Tai Chi is an art that cultivates both the body and mind. The so-called ‘cultivating both the body and mind’ refers to the comprehensive exercise of mental will and physical perseverance. One should not only practice external movements but also cultivate mental will and internal strength. Different styles of Tai Chi have different school characteristics. However, their movement essentials are basically the same. Now, let’s share the eight essentials of Tai Chi. Every step you take brings you one step closer to improvement!
1. Keep a calm mind and a relaxed body, and concentrate your energy. To maintain relaxation, first calm your mind. Then relax the muscles, joints, and internal organs throughout your body. Eliminate all interfering factors and focus entirely on practicing Tai Chi. During the movement process, avoid using brute force and stiffness. The spine of the human body stands upright in a natural state. The head, torso, limbs and other parts move naturally and comfortably to achieve a state of continuous movements in every form, flexibility everywhere, no stiffness or restraint, coordinated movements throughout the body, and natural actions.
2. The spirit is the commander, and the body follows the intention. Throughout the entire process of practicing Tai Chi, use intention to guide movements and focus your attention on the movements. For example, in the movement of slowly raising the arms forward in the ‘starting posture’ of Tai Chi, in appearance, it is similar to the movement of raising the arms forward horizontally in gymnastics. But in the practice method of Tai Chi, there should be the intention of raising the arms forward horizontally from the beginning of the movement.
When doing ‘sinking qi to the dantian’, there should be the intention of sinking qi to the deep part of the abdominal cavity. As long as the intention does not stop, the movement does not stop. It is like connecting each movement with a thread. The ancients summarized in the practice process that ‘the spirit is the commander, and the body follows the intention’, which emphasizes using intention to guide movements.
3. Keep the head upright with a lifted vertex and keep the tailbone centered. Keep the head straight and the neck upright. Keep the vertex lifted. The lips naturally close, the lower jaw retracts inward, and the tongue is flat. Wherever the movement is going, the eyes look there first. The eyes follow the hands, and when the hands reach, the eyes reach. When stopping, look forward through the index finger.
4. Sink the shoulders and drop the elbows, and hold the wrists and relax the fingers. The shoulders should be relaxed and level, not one high and one low. The elbows should be relaxed and slightly bent, and the intention penetrates to the fingertips.
5. Slightly concave the chest and straighten the back, and sink qi to the dantian. The collarbones are aligned horizontally. Relax the pectoral muscles, which is called slightly concave chest. The back muscles should also be relaxed. The joints of the back muscles have a slight intention of lifting upward. The back skin has a tight feeling, which is called straightening the back.
6. Move up and down in coordination and maintain overall coordination. Tai Chi is a whole-body sport. Some people say that when practicing Tai Chi, the whole body’moves without anything not moving’ and ‘from the feet to the legs and then to the waist, it must complete in one breath’. These are all descriptions of the meaning of’moving up and down in coordination and maintaining overall coordination’ when practicing Tai Chi.
The waist is the dominant factor, driving the movement of the limbs. The waist and abdominal muscles rotate, and the chest and back muscles also rotate accordingly, driving the winding and circular rotation of the limbs. Achieve up-down echoing, integration as one, and coordination in internal and external, up and down, left and right, and front and back. Be in harmony inside and outside and complete in one go.
7. Be flexible in footwork and distinct between emptiness and solidity. Whether from emptiness to solidity or from solidity to emptiness, it should be both distinct and connected coherently. Achieve a state where the form is interrupted but the intention is continuous and complete in one go.
The saying ‘Step like a cat, move like drawing silk’ is a description of the light footsteps and uniform movements of Tai Chi.
After mastering the key points of body posture in Tai Chi, pay attention to the actual and false movements and the center of gravity of the body. Because in the routine of Tai Chi, the connection between movements and the change of position and direction are all accompanied by the transformation of footwork and the transfer of center of gravity. At the same time, also pay attention to the use of body posture and hand techniques.
When practicing Tai Chi, due to the relaxed and gentle movements, it is required to have a peaceful breathing and increase the depth of breathing to meet the body’s need for oxygen. Tai Chi exercise emphasizes the use of abdominal breathing. The up and down activities of the diaphragm complete the ‘sinking qi to the elixir field’, so that the abdomen is reserved and not floating upward. In this way, when practicing Tai Chi, one will not be out of breath due to lack of oxygen and it helps to stabilize the center of gravity. Note that keeping the chest slightly concave and the back straight is helpful for ‘sinking qi to the elixir field’.
