LESSONS FROM OUR JANUARY YANG FORM WORKSHOP
1. The tan-tien should feel as if it is a marble moving within the pelvic bowl. The Tan-tien is a spot about one and a half inches below the navel in the center of the body. Once it pops up above the pelvic bowl, you are disconnected from your root. If it moves beyond the pelvic bowl you are off balance.
2. As you move, each part of the body rotates, sending a wave upward and outward. The next movement begins from the ground, not from the spot the wave moved into. In this way each change of movement creates a new wave. When the wave reaches its furthermost point, let it go. Don’t let the wave pull your body out of its root.
3. The center of the body (hips, abdominal area and low back) is like a ball that can rotate in many planes of movement. In the form, these planes are changing from one movement to the next. The form takes place in this central “ball” with the movements of the arms, legs and head a result of the ball’s movement. Each action of the ball is like a pebble, dropping into a still lake that sends out ripples into the surrounding water.
4. Some Tai-chi teachers tell you to let your eyes follow your hands. This is just an exercise to allow your head to move along with the momentum of the body. You don’t really watch your hands in your form. If your neck is stiff and your head doesn’t flow, then your form will be stiff.
5. One problem students may have is that they may only use the horizontal plane of movement or only the vertical. Each movement of each joint should have a balance of vertical and horizontal movement.
6. Turn by using the hip. Don’t turn from the shoulders. The hip goes first and the rest of the joints follow in turn. Turning from the shoulders means that your attention is in your head. It should be evenly distributed throughout your body. The steps are naturally carried by the movement of the hips. You do not use the muscles of the leg to step.
