Even more tragic than our separation
from the world is our separation from ourselves.
How many times have you stood in the kitchen slicing tomatoes for supper?
Where was your mind? What was your soul feeling?
Were you aware of the feel of the knife against against the palm of your
hand?
Did you feel the texture of the tomato as the knife sliced through it?
Were you aware of how your hips, shoulder, abdomen,
and wrist aided the hand in the slicing process?
The answer to all these questions is, probably, no.
(John Lash)
Qi
Tai chi beginners can sometimes become careless in their
performance of tai chi - with their minds upon
qi and pleasure,
they forget about the
physical.
If your joints are improperly used and your
awareness is poor, your body will
suffer.
Improved energy flow requires a correctly
balanced
physical body, used with
relaxation and
control.
Stability
The
qigong
exercises that begin a typical
tai chi class
focus upon stretching and strengthening the major muscle groups that support
the body.
Form
practice continues this, with the added benefit of mobilising the
joints.
Many students are not so keen on qigong because the exercises require
stamina and
endurance.
Missing these exercises or de-emphasising their importance is foolish.
Standing and moving qigong trains you to move the appropriate muscles and
maintain
healthy skeletal alignment at all times.
If your muscles, tendons and ligaments do not support the joints, the joints
will function abnormally.
Some
knee
problems can be caused by bad tai chi practice.
Mobility
If your tai chi looks and feels like
karate, you are
undoubtedly
doing it
incorrectly.
For your joints to flex appropriately, your muscles need to be quite
relaxed.
Only use the absolute minimal amount of
strength
required to hold your limb in place.
In most cases this will still be far too much, because your 'faulty
sensory appreciation' will tell you that you are relaxed, when in reality
you are far from it.
Locked muscles produce stiff, immobile joints.
We want mobile joints, supported by a
supple framework of
elastic tissue.
Shoulders
The shoulders are commonly overused in tai chi.
They should be connected to the hips and moved as a consequence of the leg
and waist muscles,
rather than independently.
There are no conventional
punches in tai
chi; you never deliver a blow by 'cocking' the shoulder.
The shoulders should be free to fold and flex normally but never lead the
movement.
If your shoulders are stiff, consider how free the legs are...
Pelvis, hips & knees
The
pelvis hardly moves in tai chi - it is the
hip kwa that moves.
Keep the pelvis heavy and let the muscles of your waist and legs move the
body.
Many students sink deep into the knees instead of the hips - this is how you
can damage the knees.
If your knees hurt during tai chi practice, look to the pelvis first.
Loose hips, relaxed lower back and ankles will allow the knee to move comfortably.
Spine
Sinking into your hips and letting the pelvis become heavy will allow the
lower back to relax fully.
When the tailbone drops, your spine lengthens
naturally.
Make sure that the rear knee is relaxed.
You should feel a sensation behind the
shoulders called 'pluck up the back'.
Stiffness and holding will reduce mobility - the vertebra should be free to
flex and rotate as you move.
Stability & mobility
Your tai chi practice must balance stability and mobility.
Without the stability and support of the muscles and a correctly aligned
skeleton, joint movement can become sloppy and careless.
Beginners work extensively upon stability and
strength, only moving
onto a more dynamic performance of tai chi once the body has found balance.
Wayward joints and
exaggerated movements need to be identified and corrected long before reeling
silk and
applications are
introduced.
Classes
A
new starter
should do very few form postures until they begin to get some sense of their own
body.
Our
beginners syllabus
limits people to the first section of the
Yang
Cheng Fu
form.
These are revised until the more serious faults are removed.
Page created 9 August 2000