Find your chi

Anuj Goyal was looking for an alternative. In his words, he was ‘searching for something that could help maintain balance in his life and fitness.’ After completing his CA course in 1991, Goyal worked in the finance departments of automobile and IT companies before joining Publicis India ten years ago before he assumed his current position as CFO of its digital solutions arm, Razorfish.

The breakthrough for him came around December of the year, 2008. He saw an advertisement for a Tai Chi centre in Delhi and decided to give it a shot. He says, “I had tried a lot of things before this. There is nothing wrong with any form of fitness. But, nothing integrates the mind and body like Tai Chi does. With this, the focus is so entirely on movement and balance, instead of breath like most other forms of fitness.” Since then, he has been regularly practising it every morning only to see the difference it made in his life. Goyal says, “Tai Chi ensures that I don’t care about the world and yet stay ahead in my personal and professional life. It slows you down, but that’s not a bad thing. Slowing down does not mean that your life is coming to a halt.”

Starting with the basic eight-form Tai Chi for a month, Goyal eventually moved to the 85-form Tai Chi over the six years that he has been practising the Chinese martial arts form. Of his journey, Goyal says, “The 85-form takes more time to practice. It takes 20 to 22 minutes to complete, but you feel the stress levels and the rigidity in your body reduce. Developing your Chi from within has its benefits and it has definitely helped me too. ” Goyal’s day starts at 5 am with a cup of tea with his wife after which he heads to a park nearby to practise Tai Chi. He often meets up with his friends and some from the centre to have a session with them.

Goyal has seen the effects in a practical sense as well. He explains, “Becoming proficient at Tai Chi is a long enduring process that involves patience and improving your movement every day. When it comes to practical life, the calmness only helps. In my interactions with my peers and employees as well, I have seen that I am less impulsive about my reactions as I take time to understand people and why they behave the way they do before reacting.” He continues, “Besides this, I have learned how to work as a better team player, I feel more mature and most importantly, I feel a complete integration of mind and body with Tai Chi in my life.” He adds, “If we were to consider life as an SIP, Tai Chi would be my investment in the same. I ensure that my daily investment keeps happening.“