Today at Sunday drop-in class one of the things we were working on was relaxation, specifically of the limbs as we move them through the postures of the form. When we try to create a perfect posture there is so much self in there, we're barely aware of anything else as we are trying so hard. There is little chance for a spark of connection to ignite between us and anything or anyone else, and no real relation to anything other than our own inner judge is telling us how badly we are doing T'ai Chi, (or even worse, telling us how brilliantly we are doing it!) Relaxing and letting go into the 'shapes' today, the students were actually in better postures than they could have tried to put themselves in. Every day there is more letting go to allow, on so many levels. It is said that T'ai Chi, being a Taoist art, should never be an accumulation of knowledge or techniques, but is instead a natural reduction of the unnecessary, (as Mark often says in lessons). We reduce the inessential, (postural habits, affectations, excess tension) and our postures are improved, as well as much else. So much has been said so well about this in Cheng's and others' books, but it was still really wonderful to see it happening in real people as we worked together today.