No you, no tension
The White Crane doesn’t lift his wings, they float up on the ‘qi’, the energy of the universe
I was doing some qigong, following a video by Nick Loffree on the elements, and we were practicing a movement called White Crane. It feels as though you’re a bird with vast wings, lifting them to shoulder height before lowering them again.
As your wings rise, your weight shifts onto the balls of your feet, and as they sink, your weight settles back into your heels. So far, this has been my favorite movement to learn.
Nick described it beautifully, emphasising that our shoulders can remain completely relaxed as our arms are lifted by the qi—the natural energy of the universe.
Later that day, I walked down to the water where there are herons and other large birds. As I watched them lift into the sky, I thought about how their flight must depend on being utterly relaxed. Any other way would surely exhaust them. I started imagining migrating birds, traveling incredible distances across the world. It struck me how impossible that journey would be if they had a sense of “self,” if they believed they had to make this journey happen through their own power.
This reminded me of a retreat I attended, where the meditation teacher Vessantara was asked how much of the tension in our bodies comes from believing in a separate self—a “me” inside, trying to control everything. I can’t remember the exact percentage he gave, but it was something strikingly high—80% or 90%. You get the idea.
So take a leaf out of their book and move through life like the crane—totally relaxed, letting the qi carry you along.
