Correct Posture
The posture which is the foundation training starts from the "Trunk Stand". Stand with your feet apart at the comfortable width arms hanging and relaxed at the side of the body. Body and back should be upright in a relaxed condition with chin slightly back, head upright, neck straight, relax your chest.
Imagine you are being suspended by the hair off the ground so that your body is straight.
Concentrate on relaxing, breathe naturally and raise your hands up slowly to the level of your navel. Then bend your elbows, relax the shoulders, slowly bend the knees with arms held in front of chest, palms with the fingers 10 mm apert facing your bosy. Imagine that you are holding a tree trunk. Hold the position for a while, the bosy's biological electricity can then flow through it.
Normally stand like this for about 1-3 minutes. For those people who are weak or sick, start with 1 minute gradually working uo to 5 minutes.
Then stand up, hands, resting at the side of the body, left leg back to normal standing position.
Few importance principles:
1. Keep head upright, concentrate, empty your mind, do not use effort to strengthen your head up - keep the head upright naturally, so that blood and Chi can float through easily.
2. Chest slightly in and relaxed , so that your Chi goes easily to the "Dantian".(1) Keep your spine upright - then your Chi can go through your spine, giving you lot of strength.
3. Relax your back. Your back basically controls the whole body. If you are able to relax your back, your feet acquire more strength, and the body is grounded solidly on the floor. Your back works as an axle extending to your four limbs. There is a Tai Chi saying : "for your leg to have strength or not depends on whether you can use the course from back".
4. Drop your shoulders and relax your elbows. If you cannot relax your shoulders, loosen yours shoulder joint, so that the whole body does not have to bear force. Only when you are able to relax your shoulder and elbow joints is Chi able to be sent through to the end of your hands.
5. Hips are in a loose, round relaxed condition.
6. Knees are not under pressure.
7. Legs are in a comfortable position.
8. Tongue is touching the roof of he mouth, just behind the front teeth.
9. Eyes are looking straight ahead when practicing Tai Chi.
10. Then check each part of your body from head down to your feet are relaxed. Check your body for any muscle tension, starting with your head and going all the way down to your feet.
Meditate while ensuring your breath passes beyond the chest all the way down to the abdomen. Breathe naturally do not hold your breath. Relax all of your muscles, breathe in through the nose, and breathe out through mouth. So relax silently. Try to empty all thought from your mind and concentrate on your Dantian front abdomen. If a thought does enter your mind, do not try to push the thought away. Listen to your own breathing quietly.
This pre-exercise meditation will help you to achieve deep relaxation in a peaceful environment.
When you have emptied your mind relaxed all your muscles, you are in Tai Chi or QiGong condition ready to start it.
(1)Dantian- Three finger width under your navel, put the other palm under the three fingers, the part is called "Dantian" It is also called energy centre.