Chris Chi

Tai Chi for health & wellbeing

 

 

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Tai Chi Cue Words

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Cue words are a good way of snapping  you back into the correct alignment when your are not practicing Tai Chi.

For example, the other night I was half asleep and felt very uncomfortable with my body in a non Tai Chi position, twisted like a pretzel.

I used my cue word of ‘spine’ to move myself back into a correct alignment for sleeping. I simple say the word ‘spine’ to myself and automatically adjust my position. I also do this when I’m walking or sitting and notice my alignment is incorrect.

It becomes an automatic response with repetition and it’s a great way of practicing Tai Chi in everyday life activities. This is important becomes Tai Chi practice is not just about practicing during specified sessions throughout the week. It’s what you do away from official practice that will determine how much you improve your Tai Chi.

I find that just one cue word is enough to remind me what I should be doing if I’m not in a correct physical, emotional, psychological  shape or state of mind.

Other cue words I use for various states include;

  • relax
  • calm
  • sink
  • yin
  • yang

Do you use cue words to maintain your wellbeing in your day to day activitie? What are they?

 

 

Posture and Balance

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Correct Posture and balance is vital when practicing Tai Chi – especially in a small space.

Whenever it rains I practice my Tai Chi form inside my house in a confined space. I’m usually in a small room, dodging furniture and tables as I move from one posture to another.

As I do this I’m continually shuffling backwards and forwards because of the lack of space available. And the problem here is it’s easy to lose your shape, posture and balance as you move throughout the form.

To compensate for this error I make sure I pause once I’ve shuffled back into space. This allows me to check my posture and balance before I continue the form.

I do a visual check and ‘feel’ check where I make sure it feels right before I go on.

The stop and start method isn’t ideal but it’s better than practicing outside in the rain. You tend to get wet 🙂 and your posture will sink into the mud probably throwing you off balance.

So be adaptable – pause – do a visual and feel check – and then move on.

 

 

Belly Button Tai Chi

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We all the know the importance of turning your waist in Tai Chi.

Without turning your waist your posture will become disconnected and ineffective.

For a beginner it can be difficult to turn the waist because attention is usually focused on  arms and/or legs when practicing a Tai Chi movement.

My teacher would constantly say to me, “turn your waist Chris, turn your waist”.  As a beginner I would nod my head and usually forget to turn my waist because I was concentrating elsewhere.

Here’s a technique that will help get your beginner students to turn their waists more often.

If the phrase ‘turn your waist’ doesn’t work try saying ‘turn your belly button to the right (or left)’.

A single reference point such as a belly button rather than a large expanse such as the waist is easier to visualise.

So get their belly buttons turning or else they may go belly up when learning a new technique!