Journey to oneself

 

Journey to oneself

Photos and text by Francesca Romana Rietti

 

Ringkøbing, 6^th of August 2026

 

 

The third day of the Art-Nature Lab began with a talk by Taijiquan and Qigong master Gianna Sabatelli (Technical Director for the Chen Xiaowang World Taijiquan Association in Italy, Il Campo del Cinabro) dedicated to the Way of the Tao – that is, the way of naturalness.

What follows is a montage of notes taken during a much more complex presentation in which the master immediately managed to show us the deep connection between her practice and her teachings and the themes at the heart of the Art-Nature Lab sessions, as well as the strong ties with theatre life and scenic presence.

«To understand Taoism and its resonance with our practice, it is necessary to place it within the context of Chinese thought, which is associative and intuitive, unlike Western thinking, which is analytical and tends to separate the observer from the object. Chinese thought is immersed in reality in order to better perceive its echoes and harmonies and to develop them; it is a way of thinking that has not developed a concept of absolute truth or a creator god, but tends to conceive of the existence of a sort of law, a spontaneous order that governs all things. The authentic Tao cannot be represented; even its very name does not represent it. We are thus faced with a paradox because the Tao can only be seen through action, and following it means treading a civilising path. What we can understand is that one cannot comprehend a part without comprehending the whole, and that an imbalance in one part implies an imbalance in the whole. In our practice, concentration means having a broad vision, free from obstacles, prejudices and tensions, and being aware of living one’s own strength within the continuous dynamic between heaven and earth. Non-action, as opposed to action, does not mean doing nothing, but rather not forcing things; in other words, acting spontaneously in accordance with one’s own nature.

To be oneself, however, one must know oneself. We tend to believe that something we have always done is spontaneous, but true spontaneity has to do with the Tao’s teaching to follow one’s own nature. How can we do this? How can we learn to know ourselves? Without separating the body, the mind and the emotions. Doing this means clearing the mind of many thoughts. When we practise, we must use the right side of our brain, the part associated with images. We need openness – that is, the ability to experience a natural way of being without doing what we normally do. Let’s start now by paying attention to how we stand».

This was followed by almost three hours of Qigong practice, during which the ‘Eight Animals’ sequence was taught (the flight of the hawk, the gaze of the wolf, the stretch of the snake, the leap of the tiger, the play of the dragon, the loosening of the monkey, the stretch of the bird, the dance of the bear), the aim of which is to open the extraordinary vessels, the prenatal ones. At the end of the session, the master said: «There is freedom within Qigong: do what your nature tells you to do».

«What is causing you pain? » asked at the end of the exercises the master.

These were some of the answers: «My shoulder, my chest, my neck, my knees, loss of balance, one foot, my lumbar vertebrae»…

In the afternoon, after the lunch break, we moved on to practising the martial art Taijiquan, in which we were told that what drives and guides us «is not the brute strength of our muscles, but our intentions. We never use our own strength, but that of others. We must rotate and shift our weight. Everything has been designed to open the various energy channels. All forces are always balanced, which is why we do not strike, but use elastic force».

A final sentence by Gianna Sabatelli brings my notes to a conclusion: «Everything we’ve practised today is just a first taste, but all these elements will also take root in other areas – in your lives».

If we stop relying on our muscles next time the master asks what’s causing us pain, will we be able to answer her any other way?