walk by his practice room and heard him do something no one else ever did. It was odd.

He was sitting there, with a single snare drum and one drumstick. Strike, rest, strike, rest, strike, rest, strike… one pulse over and over and over, about the speed of a resting heartbeat. He’d do this for 30 minutes without a break, then 45 minutes without a break. Day after day after day. Two years later, this guy was a monster. No one could match his inner rhythm. Where he led, when he led, everyone followed.”

In Tai Chi Gung, we share a phrase that sums this up. “Do the thing, get the power.” But we talk about this principle in relationship to health and longevity.

Everyone has things they think, say and do that speed up aging. Most have a few things they do that slow it down or at least keep it neutral. But very few know the Siddha regenerative techniques that can literally change one’s health paradigm. Do you aspire to live for centuries?  Are you willing to do the work?

I became aware of these exercises in my mid-20s when I found Master Lama Rasaji. And along the way, I learned that he lived and trained at the original Lamasery where these secrets of health and longevity have been shared in an unbroken lineage for more than 3000 years. It got my attention.

I already knew the power of repetition from music. I was one of those odd musicians that happily embraced playing scales and arpeggios every day, over and over and over. I genuinely enjoyed the reps. It was like basic nutrition for music.

In some ways, Lao Tzu’s system has been easy for me. I approached the Tai Chi Gung standing exercises the same way I approached music. I’ve been doing that each day now for more than 37 years. It unfolded in similar ways, bit by bit. And like music, one discovers the deeper you go, the more you return to the very beginning.

There’s a joke among the Lamas at the Lamasery in Tibet about this repetition thing. The undercurrent… “Are you serious? Or just window shopping?”

 “Keep practicing… the first 100 years are the hardest. But it gets a bit easier after that.”

Visit:  www.circleofchi.com/david to learn more.