It’s no bad thing to pause as you’re doing the tai chi form or Five Golden Coins, in order to work through exactly what you’re doing right, and wrong, about a particular posture. Any time that you stumble or lose your balance, that’s a good time to double check.
- Are my feet in the right place?
- How’s my tailbone? Tucked under, or sticking out?
- Chest open? or closed?
- Are the flank muscles engaged?
- What’s the breath doing here?
- Is my arm in the right place?
- What about my hand?
- What about my head?
- What about my eyes?
I feel that my body has gotten stronger as a result of the work, but it’s not really my body that I’m concerned with here. Have I gotten physically stronger? Yes. But I’ve also gained flexibility. When I began, I couldn’t sink down or duck very well. Now I can. All the ligaments in my legs are stronger. My flanks are stronger, too. Most of all, though, the advantage is in having flexibility in my body and mind, and having inflexibility in my schedule of doing the work. That’s the big advantage.
