I set my small electronic clock to count down from 8 minutes, pressed the start button, and stepped back into my ‘embrace the tree posture’.

I relaxed into my posture and thought time would go quick as this was my 8 minute session as compared to the normal 20 minute sessions I do on alternative days.

I waited.

And waited.

And waited.

The alarm didn’t go off and I was sure I did eight minutes.

I waited.

It felt like 20 minutes.

Then I thought, ‘no this can’t be right’ and leaned forward without raising up out of the posture to check the clock.

Arggggggh.

It read 7.59.

Only one second had elapsed because I didn’t press the start button correctly.

That was the day when time stood still.

I had another delightful experience during a Chair Chi session at an aged care centre.

One of the residents, 99-years-old, Italian background, spoke little English, was watching me intently as I demonstrated an exercise that helps relieve arthritis. I counted out each movement in English; 1,2,3,4,5 and then in Italian; una, due, tre, quattro, cinque.

As soon as she heard me count in Italian she broke out into a huge grin and counted in Italian with me when I repeated the  exercise.

It certainly reinforced to me there are other ways of teaching Chi exercises than just focusing on movement.

And counting in Italian is one of them

Real knowledge is to know the extent of one’s  ignorance.

Confucius

I had a very busy week last week delivering Chair Chi workshops for residents in aged care centres and teachers in schools – nine workshops in total!

The Chair Chi sessions for teachers started early this term; after sending out an expression of interest I’ve had four schools interested and booked. One school wanted a four week program which I’m half way through now.

The hourly sessions are held after school at about 3.30pm or 3.45pm and the sessions I’ve run so far many teachers have come into the room looking very tired after a full day’s work at school.

Usually most teachers feel very refreshed and energised after the session which indicates the Chair Chi skills taught are working well. And that’s not easy to achieve considering they’re sitting on a chair for an hour after school.

It’s enjoyable running these sessions and so far teachers have been well behaved and I haven’t had to send any to the ‘naughty corner’

As I was practicing my form the other day I focused entirely on my feet; weight transfer and connecting to the ground. I could feel my Chi circulate at a deeper level and I was completed connected to the earth. It was a powerful feeling.

All the key points in the soles of my feet moved deeper into the ground like roots of a tree as I transferred my weight from posture to posture.

Focusing on one area is something I do on a regular basis to make sure I’m performing the form correctly. Other times I just go with the flow to get that deeper sense of calmness.

I was practising my ‘embrace the tree’ posture the other morning and wasn’t sure if my knees were behind my toes or over them.

I looked in the mirror but I still could not determine whether I was practising correctly; the knees should be just behind the toes otherwise you will strain your knees.

So I thought I’d get some feedback and asked my colleague to check out my stance. She said the knees were slightly over the toes so I shifted my position until it was correct. I did this several times until I could ‘feel’ the right position.

Even after 25 years of practice and teaching I still need feedback to make sure I’m practicising correctly. The ideal situation is to have a personal coach (a service I provide for others – private lessons) or attend a class.

Those options are currently unavailable to me as my business does not provide me with the time to do so. So the alternative is to check with my colleague every now and again to make sure I’m on the right track.

When practicing Tai Chi stance work – align the key points on the soles of your feet to the ground first.

In between Chair Chi workshops I dropped into Fountain Gate shopping centre to have a cappucchino.

I drove into the car park, got out  and opened my car boot to get a book to read during my break. As I lifted the door up I realised I was double weighted.

My weight was on my right leg and I used my right hand to lift the door. A couple of days later when I lifted the car boot door I made sure my weight was on my left leg as I lifted the door with my right hand.

So what’s this got to do with Tai Chi? Everything.

Themes such as double weightedness, substantial and insubstantial, Yin Yang are not only important to understand; they are also critical to practising good Tai Chi. Once the body feels and understands these concepts then one can advance to the next level.

And one of the best ways of practicing and reinforcing these concepts is to do them during everyday activities.

Such as opening your car boot door!

Yin Yang philosophy, the foundation of Tai Chi Chuan, can be difficult for beginners to grasp so here’s a very simple exercise I teach to help people feel this concept called Yin Yang.

1. Hold your arm out in front of you so it’s horizontal to the ground
2. Stretch your arm out as far as you can. That tightness you feel in your arm is extreme Yang
3. Now flop you hand down beside your body. That limp feeling is extreme Yin
4. Now hold you arm up, stretched out, but bend your elbow slightly. You have now placed some Yin into your Yang arm, relaxed, and you will be able to hold your arm there for a long period of time as compared to the extreme Yang position.

Yin Yang is a profound philosophy which takes many years for the body to grasp. This simple exercise is a start and you’ll need to constantly research and practice your Tai Chi to get a deeper understanding of Yin Yang.

Here’s a short clip of Bruce Frantzis talking about the 7 key principles of Tai Chi Push Hands. Very interesting and below is a summary of the points he makes.

1. Constant contact

2. Always shifting your weight back and forth

3. Don’t use muscular strength

4. Joints become relaxed, not stiff

5. Hands, arms, legs, are constantly rotating, then twisting, and eventually spiralling

6. Waist always turns – belly and kwa

7. Three types of turns

Click here to view the embedded video.