Tai Chi Exercises and Short Sequence

RE-VITALISE T’AI CHI Holidays, Retreats and Training

Traditional Cheng Man-Ch’ing Style

www.re-vitalise.co.uk [email protected]

Contents About Re-Vitalise. ..................................................................................................... 3 Tai Chi, the History. .................................................................................................. 4 Fundermentals of Tai Chi. ..................................................................................... 4 Listening with our Mind, Body and Soul. .............................................................. 6 Yielding Yielding ............................ ............................................ ................................ .............................. .............................. ................................ ...................... ...... 7 Earth................ Earth................................ ................................ .............................. .............................. ................................ ............................... ........................ ......... 8 The Yielding Mind ................................................................................................ 9 Qi .............................. ............................................... ............................... .............................. ................................ .............................. ............................. ............... 9 Tao Gong. Gong. ................................ ................................................ ............................... ............................... ................................ .............................. .................11 ...11 The Short Sequence ..................................................................................................14 The Sequence Continued (From Push, Step 10) ....................................................17 Meditation on formless mind ....................................................................................20

Copyright © Re-Vitalise Tai Chi. 2009.

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About Abou t Re-Vitalise. Re-Vitalise. Re-Vitalise, the company, is owned and run by Andy Spragg. Andy has been training in the Chinese Martial Arts for 20 years, concentrating on Wing Chun initially. Since 1991, Andy has been training in T’ai Chi with UK instructor Christian Birch. Andy is a Buddhist and is particularly interested in the study of the synergy between Tai Chi and Buddhist meditation. Andy uses his Tai Chi as a central part of his Buddhist practice Re-Vitalise has been set up to t o offer out retreats to people interested in holistic disciplines. The main aim of our retreats is to relax, have fun and take something of the essence of the art aaway way with you. Andy says :“The art of Tai Chi I find fascinating because it has such depth. It truly takes a lifetime to learn and this is what draws me in deeper, the more I study. Even now, I continue to study the form that I learnt on the first day of training, and yet I continue to uncover new things within it. Tai Chi gives me balance in my life. No matter where I am, when I practice my Tai Chi it centres me and relaxes me. I am convinced of the health benefits of Tai Chi and I have a passion for passing this onto others.”


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Tai Chi, the History. Under the bonnet Tai Chi is i s actually a martial art. Originating in Northern China, it was based on a fight between a snake and a crane. A study of the way the snake coiled and yielded to the straight blows made by the crane, influenced the development of this fascinating art. Formed by Taoists (pronounced Dow-ists) (A Chinese Philosophy and religion based on study of the natural world) . Essentially the Taoists were pacifists hence the development of a non-aggressive art. th

The recorded, modern history goes back to the 12 century with the first of 5 families appearing and teaching. The Chen family. All Tai Chi styles are named after families with the main styles being Chen, Yang, Wu and Sun. Cheng man-Ch’ing is our style. Dr Cheng was a Yang practitioner, and a physician. He altered the style slightly but maintained most of yang style.

Fundermentals of Tai Chi. Tai Chi is Yielding Yiel ding and accepting. Soft and flowing yet spirited. Concentrated and alive yet gentle. But what do we mean by yielding? Not a push over, yielding is about accepting and inviting energy in but in such a way to allow communication and intention. The movements in tai-chi are never fully committed. So when we step, we taste the ground with our feet first before we move our weight across. We never ‘drop’ in to a foot. Our arms never act independently. They never lead the movement. Movement in Tai Chi is always driven by the t he waist and legs. We never do something extra and deliberate with our arms. The mind is fundamental to tai chi. Tai chi is 50% body and 50% mind. The mind pulls the body along gently and continuously, like drawing a silken thread from the cocoon. If it races to fast, the thread will snap. Too slow and the thread will twist and knot. Visualisation is incredibly important in Tai Chi. Much of the energy comes from our connection with the ground. So much of the visualisation is concerned with this aspect of tai chi. For example. We may choose choose to envisage ourselves ourselves as a water droplet. We see half of the bulbous part of the droplet below ground and when we perform our form we move this great volume of water below the surface. This helps us to connect with the ground.


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Where does the energy come from? First and foremost from t he ground. This is not some esoteric force that emanates from the ground here. Simply the experience of this great ball of rock beneath us. As an experiment, next time you find yourself on a large rocky area, say by the sea. Stand Sta nd in a relaxed posture and ‘feel’ the sheer scale of the planet beneath you pushing upwards. There is a great deal of inherent energy in this huge ball of rock beneath our feet. Learn to feel it. Tai Chi is about becoming intimate with the earth, connecting with it, communicating with it, using it. Secondly energy comes from another person. Through yielding, we learn to accept energy in and transform it. So even e ven when practising solo we ‘visualise’ the other person in our form and understand where the energy comes from. Then there is Qi. The inherent life energy in the body. Yes, we do feel and the movement in tai chi help to improve the flow of Qi. But in our tai chi, we don’t overemphasize it! The tai chi classics say that we shouldn’t concentrate on Qi, just have an awareness of it. But it exists and flows through us. It is Qi that acupuncture practitioners use to cure us. It is the energy present and used to heal i n Reiki and it is present as Prajna in Yoga, driving through the Chakras, energy points in the body. And what about breathing? Don’t try to time your breathing with tai chi. Tai chi has its own natural rhythm. Over time your breathing will naturally start to follow i t. Don’t force it, don’t concentrate on it. Just let it happen naturally

The form, what is the form? The form appears on the surface like a dance. A set of choreographed movements that we repeatedly practice. It is the t he key exercise practice in Tai Chi. A set of postures that flow into each other. Why do we practice the form slowly? To truly understand and feel the different energies. To truly learn to yield, to connect with the t he ground, to flow and transform these energies. If we were to practice fast initially we would just end up externalising the form and adding our own aggressive energy and intent i n. Later, we learn to perform the form faster and also we learn weapons and two person forms. But initially we must become intimate with the forces we are using, with our own ability to transform them. The form flows. It never stops from beginning to end so it is difficult to count the postures within it. Actually, the postures themselves, although they have names individually (e.g. White crane spreads wings, single whip, repulse monkey etc) are less important than how we move between them. We are always single weighted except for at the start and at the end. What does this mean? We always have more weight in i n the one leg than the other. Here the concept of yin and yang enters in. We constantly c onstantly move our energy around the body during the


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form. Our energy is driven by our mind, our intention and the whole body is involved in the movement. Tai chi can be seen as a meditation. In meditation, we seek to develop mindfulness, the ultimate awareness of the present present moment. Focussing on what what is happening in the here-and-now, Not drifting off, worrying about other things. Tai Chi has great synergy with Buddhist meditation (which is why I practice). The flow and acceptance inherent in tai chi and mindfulness are found in Buddhist meditation. Over time with practice, Tai Chi can have the effect of quietening the mind.

Listening with our Mind, Body and Soul. In Tai Chi we are a re learning to communicate through energy. To communicate requires the ability to listen as well as speak. In Tai Chi, we listen to energy, we invite it in, understand its essence and then we send it back out. There is a key clue c lue here to an underlying principle in Tai Chi. To communicate involves more that one person. Tai Chi is not an individual practice. Communication involves something else as w ell. It involves a wider knowledge about the subject we a re communicating with. When we talk to a person, pe rson, a knowledge of that person helps us to interpret the subtle nuances in the conversation. This is no different in Tai Chi. Whether we are working with another person or whether we are working solo, just working with the intrinsic energy in ourselves and the world around us, we m ust listen and we must gain knowledge in order to communicate properly. This is what Tai Chi is all about. It is a very real rea l experience. So the first lesson in Tai Chi is to learn to listen. And this is another reason why we practice Tai Chi slowly. When we practice the form we are learning how to listen with every ounce of our being. You can try this simple exercise. Stand for a short time. If you know Tai Chi, adopt a posture. If not, simply stand in a comfortable manner with the weight more on one le g than the other. Now, experience the world around you with all your senses. Start with sight. Don’t try to label anything you see. Just see. Experience colours and shapes. Notice the way your mind naturally starts labelling things but try to ignore this side of the experience. Just notice the seeing. Now move to smell. See if you can pick up any faint smell in your nose. Experience it but again, don’t try to label. Now listen. Let your ears soak up the sounds around you.


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Now taste, the toughest of all if you haven’t eaten for some time. But maybe there is a metallic taste in your mouth. There is i s always some taste there. Experience it. Now feel. Feel the ground pushing up through your feet, your legs and into your hips and body. Feel your body relaxing down into t hat. Feel how warm or cool the room is. Feel the clothes pressing against your skin. Feel any tension in the muscles. Muscular aches are OK. Just experience them and try to relax through them. Finally, come to your mind. In Buddhism the mind is the sixth sense. The thoughts running through it are the triggers for that sense. So just stand and sample the thoughts that are running through your mind. Don’t follow them. Just notice them and let them run on. Now stand and try to experience e xperience all 6 senses together. The whole picture of your experience at this point in time. Difficult, but it is this experience and manner that we practice Tai Chi. When we practice the form, this is the way we practice. Experiencing everything. And this way we learn to listen.

Yielding The best example of yielding is seen in Nature. The way a snake fights. It coils around the attack, accepting it, but not allowing the strike to actually touch it. Constantly flowing, constantly changing. And it maintains contact with the attack. Following it and listening to the direction. This maintenance of contact is key. In all communication we maintain contact. How would it work otherwise? This is no different in Tai Chi. This carries some of the essence of yielding. Yielding follows, accepts, welcomes. But why? Why accept. Surely from a martial aspect we would simply be a push-over? In its simplest form we can view our bodies as a horizontal bar, running through our shoulders with a pivot in the centre. Push on the one side of the bar and the other side will move in the opposite direction with equal force. The problem with this analogy is that a bar is i s rigid and therefore is unable to listen. As soon as our bodies go rigid, we can’t listen anymore. We must stay soft and yielding. So we have a rubber nature. Our arms are soft but they have tone so that they can accept and then translate the energy. Almost like elephants’ trunks. Our legs too, have this type of feeling in them. So that they can absorb energy and take it down into the ground. This is critical to yielding. The ability to accept the energy all the way through our bodies and down into the ground. In this wa y we combine the listening associated


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with the previous exercise with the listening experienced in yielding. We experience the energy coming in and take it down into the ground through our bodies. Only if we have gained a direct understanding of our relationship with the ground can we truly yield . To yield, we must join with the energy. We gently reach out and make contact with it. Welcoming it in. Life teaches us to fear energy, to block it or push it away. This i sn’t Tai Chi. However, it is a very ingrained habit to block or push away energy. It takes a great deal of practice to unconsciously join with the energy and bring it in. And the more we appreciate our relationship with the ground, the more we can break through his habit. It is difficult but not impossible to visualise the yielding nature of Tai Chi when we practice the form. Every single posture, without exception, contains yielding and acceptance. If you are new to Tai Chi this will be extremely difficult for you to do but if you have studied before, run through the form slowly a nd examine each individual posture and study the way it accepts ene rgy in and translates the energy before sending it out again. In Tai Chi our arms a re our primary, but not our only, listening devices. We l isten with the whole body. Taking energy in and translating it. But obviously our arms are generally the points of contact. But we don’t yield with our arms. We yield with wit h our whole bodies into the ground.

Earth So, how do we translate this energy? With our bodies and with the ground itself. Stand again for a short while, in a posture if you know Tai Chi or just in a comfortable stance, again with the weight mainly on one leg. Start at the ground where the feet touch the floor and really experience that contact. Where the weight is concentrated. In the feet, just as in the hands there is an area called the bubbling well point. It is just between the ball of the foot and the heel. A kidney shaped energy point. It is here that we aim to centre ce ntre our weight. Move your body backwards, forwards, sideways until it is firmly centred on this point and relax into it. Let the knees bend a little. Relax the t he whole body down into this point and really study the contact with the ground there. Feel the firmness of the ground. Be aware of the sheer scale of t he earth underneath you. Supporting you. That earth isn’t going anywhere. You are solid and safe in that position. Now being to allow that felling of that solidity rise up through your legs. Notice how when you relax your legs le gs down into your feet the bones and muscles


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reach a natural settling point. Your hips carry the weight of your body through your spine so ensure your spine is as straight as possible over your base. Pull your head in a little at the chin, gaze should be level. The head should feel it is balancing on top of the spine. In this way tthe he whole body is falling down into that bubbling well point. The earth is rising up through the structure of the body. Meditate in this position and you can come to feel the solidity of the earth translated up all the way through your body to the top of your head. This way we become familiar with the intrinsic energy of the earth. ea rth. This is a meditation you can do any time, whether you are practising Tai Chi or not. It is excellent for your posture and of course for your concentration. If you keep your mind concentrated completely on your body’s alignment and the feel of the ground coming up through you, you feel truly in touch with the earth.

The Yielding Mind Physically, we understand yielding but of course the mind is playing in here too. If we have a mind that is rigid, un-accepting and aggressive you will never learn to yield and therefore never learn the strength in softness. Cheng man-Ch’ing, one of the fathers of Tai Chi today, said ‘invest in loss’. Learn to accept energy in. Don’t block it and most importantly don’t try to ‘win’ As soon as your goal is to win, you cannot yield. The good news here is through repeated practice of tai chi you will relax, you will calm. Meditation helps you to achieve this thi s too. This is why Tai Chi and meditation go hand in hand I believe.

Qi And so to the body a nd Qi. Interestingly, the Chinese classics say that we shouldn’t concentrate on Qi. That practising Tai Chi will exercise Qi and allow it to flow more freely anyway. To experience Qi we need to meditate on it. We need to practice mindfulness of breathing and centre our minds in an area c alled the Tan Tien (pronounced Dan Teeyen). This is a point about an i nch below our navel and a couple of inches inside our bodies. This we can do, but it isn’t necessary. The Practice of Tai Chi will encourage our Qi to naturally flow anyway. Just like our breath, it wil l flow. There are many stories of feats of amazing am azing power where martial artists have mastered


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their Qi. I have never seen anything like this and I don’t believe it is necessary anyway. Actually, I believe it may be detrimental. With meditation you can learn to experience e xperience and then encourage Qi in your body. Buddhist meditation pays great attention to the body. You become extremely attuned to the most subtle sensations going on in the mind/body. You feel Qi flowing through you. The Chinese classics say that our bones, sinews and muscles are our rigging, our skin (or at least the Fascia, the sheet of muscle just under the skin) is the sails and Qi is the wind. It does begin to feel a little like this. Qi adds energy to your movements certainly but you must not externalise this. Otherwise, you wil l be concentrating on Qi to the exclusion of your ability to listen. Then you will no longer be doing Tai Chi. So what about breath? Well, we should not force a particular breathing pattern. Tai Chi has a rhythm all of its own. Through the repetitive practice of the moves you will discover that your breath will find its own course. So don’t focus on the Qi a nd don’t focus on the breath. They will move naturally with the rhythm of Tai Chi.


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Tao Gong. The Tao Gong are a simple set of exercises which can promote energy and also gently introduce to the way we move in Tai Chi. They take us through the shifting of the weight, stepping, gaining balance and the overall connectedness of the arms. They should be practiced daily.

1. Wu Ji (Pron. Wu Chi). The Void. A very important position. It appears at the start and end of the form. It signifies yin and yang in harmony. Don’t rush it. Enjoy it. Working from head to toe. First, have a little awareness in the top of your head. It should feel as if you are suspended from the head. Gaze level, eyes, open. Chin pulled in slightly in to ensure the spine is straight. Shoulders relaxed, hands relaxed and hanging down by your side. Heels gently touching, knees relaxed, toes slightly pointing out. Become aware of the ground pressing up against your feet. Weight, evenly spread throughout the feet.

2. To explore driving with our belly and a nd waist. Feet, shoulder width apart. (The inside of the shoulders!). Shift your weight onto your right foot 70:30. Belly pointing to the right. Let your arms a rms hang loosely, relax the shoulders. Now move your belly and waist round to the left as you move your weight we ight to the left foot. Slowly build up your momentum, as you turn your belly and waist to the left and right and move your wait between your feet. All ow your arms to swing naturally. Don’t be tempted to go too fast. Keep a nice steady rhythm.

3. To explore single weighted-ness. Start with the feet shoulder width apart. Raise the arms up to the sides shoulder width height, palms facing forwards. Relax down, turn your belly to the left and shift all your weight into the right foot. Bend the right leg and relax into it. Left foot turns out following the belly to the left and the ball of the left foot turns out to the left. As you are turning, your arms relax down. The right arm swings forward and to the left in front f ront of the body. Then, let the body rise up again returning to the centre wit h the arms rising up again out to the side at shoulder height. Now repeat to the other side. Keep repeating. Turning and relaxing into the legs, arms swinging with a nice steady rhythm.

4. Moving. Feet, shoulder width apart. Turn the one f oot out and step forward with the other. Bend both legs but the weight starts mainly in the back leg. Belly and waist facing forwards. Now gently move the weight forwards and


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backwards. Ensure your feet stay firmly on the ground. Legs stay bent. Arms hang and swing loosely. Again, build up a nice steady rhythm. Change legs and repeat.

5.

Stepping. Moving. Feet, shoulder width apart. Turn the one foot out and step forward with the other. Now, Move your weight into your front foot fully, lift your back foot and step forward and out, let your weight now move forward and through onto this new front foot. Now sink back into the back foot and lift your front foot off the floor, step back and out. Sink your weight back onto the new back leg. Keep repeating in a relaxed rhythmic manner stepping forwards and backwards with the same foot. Always maintain control of the step, don’t lurch into the foot. After a while, swap feet so that you are stepping forward and backward with the other foot. The whole time the arms just hang loosely.

6. Introducing the arms and the way they move. Feet, forward with the left. The right hand rests palm up by the right hip. The belly turns off to the t he right a little. The left arm cures up in front with the palm turned to the right. The weight is in the back, right leg. As we shift our weight forward into our left leg, the belly turns to face forward, the right hand rises up to c urve in front with the palm facing left. The left hand travels down and a nd rests palm up by the left hip. Now, as we move our weight back and our belly turns to the right again our hands move back to their starting position. Right hand palm up by the right hip. The lef t hand curving in front. All this should be down as one unified movement. Shoulders should be kept relaxed. The waist and be lly turning and moving should drive the arms movement. Try not t o let your arms take control.

7. Waving hands in the clouds. Again this move e mphasises the way the legs and waist drive the arms in T’ai Chi. Feet shoulder width apart. Right hand c urves in front and low down by the lower belly. The left hand is held higher, the palm facing in at throat height. Both arms are curved as if they are holding a large ball. Now, as we move our weight across to the left, our belly turns to the left and our arms naturally follow, almost a lmost as if they are carrying the large la rge ball with them. As we move round to the left the top hand turns so that the palm is face down. Then, we keep our weight in our left leg, we turn our belly to the front as we swap our arms. Our right arm is now throat high and curved, the left is palm up, by our lower belly. It is the turn to the front that drives the swapping of the arms. Now carry the ball over to the right, turning the belly as you do. Again, as you reach the t he right side, your top hand (the right one) turns so that the palm is i s facing down. Again, as you now turn your belly to the front, your hands swap again. Carry the ball over to the left again and repeat. This exercise is a very nice co-ordination movement and should be repeated for at least 12-24 times.

8. Face the front. Feet shoulder width apart. With hands palm down in front start to make a very small circle with both hands going anticlockwise. Slowly make the circle bigger until you are reaching back over your head and brushing your


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fingertips on the floor. Keep your knees straight, but don’t overstretch. Go round the circle 4-5 times then reverse the direction. Again 4-5 times and slowly reduce the size of the circle until your hands are circling in front of your waist.

9. Step forward with your left foot. f oot. Put your weight forward into your left foot. Place your left hand on your left hip. Make a loose fist with the right hand an circle it 3 times clockwise and anticlockwise by your right side. Do not take it any higher than your shoulder. Keep your shoulder relaxed and your elbow low. After 4-5 repetitions swap hands and feet.

10. Using a chair if you wish, lift first your left foot off the floor. Circle it forward 4 times and backward 4 times. Then swap feet and do the same.

11. Using a chair if you wish, lift first your left foot off the floor. Relax the left foot and gently shake it at the ankle in front of you. Repeat with the other foot.

12. Step out with your feet so that you have a nice wide stance. Hold your hands out and up and shake them. Smile!!

13. Stand in wu ji. Turn your palms forward. Bend at the elbow and let your palms rise up. Now let them lower again. Keep repeating and pay attention to any sensation in the hands.

14. Stand in Wu ji. Place the hands on the belly and a nd make a nice big vigorous circle with the hands. First one way then the other.

15. Stand in Wu ji. Make loose fists and press the knuckles gently into the kidney area. Make small circles, massaging the area with the knuckles.

16. Stand in Wu Ji. Tap on the base of the skull with the first two fingers of both hands. 24 times.

17. Stand in Wu Ji. Make cups with your hands and place them with gentle pressure over your ears. Release them quickly so you get a slight pressure pop in your ears. Do this with EXTREME CARE!!! 24 times

18. Relax in Wu Ji. Enjoy it. i t. Contemplate the moment.


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The Short Sequence The Short sequence is the set of opening postures from the main Tai Chi form. It is essentional a short form in its own right and it contains all the main movements in Tai Chi. This is the sequence taught on the Re-Vitalise weekends. Here we have the first part and the second part of the sequence. These would be taught across 2 weekend retreats.

1. The Void. Don't rush through this posture. Enjoy it, meditate in it e ven! Heels together, toes pointing out. Relaxing downward. Slight attention in the t op of the head. Imagine warm water flowing down the front of the body. Start to t o move your mind into your right foot.

2. Slowly sink into your right leg. le g. Don't force it. Just gently sink. Eventually you reach a point where t he left foot pops off the floor. When it does, move the left foot out, shoulder-width apart and with the toes pointing forward.

3. Preparation. Move your weight, 70:30 into your left leg. Sink into it and shift your hips and belly so that they are pointing off to the right. A little intention in your right hand now but still the focus is in hips and legs. Straighten up a little and allow your hands to rise up over two imaginary balls as you bring your waist and belly to the front again. Finish the posture, settling in to your feet with both hands resting on cushions of air, hip height. Your wei ght should still be largely in your left leg. 3. Relax at the wrists and allow your arms to float up no higher than your shoulders. Elbows become heavy, hands float in a little and then start to ttravel ravel down. When they are level with your waist sink in to both legs, still mainly on the left and settle in.


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4. Sink more in the left leg. (Yes, even more!!). As you do, let your waist and belly turn off to the right. The right arm, with a rounded feeling, drifts up to shoulder level, the left curves and the hand sits by the lower belly, palm up. In this position you should be in a rough hold-ball shape. (Quite a large ball). 5. Shift your weight fully into your right leg until the left l eft foot can pop off the floor. Now place the left f oot forward and out (Remember the rectangle. Place it on the far corner).

6. Ward Off Left. Start to shift your weight into your left foot as your belly and waist come round to the front. At the same time, the left arms a rms moves up into the ward off position, palm of the left hand facing you, shoulder height, wrist in from the throat. Right hand moves down to rest on a cushion of air hip height. Remember, as you shift your weight; allow your right foot to drift round more to the front so it i t is pointing at about a 45 degree angle to the front.

7. Shift your weight down further into your left leg (Yes! Sink more!!!!) as you turn your belly to the right. Your arms round out into a hold ball shape with the left hand high and the right hand low by the belly. Pick your right foot off the floor and step forward and out. In fact you are almost a lmost putting it back where it was! Move your weight forward into the right foot. Allow the left foot to drift round as you move your weight forward. Your left hand stays high, fingers have tone but aren't tense and are pointing forward. Right hand moves up into Ward Off right, shoulder height. Wrist in front of the throat. Fingers of the left hand end up pointing at the palm of the right.

8. Grasp the sparrows tail. Alias Roll-back. A Key posture and tricky to describe in words. Sink (here we go again)just a little into the right leg and allow the right arm to


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rise up with palm facing out. Left arm rounds in front of the body with palm facing in, making ward-off. Shift the weight back, move the belly round to the left. Arms move down and round to the left. But they hold the same shape, They simply move with the belly and the waist. You should now have your weight back on your left l eg and your belly turned off to the left, le ft, about 45 degrees.

9. Press. Allow the left arm to relax down, as you move your belly to the front, this picks the left arm up to form the press on the wrist of the right arm. Move your weight forward into your right leg. Again, as with all these moves, the energy is coming from the legs and waist so don't be tempted to push forward with the arms. Simply have intention in them.

10. Push. Allow your hands to flatten out, palms down as you shift your weight back a little. Allow your elbows to go heavy and drop a little, then shift your weight forward. Again, energy comes from legs and waist. Don't push with your arms! (push with your elbows if you feel the need to push with anything)

11. Crossing hands. Gather in the hands a little towards your chest. Sink into your right leg, turn your belly to the left and allow your hands to drift in. The first fingers and thumbs of your two hands almost make a triangle shape between them. Turn fully to the left as you shift your weight fully into your left leg. Your right foot twists round to face left. Send your hands forward and out, roll them over two imaginary arms. Cross your arms in front of you as you step back parallel with your left foot.

12. Cut down with your palms as your rise up. Turn the left foot out, shift your weight onto it and step up with the right, relax the hands and settle. Again, relax in the void and enjoy the ending.


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The Sequence Continued (From Push, Step 10)

11. Single Whip. A gorgeous posture. Shift your weight back on to your left leg allowing your arms to stay where they t hey are. The arms don’t lock out but they are (roughly) held out straight. Turn at the waist to the left. Keep the arms out and let them come around to the left with the waist. The right foot turns to the left with the waist.

12. Keep the weight on the left leg. Turn the belly a little to the right. The right hand forms the hook and bends in at the elbow with the fingers touching. The left hand curves down by the belly.

13. Turn the belly round to the left. Keep turning and send the right and hook out to the corner. Pick the left foot up and step around behind you. As you come a round, bring the left hand up in front of your chest, palm facing you. At this time the weight is still in the right leg.

14. Turn the left hand over, shift your weight into your left leg. Finish, 70%, 30% weight in the front left leg. Right foot pivots round so it is c omfortably at 45 degrees and the hook is held up and out to the rear right corner.


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15. Lifting hands. Sinking into your left leg further, further, turn your belly to the right. The hands round out to your right as if you are embracing a large ball. Now pick your right leg up and place it down comfortably in front, on the heel. Don’t put any weight in the right leg. All the weight is still in the left. (Agony!!). Sink a little more into the left and slowly bring the arms together a little. Right arm forward, f orward, left hand near the right elbow.

16. Shoulder Stroke. Pick up that right leg, step forward a little and let the arms relax down by the belly to the left. Sinking forward into the right leg, round the right arm forward and the left hand comes up by the right elbow to ‘protect’ it. The feeling is barging with the right shoulder while sinking into t he right leg.

17. White Crane spreads wings. Sink into the right leg and turn the belly to the left as the left arm drops down to your left and the right arm raises ra ises up in ward off over your right knee. Sink fully into your right leg, lift the left leg off the floor and places in front resting lightly on the ball of the foot. The left hand finishes resting on a cushion of air by the left thigh. The right arm rises up as you sink and turns over, ending up above the head with the palm facing up. You are fully sunk in the right leg with no weight in the left.

18. Brush knee and push. Allow the arms t o relax down as you settle and sink to the right a little. Right a rm comes up and out by your right hand side, left hand forms ward off in front of your chest. Turn the belly a little back to the left, left hand turns to face palm down close in to t o the chest with the t humb almost touching the chest, the right hand folds in with the palm by your right ear. Step forward and out with your left leg and shift your weight into it. As you shift your weight let your right hand palm travel forward with the weight and the left palm comes down to rest on a cushion of


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air by your left knee (in a brushing arc across the left knee). Come t o rest with 70% of your weight in your left leg. Allow that right foot to turn on the heel to a 45 degree angle to the font.

19. Crossing hands. Gather in. Sink into your left leg, turn your belly to the right and allow your hands to drift in. The first fingers and thumbs of your two hands almost make a triangle shape between them. Turn fully to the right as you shift your weight fully into your right leg. Your left le ft foot twists round to face right. Send your hands forward and out, roll them over two t wo imaginary arms (remember the defence against an attack to the throat?) then cross c ross your arms right in front of left as you step back parallel with your right foot.

20. Cut down with your palms as your rise up. Turn the right foot out, shift your weight onto it and step up with the left, relax the hands and settle. Again, relax in the void and enjoy the ending.

The form continues, repeating many of these postures and moves.


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Meditation on formless mind

(1) Find somewhere quiet and peaceful where you won't be disturbed. If at home take the phone off the hook. (2) If you can't manage a classical meditation posture just sit upright in a chair. Try to keep your back reasonably reasonably straight. Avoid the two extremes of slouching and getting excessively rigid. (3) Observe your breathing. Don't try to control it, just observe the natural rhythm of inhaling and exhaling. (4) Once you've settled into this observational state, but before you've got bored, introduce a small amount of breath control - just pause for a second between the in and the out. (5) Now drop into a simple mental count. On the out breath, count. Slowly, with your breath count from 1 to 10 on the outbreath. (6) Keep on breathing and and mentally counting. Don't force the breath. breath. Breathe naturally. Insert a slight pause just long enough to notice but don’t ‘hold’ the breath. You can then extend this pause if it helps you to feel calmer, and you can do so without discomfort. Concentrate on the breathing only. Don't let your mi nd wander. (7) After a while the novelty will wear off and your mind will appear to become extremely busy, with all sorts sorts of thoughts competing competing for your attention. Your mind will have much more immediate concerns than breathing. - 'It's a week since I last phoned my mother - that reminds me, can I afford afford to pay my my phone bill? - I haven't checked my bank balance lately - I guess its bad because I haven't had a pay rise since my boss put me on a wage freeze ....It's because I'm 39 and not likely to find another job - Why do I have to work for that idiot? - Surely I could branch out on my own - the whole company's become a pile of poo - Oh look there's a crack in the plaster - Is it superficial or something structural? Structural..structure... Oh no I haven’t done my tax return..... etc,etc...


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Welcome to your superficial superficial mind! Why does meditation make make the mind busier? You thought it was supposed to calm you down. Yes ultimately it does, but in the early stages all that happens is that your mind becomes aware of the incessant junkthoughts circulating in your brain (the first inkling that mind and brain are different!). There's no more going on in your head than usual, it's just that you've become aware of it. So is this this incessant parade of trivialities all that there is to your mind? mind? Who's controlling it - obviously not you! Continue with the counting counting for a little while longer, gently returning your mind to the breath every ti me it wanders away. (8) Now cease the counting and take t ake a look at the constant stream of linked thoughts that your brain is presenting to your mind. But try to distance yourself from these thoughts. This IS difficult. Observe them but with a certain amount of disinterest. Pretend you're observing someone else's stream of consciousness rather than stuff which is obviously aimed at you. Don't get involved in this thought stream. Don’t ‘follow’ the thoughts. (9) You'll become aware of the patterns in your thoughts - the associations which link all mental objects together. (10) Slowly come out of meditation. Never Never rush to get up afterwards. afterwards. Sit and relax and think about what you have learned. If you found it difficult to stay focussed this time. Don’t worry. Every time your bring your mind back to the breath, you are learning.


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Tai Chi Exercises and Short Sequence

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