What a wonderful thing to do, this is your first step on a journey that can last your lifetime, a journey of self discovery, a deep understanding that will improve not only your mental and physical health but how you live your life. Within my own tai chi practice I have enjoyed every step, tai chi isn't just a health exercise it is a way of life, one that flows with life and not against it.
During your journey you will probably experience ups and downs, there will be times when you want to do nothing else but train and others when you want to do nothing at all. I want to share with you that this is a natural cycle, within itself it is neccesary for growth. When you experience an up time, when you are all excited about tai chi - work on your foundation. When you experience a down time when your practice feels all too hard - work on your foundation.
Your foundation is the key, if you want your tai chi to improve, if you want it to change your life then the foundation is where you should start and end. It took me many years to understand this, I don't want you to waste the same time - everything in life is like this, feeling stuck? Then focus on your foundation. That is where we begin now, with the most basic and yet deepest teaching that so many who practice tai chi neglect, proper posture alignment. It is important to learn the correct posture before starting your tai chi to create a strong foundation on which to build it. Be careful not to skip over this part of the instruction looking for something more exciting because building a tall building on a weak foundation equals disaster
1. Preparation Posture - feet parallel, chin tucked under, pelvis tilted under, chest out, palms back. Begin - wrists up, elbows down, wrists by your side sinking down
Before beginning your practice pay attention to how you feel physically and mentally, stand with your feet parallel and scan your body for any tension, when you find some breathe into it and let it go as much as you can.
Next smile a half smile and mentally relax, this will create the right environment for you to get the most benefits from your tai chi practice.To start as in the video stand with your feet shoulder width apart, hands by your side, palms facing back, slightly open your arm pits so your arms aren't pushing against the side of your body.
Eyes facing down at 45 degrees, chin tucked slightly under so that you stretch and straighten your neck, the top of your head facing upwards as if suspended. Straighten your back and tilt your pelvis / tailbone under and forward so as to stretch your spine from top and bottom. Bend your knees slightly and relax.
Breathing in gently raise your wrists upwards, breathing out sink you elbows back and down. The feeling you want here is of lightness and heaviness, as if your wrists are floating up connected to baloons and your elbows get heavy as they are sinking down. Breathing is always coordinated with the movement and the body and mind remain relaxed.
Now you are ready for your first video lesson, take advantage of it being a video -rewind it - pause it- whatever it takes to clarify a movement to you. I will leave you alone to practice, enjoy, Stephen Procter
Now that you have learnt the basic posture for starting your tai chi we need to look at and understand the proper stance. Your understanding of stance will affect the depth of your balance and fluidity of movement while you perform the forms so it is very important, understanding of this will set the correct posture for flowing of Qi and improvement of your health.The following stance is based on Wu style tai chi, Wu tai chi is a small frame tai chi, this means it does not use big stances but instead the feet are usually shoulder width apart (you can observe this in the photos). This is not only from front to back also sideways (shoulder width as in the drawing);
The reason for this is to create stability in all directions. An example is if a tree has strong roots in the front and the back, but shallow roots at the side, then it is just a matter of rocking the tree sideways to topple it over. But if the tree has strong roots at the front and back and also at both sides it will be very difficult to uproot it.
To create a strong foundation stand with your feet parallel, shoulder width apart and slightly bend your knees. Tuck your chin in slightly towards your neck, so that you get a slight stretch of the back of your neck, don’t tilt it so far in that it affects your breathing. Think of the crown of your head pulling upwards to stretch out the spine, focus your eyes at a 45 degree angle in front of you, not looking around. Now tilt your pelvis forward turning your tail bone up and under, do this gently whilst still keeping the spine straight, as if one disc is stacked on top of another. Tilting the chin and turning the tail bone under will gently stretch the spine increasing the energy flow in your body.
It will also change your central balance from backwards to in-between your feet. Next circle your shoulders up and back then let them fall straight down, hands by your side, palms facing backwards, and relax. Take a deep breath in the slowly let it out feeling all the days stress going out with it.
Take another deep breathe in then let it out slowly again, feeling your body relax. Remember pain and tension in your body go hand in hand, when you let go of the tension and allow your body to relax the pain also leaves with the tension. Be aware of what standing feels like, the balance of your body, the pressure of your feet on the floor, relax into that presence. Maintain this posture throughout the form, the feet move but the body stays upright and balanced, the tail bone stays tucked under. This posture will instil alertness and keep away any sleepiness during your practice, through stretching the spine you are exciting the nervous system and encouraging the flow of energy. If at any time you feel sleepy whilst doing Tai Chi check your posture to make sure you’re not slumping.
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This article was written by Stephen Procter, instructor from Tai Chi Health for Life, Australian College of Tai Chi & Qi Gong and Meditation Instructor from Meditation in the Shire, Kirrawee NSW, Australia. If you wish to post this article on another website or in a publication please respect the author and reference / link back to this website, thank you
