Відео

Thank you!

... which is often quite a challenge these days!!! But perhaps it was ALWAYS a challenge to relax!

I'm guessing that you don't train in tai chi?

You're welcome!

Thanks very much!

I glad that it's useful!

"Is that the centre of gravity?":- As I understand it, your body's centre of gravity is moveable, the position of which is very much determined by where the 'mind' is (I'm talking more about 'feeling' here rather than 'intellect' or even visualisation). So if you want to make this the centre of gravity, then by all means do so. "It seems like a double stacked toroidal. If something is going in then it seems to reason something is coming out somewhere.":- I enjoyed geometry at school, but I had to look up 'toroidal'... nice word! I'm not sure that I understand why this might be a) a toroid, and b) double-stacked. Nor do I understand what you mean by '...something is going in...' (or 'out'). The way that I see it is as though the centre is a pliable sphere which can be compressed or expanded. The 4 directions that I mention in the video (top/bottom; front/back) act as though to squeeze the sphere. Personally I also like to think of the left and right sides of the body acting in the squeeze also (although I didn't mention that in the video). The act of squeezing has the effect of heating the centre (in the same way that bending a metal coat hanger continuously will cause the it do heat up at the fold), but also when your attention is taken to the centre, energy and blood become focussed on that point (in the same way that, when you hit your (e.g.) elbow against something, you naturally rub it; the act of rubbing it takes energy to that point, but also causes blood to keep flowing and not congeal in that area).

Thank you!

A lot of questions, each of which would take ages to answer! The first thing about Hunyuan strength is that you need whole-body Peng, and until you have Peng even in only one direction, the concept of Hunyuan strength is a bit irrelevant. If you are practising Zhan Zhuang, then you are learning to develop Peng, but without a teacher to correct you or even explain Peng to you, it's quite a slow process. You know when you have Peng when you can hold a tai chi posture with great ease whilst someone is pushing you - you are able to channel their push to pass through you, so it i9s almost as though your body isn't even slightly involved and simply happens to be in the way between the person pushing you, and your (usually) rear foot.

@@taichiqong thank you so much for answering, I really appreciate it. You know, in the past 10 years I got quite deaf due to a congenital disease and around where I live there aren't teachers of Yi Chuan, not even good Tai Chi ones My interest in Zhan Zhuang is for health, increasing my vital energy and keeping strong. That's why I'm asking these questions here and there. So, what about the Qi stuff? Does this increase, tonify Qi and Qi circulation? Or should we do abdominal deep breathing while standing (focusing on dan tien)? I mean, is this as equal as daoist meditation even without deep slow breathing? I'm trying to understand which way has more profound inpact on energy level. I do both anyway right now 😁

@@erwinwizzy "What about the Qi stuff? Does this increase, tonify Qi and Qi circulation? Or should we do abdominal deep breathing while standing (focusing on dan tien)? I mean, is this as equal as daoist meditation even without deep slow breathing? I'm trying to understand which way has more profound impact on energy level." I'm not sure if this answers it, but in my opinion, the action of doing Zhan Zhuang and not OVER-focussing on what you do is very important. Trying too hard is just another form of stress (mental stress in this case), and it's just as detrimental as tensing your body whilst doing ZZ. Qi is allowed to flow when the body is very relaxed, and the muscles aren't tightened, so when doing ZZ you need to scan the body for any tension, releasing it if possible. When doing ZZ you are practising opening up the pipelines in the body. Breathing: The same thing applies... Don't try too hard. Natural breathing will produce better results than trying to adapt to a particular method of breathing, in my experience. You might find some of my blogs to be useful, incidentally. If you subscribe to the site, you'll get send a blog at the start of each month, and there are a lot of back issue blogs as well. I think the Wordpress address is in the description of every one of my videos.

I'm glad you found it useful.

You're welcome!

Thanks Adam... James.

Thank you. I love teaching this form. Teaching it in 2 places currently. James.

I'm glad that it works for you.

Of the 3 questions that you've asked, I'm not sure that I understand the last part of your question... 1. Because you are trying to get your centre/core/dantian/hara etc. to operate the bending of the lets. 2. Yes, opening up the spine at the back does open the Du channel/meridian on the lumbar area of the spine. 3. I don't understand what you mean by cyclical 'melting'... did you mean circular? You can email me direct at james@taiji.co.uk if it's easier. James.

Thank you.

Yes, exactly the same principle!

Thank you!

Thanks for the comment, much appreciated! James.

Good question! Most people tense in the lower back and don't realise that they are doing so. When they are even slightly tense, they increase the natural curvature of the back, and the pelvis rises very slightly at the back (I give this the 'charming' name of 'duck-bum' because it's a bit like you try to lift the tail feathers at the back, sticking the buttocks backwards). When you feel that tension (and the key is to 'feel' it), you are able to let go of it. However, flattening the back (by tucking the pelvis under deliberately) is also problematic. You might stop doing 'duck-bum', but you haven't actually released the back to allow it to sink naturally; when you force the pelvis to tuck under, it's usually happened because the abdominal muscles have tightened and are causing the lower back muscles to stretch - which is different to 'releasing' them. So the answer is that the back might flatten out slightly, and the lordosis therefore will slightly 'undo' (meaning that the buttocks will drop a little at the back), but the entire process needs to be achieve by stopping holding on in the lumbar region, and not by MAKING it happen. This is very difficult for people who don't even realise that they are tense in the lumbar area - which is the vast majority of people... You know how it is... we all get used to our discomfort and it becomes the norm.

@@taichiqong Thanks James for taking the time for this comprehensive answer. So, letting go into the natural lumbar curve must be the way to go. My personal experience is that letting go into the curve also involves letting go of the front of the spine that is perhaps also pulling the lumbars flat. Would you agree?

@@harveyburns3500 Yes, I agree. When you let go at the back, the front appears to straighten the spine slightly, you might even feel the abdomen or front of the body (even up to the chest) rising a little without your doing anything to make it happen. The key to the entire thing is to let it go at the back rather than forcing it, but I reckon from what you've said that you've got that concept. Incidentally, I write a blog once a month, and this kind of thing comes up on it regularly. You'll find the blog address in the video 'description'.

@@taichiqong Will take a look. Thanks again. H

Thanks for the comment...

Absolutely!

Absolutely NO idea what you're talking about. I don't call it jam jong (although some of my teachers have called it that); I call it Zhan Zhuang as in mandarin, and no idea where salad comes into it.

Thank you.

You're welcome.

Hi, Yes, I learnt with him for a couple of years (about 30 years ago!). James.

You're very welcome!

You're very welcome.

I’m glad it was helpful!

I'm very glad to hear it. I will be doing a few more of these occasionally. James.

Thank you! James.

It sounds as though you are using muscles to 'empty the chest and round the back'. I'm guessing that to 'empty the chest' you're pulling your shoulders forward, and perhaps pulling the head of the humerus slightly out of the socket. If so, this isn't my understanding of 'empty the chest'.

@@taichiqong my impression is that with your backward rotation of the shoulders exercise you achieve the opposite of empty the chest and round the back

Hi, I'm assuming that you've watched both Shoulder & Hip Alignment videos. Video no. 1 is explaining how to align your posture so that the shoulders sit correctly on the body. Video no. 2 is explaining (or starting to explain, as it's a big subject) how to use the arms when you have arranged you posture correctly. In Video no. 1, the body is what you might call 'neutral' - there is no 'hollowing' of the chest and no 'rounding' of the back. Then when you start to use the arms (Video no. 2), you need to make sure that you don't destroy the connection that you've made in the 1st video. From what you say, it seems that you think it is necessary to pull the head of the humerus forward in order to 'hollow'. But actually, keeping the head of the humerus connected correctly to the socket, it is possible to (e.g.) raise the arms ahead of you, without drawing the head of the humerus forward of the socket. The question then arises, how do you 'hollow' at the same time? If, without pulling the shoulders forward, you raise the arms but simultaneously you soften the breastbone, you will then be 'hollowing' the chest (to make it very obvious, breathe out at the same time). Just make sure that you don't pull the HEAD of the humerus forward, the humorous needs to rotate within the socket. By pulling forwards, it creates an energetic disconnection, and tends to tighten the back of the neck which should actually be doing completely the opposite (i.e. it should be softening and therefore lengthening). I have the impression (and it's hard to say because you've said so little) that when you hollow the chest, you think you ought to PULL it forcefully inwards (therefore making your upper spine go backwards) as though you are trying to concave it; I suspect that you are over-pulling inwards to create the hollowing. If you do this, you are creating a great deal of tension in the chest, and if that happens, how can the qi sink? It can't. One of my teachers has said that the feeling of the hollowing is as though the front of the body (chest/sternum/clavicles/xiphoid process/diaphragm etc.) MELT, or as though they liquify and turn to water running down your front. Any tension has the effect of solidifying, and qi is stagnated.

Well, I suppose the answer is 'because you're not going to see very much on camera'. The changes are very subtle... but then thinking about it, you haven't actually said which aspect you'd like to see from the side.

Hi, Thanks very much for your comments, and for making that point; I agree that the point of balance needs to be central in each foot. In Alexander Technique, the point of balance falls directly below the front of the tibia. I don't think that I can attach pictures to this reply, but I wrote a blog about this, not so long ago (you'll find it here: www.taiji.co.uk/post/shoulder-alignment-the-mechanics-1). The second image in the blog shows the alignment quite well. I do quite a few blogs on Wordpress about this kind of thing... jamesdrewetaichi.wordpress.com/ James.

Hi Bob, Thanks for asking about that, really good point. You definitely don't maintain the tilt, and perhaps 'release' is the word. I have a couple of thoughts about this: I think that the buttocks/pelvis/thigh of a horse is called its 'haunch' (may be wrong about the name). If I'm right, the haunch is not just the buttocks, but the entire hip consisting of pelvis, buttocks, thigh, and the division from the torso of the horse is (like in humans) down its inguinal groove (on each side - except in a horse it's sort of underneath the body), and down the crease of the buttocks to meet the inguinal groove on the underside. Okay - so picture that instead of having separate parts - leg, buttocks, hip, pelvis etc. you just have a haunch on each side. The 'leg' is much more than the leg as we think of it, it's the entire hip/buttock structure. Sitting Back (front leg to back leg): We rotate the entire haunch to sit back (this includes the pelvis tilting automatically). Just feel the back haunch rotating as you sit back. Moving Forward (back leg to front leg): We rotate the entire haunch to go forward... What did the pelvis do? It definitely didn't stay tucked under. It released. Sitting Back: We allow the lower back to lengthen, and we shorten the (lower) front. Moving Forward: We observe the opposite happening. The lower back releases (from being lengthened) and therefore shortens, and the front, from being shortened, is allowed to lengthen. Sitting Back (front to back leg): Imagine you're doing a tug of war against 30+ rugby players. You would HAVE to tuck under to be able to move the - i.e. the entire haunch would HAVE to function correctly. Moving Forward (back to front leg): Imagine you have a 4X4 with the brakes on behind you and you're wearing a harness which is attached to your pelvis. It would be very difficult to stay tucked under whilst moving from the back to front leg.

Thank you, I will try to add more info of this kind. James.

You're very welcome!

I know that it is said never to let the knees go beyond the toes, but in my opinion this depends on where the weight is resting on the sole of the foot (as well as upon the flexibility of the achilles tendons). It's quite easy to feel this; if you go into a low stance, but you put the weight further forward on to the front of the feet, you can feel the strain just under the kneecaps. In my opinion, this isn't good on the knees. However, if your pelvis is compensating for the forward weight, in other words if you are counterbalancing with the pelvis so that the weight is over the balance-point in the foot (in Alexander Technique terms, this is approx. on the vertical line at the front of the calf where it meets the foot), the pressure is released from the knees. You can also rock too far back on the heels also (worth the experiment) because you can feel where other parts of you start to grip up also - even up to your neck. Re. the stabilizers/mobilisers point you make, I haven't particularly noticed that going lower brings them into play more easily, but that doesn't mean that you're not right, and it's quite possibly a personal issue. I can think of several of my students for whom it would actually do the reverse and make them freeze up rather than let go in order to hold the position because of the additional work required. When I try it myself, I can see your point, but I'm not convinced that there's a great deal to be gained by it as it seems to take the focus off the body as a whole and focuses it more on the legs. If you google 'Zhan Zhuang old photos' and go to 'images', no one is sitting very low, and some appear to be almost standing.

@@taichiqong Thank you for your detailed response. I will definitely play around with your suggestions and see what I find. Cheers!

@@mountainpeakcloud8442 👍

Thank you! You're right, there's a lot to be said about the knees and the legs in general. James.

You’re very welcome. James.

Absolutely, but what’s your point? This is a short lesson… it’s unlikely in a video that the practitioner will stand still for 40 minutes!!

Why not make a USEFUL comment in Russian. That one isn't terribly helpful to anyone!

Hi, No. I've had a few very good teachers over the years, although not one of them has really put together all the various strands that go together to make this exercise really work, so that it feels 'comfortable' (and as though you could quite happily stay there for hours). If you haven't already done so, take a look at the short video 'Stabilizers & Mobiizers'; it goes a long way to explaining about the disconnection of white muscle tissue (which is what you're aiming to do), and the integration of red muscle tissue (stabilisers). J.

You're very welcome. I've spent a lot of time pondering on balance over the years, and for some people it's DEFINITELY something that needs practising. The key, it seems to me, is the settling of the pelvis (as mentioned in the videos); in Chinese terms, this is allowing the body to 'Song' (pron. 'Song' or 'Sung' - perhaps a regional dialect thing!). This is almost like a draining of stress downwards through the feet, so that all upper body tension 'melts'. One of the big problems, it seems to me, is that when you, say, lift a leg to practise balancing, your focus goes to the lifting leg, and therefore is no longer on the Song process. If balancing is something you'd like to work on, as you go to lift a leg, try not to be distracted by the lifting leg, but keep the attention on the sinking/melting sensation of the body. J.